A couple married for 65 years have received a letter from the King in celebration of their wedding anniversary.

Bernard and Pat Workman have been married since December 27, 1958, and have dedicated their lives to the local community.

The Royal Wootton Bassett couple, whose marriage has been given the royal seal of approval, first met in 1952 while they were both working for the Worcester Evening News.

Bernard was 17 and worked as a photographer for the paper. He says he fell in love with 16-year-old Pat, who was a receptionist at the time.

Six years later after Bernard returned from his posting in Singapore as a photographer for the RAF, the pair got married and moved to Bassett.

Wiltshire Times: Pat and Bernard met when they were just teenagers.Pat and Bernard met when they were just teenagers. (Image: Nick Workman)

While Pat took up work in Lorna Doone day care centre and became a prominent member of the town’s Women’s Guild, Bernard worked as a photographer for the Swindon Advertiser, and later for RAF Lyneham.

He became the founder and first president of the Royal Wootton Bassett Lions Club, and was regularly seen collecting money for local causes with the annual Christmas float.

Both Bernard and Pat have also worked as volunteers at the STEAM railway museum’s World War Two re-enactments for school children.

Now, in acknowledgement of their lifelong dedication to both each other and the Royal Wootton Bassett community, the elderly couple have been sent a congratulatory card from King Charles III and Queen Camilla themselves.

Wiltshire Times: Pat and Bernard Workman with their royal card.Pat and Bernard Workman with their royal card. (Image: Nick Workman)

"They both felt surprised and very overwhelmed to be receiving the congratulatory letter from the King and Queen," explained their son, Nick.

"My parents had received a congratulatory message from the Queen on their 60th wedding anniversary and so they weren’t expecting another one."

According to Nick, this is not his father's first brush with royalty, as Bernard had met King Charles III, the then Prince of Wales, while attending a royal event as photographer for the Worcester newspaper.

Pat and Bernard, who now have three sons, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, say that their favourite part of their marriage has been growing closer together, sharing interests, and seeing the generations of their family grow up before their eyes.

The couple were planning a celebratory champagne breakfast and a trip with their closest family and friends on the Gloucester and Warwickshire preserved steam railway on their anniversary day, December 27.