A right royal wedding invitation for our Ross

Ross McMullan has the Royal Wedding Invitations while his mother holds his letter from the Lord Lieutenant. Included are NRC Lifeskills Tutor Oonagh Hughes, Learning Support Worker Samantha Dobbin, and Lifeskills Co-ordinator Sharon Connolly.

20-year-old Ross, who is a past pupil of Sandelford School in Coleraine, is a LifeSkills student at the College’s Ballymoney Campus and has received a prized invitation to the grounds of Windsor Castle to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

His mum Stephanie, who is going to Windsor Castle with him as his ‘plus one’ says that Ross, who is autistic, has always been an ardent Royal watcher.

“From he was no age, Ross was fascinated by the Royals. He has a huge collection of Royal memorabilia so he was absolutely thrilled to get an invitation,” she said.

When Prince Harry and Megan Markle announced that they wanted to share their special day with people “from every corner of the United Kingdom”, the nine regional Lord Lieutenants - the queen’s personal representatives in the UK - were asked to nominate people from a broad range of backgrounds and ages.

Stephanie continues: “Ross was nominated to attend the Royal Wedding by Joan Christie, Lord Lieutenant of County Antrim, who is one of the governors of Sandelford School.

“She knew all about Ross and his fundraising activities while he was at Sandelford and how he was a keen follower of the Royal Family so she realised he would be someone who would truly treasure and appreciate an invitation.

“Ross received a letter from the Lord Lieutenant’s office last month asking him to confirm if he could attend on May 19 and just this week, his official invitation arrived in the post.”