THE Queen has appointed Mrs Anne Maw as Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Somerset.

She will succeed Lady Gass when she retires on March 2, 2015.

Annie Maw, 67, was a State Registered Nurse who trained at Westminster Hospital.

Since 1999 she has been a guide in Wells Cathedral.

In 2002 she had a riding accident resulting in paraplegia.

Despite life in a wheelchair, in 2008 she was High Sheriff of Somerset after which she chaired the Somerset Crimebeat Trust for one year.

She is a trustee of charities supporting young athletes in Somerset; supporting those with disabilities; and specifically supporting those with spinal injuries in the West Country.

She is a Director and Council Member of the Royal Bath and West Society; Vice-President of the Friends of Wells Cathedral; and particularly close to her heart, she is Chancellor of the Children’s University of Somerset.

Mrs Maw and her husband, Richard, ‘Dickie’ live near Shepton Mallet having formerly lived in the Chew Valley for many years.

They have three children and five grandchildren.