Feb 18, 2010, 12:33 GMT
Britain's Queen Elizabeth celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Cadet Forces with a group of young ambassadors from the organisation in London.
The monarch - who is patron of Cadet150 - and her husband Prince Philip welcomed around 25 teenagers from the Combined Cadet Force, Sea Cadet Corps, Army Cadet Force (ACF) and the Air Training Corps (ATC) to a reception at Buckingham palace.
ACR Underofficer Rachel Tresman - who has been given a place at the prestigious Sandhurst Royal Military Academy - was one of those chosen to attend the reception.
The 18-year-old student - who hopes to become an army doctor - said: "It was an honour to meet the queen, I can't believe I'm here. I've enjoyed my time in the Cadet force and I've got a place at Sandhurst so I'm going to join up after my medical degree." The royal couple spent 20 minutes chatting to the cadets, before they went on to Downing Street to meet Veterans Minister Kevan Jones.
The ACF are hoping the events they are hosting to mark their 150th anniversary will encourage more young people to get involved.
Melanie Bowran, from the ACF, said: "We are delighted to be celebrating 150 years of this fantastic movement. The Cadet Forces offer such great opportunities for thousands of young people across the UK. We are encouraging people to find out more through Cadet150; come along and live the adventure."
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