Trio Meet Queen

Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe, and Glen Johnson all skipped training on Thursday morning - but there was a good excuse!

The trio all met Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as the Queen officially opened the Dr. Martens Stand by pulling a cord in the main entrance.

They then returned to Chadwell Heath to 'catch up' ahead of Saturday's final game of the season against Bolton Wanderers.

It was appropriate that the future of English football attended the ceremony on the day Joe learned that he was going to Japan and South Korea for the World Cup finals this summer.

The players attended a private reception with the chairman, Terry Brown, and other dignitaries from various east London boroughs as the Queen continued her tour of the country with a visit to the area.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had lunch at the club and signed the visitors' book for the club museum before going to Eastbury Manor House in Barking on the next stage of the tour.

Managing Director Paul Aldridge's daughter Lucy presented the Queen with a posy of flowers, and as the Queen departed the Royal Standard was lowered from the left turret.