THE incoming High Sheriff of Shropshire has promised to 'sprinkle stardust' as part of her new role.

Dean Harris was officially welcomed by Her Majesty the Queen at a traditional ceremony in Buckingham Palace last week.

The ancient ‘pricking’ ceremony is an annual tradition in which Her Majesty hand pricks the names of the incoming High Sheriffs onto parchment roll using a royal silver bodkin — with Mrs Harris of Berrington officially taking on the role from April 2020 to March 2021.

On April 3, Mrs Harris will make her official declaration in accordance with the 1887 Sheriffs Act and will then subsequently take office.

The office of High Sheriff is an independent, non-political, royal appointment for a single year.

It is the oldest continuous secular office under the crown, and can be traced back more than 1,000 years.

After her appointment, Mrs Harris says she hopes she can do the role justice.

She said: “It’s a great honour and a privilege to have been chosen to serve as Shropshire’s High Sheriff for the year 2020-21. In no way do I underestimate the demands and challenges of the year ahead and I hope to do justice to the role.

“I’m taking over from Dr Josh Dixey, who has absolutely done the role proud over the last year. I will be making my declaration in the presence of His Honour Judge Barrie and His Honour Judge Lowe.

"I’m also very grateful to be supported by my husband Mark, my Under Sheriff Madeleine Butcher and my Chaplain, Reverend Matthew Stafford.

“I’m hugely excited about the opportunities ahead of me and am very much looking forward to bringing people together to make a real and positive difference in and around our wonderful county. I recognise that I’m an ordinary person with a unique and extraordinary opportunity.

“As I was told at the start of my shrieval journey, ‘you will have stardust for 12 months’ and I fully intend on sprinkling it!”