A NEWPORT brownie and her mum have spent the day at Buckingham Palace with the Queen, the Countess of Wessex and tennis star Laura Robson during a birthday party for the brownies.

Millie Leadley, nine, from 16 Newport West Brownies and her mum Alexandra went to a tea party on the Palace lawns as they celebrated 100 years since the Brownies was formed.

During the day, the 50 Brownies selected to attend from a prize draw played giant Jenga, tennis and giant Connect Four and enjoyed a special cake with brownie figures iced onto the topping.

Tennis ace Laura Robson brought the Wimbledon fun to the party, inspiring Millie with her tennis tips.

Alexandra Leadley said: “Millie is very creative and enjoys all the different arty activities at Brownies. Her brown owl is great fun and they have a good rapport which she has never had with her school teachers, so I think she finds her time at brownies a very happy space where she is free to be herself.”

Millie said: “I love all the different crafts that we do at brownies, learning about star constellations and playing with my friends!”

During the day, Millie and her mum had the chance to meet Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, who is president of the Brownies and hosted the tea party.

A spokeswoman for Girlguiding said: “This year girls are celebrating The Big Brownie Birthday by tackling challenges big and small – from carrying out acts of kindness to taking on rafting, rock-climbing and zip wiring and raising awareness of issues affecting girls in the UK and worldwide.

“As the UK’s leading charity for girls and young women – Girlguiding wants to inspire more girls with the confidence to take part in sport.”

The 2013 Girls’ Attitudes Survey found that 41 per cent of girls aged 11 to 21 are being put off playing sport because they feel embarrassed wearing schools sports kit.