Hesta Knight

Hesta Knight, a close friend of the Queen Mother, has died aged 80.

Mrs Knight fractured her skull in a fall at her home at Lockinge Manor, near Wantage. She was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, where she later died.

The Queen Mother was among the mourners at her funeral at the weekend.

Mrs Knight was a former chairman of Wantage magistrates and also represented Ardington on Wantage Rural District Council for 15 years until she retired in 1962. She was also president of Wantage Hospital League of Friends.

The chairman of the league, Kathleen Hawkey, said: "She was an extraordinarily good person and a very great help to me and the league of friends.

"We will miss her greatly."

Mrs Knight was the mother of Henrietta Knight, who trains racehorses at West Lockinge, near Wantage.

Mrs Knight was a major influence on her daughter's career as a trainer, and her death came on a day when she scored a hat-trick of winners at Kempton racecourse.