THE Queen may be marking 60 years on the throne this year but one Chester couple are celebrating a diamond anniversary of their own.

Earlier this month, Leonard and Betty Holland, from Curzon Park, celebrated 60 years of marriage with a champagne breakfast on a Mediterranean cruise off the Adriatic Coast. Their diamond toast was topped off by a congratulations card from the Queen herself.

The couple, who have three children and six grandchildren, married at St Mary’s Without the Walls Church, Handbridge, on May 3, 1952, after being introduced by a mutual friend at a party, and since then have enjoyed more than six decades of wedded bliss.

Mr Holland, 86, a former administrative manager for a brewery, said the secret to a long marriage is a mutual love of doing things together.

“Betty and I have always done things together, we’ve been lucky enough to travel extensively and we both love meeting new people,” he explained. “We’ve always taken a very laid back approach to life and just gone with the flow.

“Another secret is always knowing my place!”

To mark their special milestone while they were on their cruise, Leonard and Betty’s children arranged for them to be presented with a champagne breakfast by the ship’s crew, along with the card from the Queen.

“It was absolutely wonderful, we had no idea what was going on and we were absolutely thrilled,” said Leonard.