Britain’s Queen Elizabeth met a tsunami survivor yesterday (30.04.14).
The monarch and her husband Prince Philip visited UWC Atlantic College near Llantwit Major, in the Vale of Glamorgan, and after being entertained by an a cappella choir, they were shown around the campus by student Tomas Alvarez, whose family’s escape from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami went on to inspire the Naomi Watts-starring movie ‘The Impossible’.
Tomas was very impressed by the queen and her interest in the college.
He said after the royal meeting: "I became a lifeguard because of what happened to my family in the 2004 tsunami. We were incredibly lucky to survive, especially my mother who had to undergo 14 operations.
"If it wasn’t for the people who helped us, I don’t know if we would have survived. So I decided to become a lifeguard to give something back.
"Getting to show the Queen around the college was an incredible honour.
"She is very different from the person you see in the media.
"She asked a lot of questions from the students here and was really interested in what we do."
The residential facility, of which the queen is an honorary president, follows the International Baccalaureate and encourages its 350 students to participate in the local community.
Earlier in the day, the royal couple visited the base of International Greetings in Caerphilly, where they were shown several processes carried out by the firm, which makes gift packaging and greetings cards as well as stationery products.
The factory also produces the Christmas crackers which are used by the royal family over the festive season.
Queen Elizabeth meets tsunami survivor
