Two Cumbrian police cadets were among thousands of young people attending Buckingham Palace as part of celebrations for the Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award holders.

Natasha Ryan, 17, from the Workington Unit and Jamie O’Hare, 18, formally of the Barrow Unit before turning 18 attended the celebratory event on Monday 15 May hosted by the duke.

Both achieved their awards by volunteering as cadets with Cumbria Constabulary, which can help towards achieving a Duke of Edinburgh award.

Natasha completed her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award in March 2023.

A spokesperson from Cumbria police said: “Natasha joined the cadets to gain skills and knowledge to help her become a police officer in the future.

“Natasha also had the opportunity to speak with His Royal Highness as Duke of Edinburgh during the event.

“Jamie completed his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award in November 2022.

“Jamie joined the cadets with the aim to gain better awareness of what the police do and how they operate and help the community.

“He also learned British Sign Language.”

Citizens in Policing coordinator, Aneska Mottram, said: “We are proud of our Cadets Natasha and Jamie who were invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate achieving their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

“Natasha and Jamie have worked hard to achieve their awards, setting physical goals, learning new skills and undertaking an expedition in the Lake District.”

Speaking about her Duke of Edinburgh Award, Natasha said: “I enjoyed completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award which gave me the opportunity to learn new skills such as British Sign Language, kickboxing and camping.

“The expedition was challenging and took me out of my comfort zone but with encouragement from my team this helped me through.

“I would encourage others to complete the award and do not give up because the feeling of achievement is amazing.

“A few of my highlights were meeting Tom Cruise during the silver expedition and attending Buckingham Palace which I will never forget.” 

Speaking on his Duke of Edinburgh Award Jamie said: “It was a great honour to attend Buckingham Palace to celebrate the DofE gold award. 

“I had a great time completing the bronze, silver and gold awards, gained new skills and made new friends. 

“I would recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to complete this in the future.

"I would like to thank Cumbria police cadets and leaders for their support in helping me achieve this award."