Medieval marriage proposal sweeps Lady Lauren off her feet by Laura Vickers
They might have met through an Internet chat room, but the way in which Philip Hawkins proposed to his bride-to-be was positively medieval.
The Erdington couple have a passion for all things past, so when Philip decided to ask Lauren Daniels to marry him, there was only one way to do it-on horseback with a squire and herald in tow.
"Philip had been acting very suspiciously" said Lauren, who celebrated her 47th birthday on the day her fiance popped the question.
"He had been coming home from work late a lot. All he would tell me was that on my birthday everyone would realise how much he loved me."
Last Saturday (October, 16) all became clear.
"I was just sitting at home," explained Lauren.
"Philip had left the house early and I had asked him to pick up some black bin bags. "All of a sudden I could hear a fanfare outside. I looked out of the window and people in medieval dress were coming across the green."
Philip, like all good knights in shining armour, had spent weeks planning this romantic moment with The Knights of Middle England, specialists in medieval re-enactment.
He had even travelled to Warwick to meet the horse that would take him to Lauren's door.
"Drummer was a 17-hand high horse and I was pretty terrified," he admitted.
"But all the local children rushed out and Fed him apples and he was as good as gold." But Lauren didn't behave quite so well. "I was rooted to the spot," she explained. "I didn't know what was happening.
The herald was calling 'Sir Philip of Leamore requests an audience with Lady Lauren of Bromford'.
"My son had to push me out of the front door."
But when Philip got down on one knee there was only thing Lauren could say. Thankfully it was 'yes'.
But there was still one surprise in store.
"Twenty minutes later I heard the fanfare again," Lauren added.
"I went outside and the herald was back. He said ' We have been on a quest to get the black bin bags from the shops...."
