Britain’s most decorated female Olympian, Dame Katherine Grainger, will be the guest of honour at a Commonwealth lunch in Bisham this month.

The Maidenhead resident and lifetime member of Marlow Rowing Club will join guests, including dignitaries and schoolchildren, at the Commonwealth Big Lunch on April 19 at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, in Marlow Road.

Organisers say Commonwealth Big Lunches are a special initiative from the Eden Project and the Government to “celebrate our shared values across the Commonwealth”, and to “showcase its diversity, culture and shared sporting heritage”.

The lunch will also celebrate the role Bisham Abbey has had in preparing athletes across the home nations to compete at the Commonwealth Games.

The event is part of the official celebrations surrounding the Commonwealth heads of government meeting, taking place in the UK between April 16 and 20, in which in which leaders from across the 53 Commonwealth countries come together to address shared global challenges.

Dame Katherine said: “Commonwealth Big Lunches are a great chance for people to come together and celebrate the Commonwealth and its 53 member nations.

“Bisham Abbey is the perfect venue for an event of this kind, with its excellent blend of community sports facilities and history of producing elite athletes across a multitude of different sporting disciplines.”

Those attending the event will be able to hear speeches from Dame Katherine and Charles Johnston, director of property at Sport England.

Mr Johnston said: “We are delighted to be hosting a Commonwealth Big Lunch at Bisham Abbey.

“I’m pleased to be able to share this celebration with so many of Sport England’s friends and colleagues from the area, along with children and young people from local schools, here at one of the country’s finest national sports centres.

“I would also like to pay tribute to the wider Bisham community for their continued support.”