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

The Maidenhead resident and lifetime member of Marlow Rowing Club joined guests, including dignitaries and schoolchildren, at the Commonwealth Big Lunch yesterday (Thursday) at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre, in Marlow Road.

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

The lunch also celebrated 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.”