The Queen pictured at her first Women's Institute meeting to celebrate centenary

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Queen Elizabeth II pictured visiting Sandringham Women's Institute
She still meets with group for afternoon tea at West Newton Village Hall
Described by fellow members as just 'one of us'

Published: 06:48 EST, 16 September 2015 | Updated: 08:48 EST, 16 September 2015

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A photograph of Queen Elizabeth II attending her first Women's Institute meeting in 1953 has been released as the organisation celebrates its centenary today.

In the slightly blurred black and white image Her Majesty is seen laughing with three fellow group members as they enjoy afternoon tea at West Newton Village Hall. The Queen is president of the Sandringham branch.

A fellow associate said the 89-year-old monarch becomes 'one of us' when she attends the get togethers and is partial to a slice of ginger bread.

The Queen is pictured laughing with three Women's Institute members as they enjoy afternoon tea at West Newton Village Hall in 1953

Yvonne Browne, 65, chair of the Sandringham WI, who has been a member since 1991, said: 'It really is unique, I can't imagine in any other country that a Queen would join local women for an afternoon in this way.

'You have to pinch yourself sometimes, but actually it is a very relaxed and jolly atmosphere and just like any other monthly meeting when she is here.

'She just becomes one of us and I think she really enjoys it.'

After the meeting the Queen takes tea with three women from the group, which has around 30 members.

The Queen sparked laughter at the WI AGM in June when she struggled to cut through the tough icing of a celebration fruit cake. She was joined by the Princess Royal and the Countess of Wessex

Mrs Browne laughed: 'We don't have fancy tea, it's just any old tea bag that we have in the cupboard but we always make sure she has ginger bread with it because we think that is her favourite.'

Britain's largest voluntary organisation prides itself on being open to women of all backgrounds since its inception 100 years ago, and the women of the Royal Family are no exception.

Queens, princesses and duchesses have a unique tradition of joining in with the 'jam and Jerusalem' of the WI, beginning with Queen Mary's request to start a group close to the Sandringham estate at the end of the First World War.

Her desire to engage with local women has been passed down through the generations, with the Queen Mother later becoming the President of the Sandringham WI - a position now held by the Queen.

The Duchess of Cambridge sparked excitement earlier this year when she hinted she would be the latest generation to join the organisation.

While a letter expressing an interest in joining her local Anmer group has yet to be followed up, her inquiry comes at a time when the WI is experiencing a resurgence in popularity among younger women. In 2015 nearly 1,000 people a week have signed up.

Women's Institute members The Queen, Princess Royal and the Countess of Wessex attend the organisation's annual meeting in June

Members of the Women's Institute set up a food and flower stall in Saffron Walden market in the 1930s

A member of the Women's Institute is pictured using a wartime hand sealing machine while packaging food

Jana Osborne, the general secretary for the National Federation of Women's Institutes, insists there has been no need for a reinvention 100 years on but a natural change in society has made the organisation relevant to women again.

Born out of the First World War war effort, with a mandate for revitalising the rural communities and encouraging women to become more involved in producing food, it quickly grew into a force for social change and source of friendship and support for women.

After peaking in 1954 with around 467,000 members, the WI suffered a nose-dive in membership which continued in to the turn of the century.

Ms Osborne blames the 'greedy years' of the 80s and 90s for the drastic fall in membership.

Ahead of the anniversary today, she said: 'I came at a time in the 80s when we were really haemorrhaging members, 20,000 to 30,000 a year. Now we are slowly growing again.

The Queen greets fellow members of the Women's Institute at the organisation's AGM in June

An iced fruitcake is presented to the Queen to mark 100 years of the Women's Institute

'I believe it is to do with the way life was. It was quite a greedy period when property and money was very important. The community didn't matter that much that much and the WI was a bit of an old-fashioned concept.

'It was never a case of having to reinvent ourselves as an organisation. I just think now there is a change of view of how we live and our connection with society, it's not only about our material possessions and we relate to each other more.

'I think women are discovering the sort of old values of community involvement and a lot of young women who are joining because they have heard about our campaigns but once they join they want to learn those old fashioned skills of knitting, cooking or dress making and introduce their own modern twist.'

Now, she said, is a 'wonderful time' for the WI, with 212,000 members in over 6,600 groups across Britain - including 22,400 new members and 62 new groups in 2015 so far.

Meanwhile the Queen sparked laughter at the WI AGM in June when she struggled to cut through the tough icing of a celebration fruit cake.

She was joined by the Princess Royal and the Countess of Wessex, who are also both members of the WI along with the Duchess of Cornwall.

Women's Institute members protest about climate change in front of the Houses of Parliament in 2014

It's not all tea and cake! Key dates in 100 years of the Women's Institute

The WI has a long tradition of campaigning on a wide range of issues over the past 100 years. Here are some of the key events in its history:

1915: The first WI in Britain is formed to encourage country women to grow and preserve food during the First World War.

1920: The AGM passed a resolution urging the Government to pass a Bill to improve the rights of illegitimate children and their parents

1924: Jerusalem is first sung at the annual general meeting, marking the WI's links with the wider women's movement.

1940: During the Second World War, the ministry of food allocated sugar to WI preservation centres in order to jam and can food which would otherwise go to waste.

1943: Almost 30 years before the law changed, a resolution from Bures WI in West Suffolk demanding equal pay for equal work was passed at the AGM

1950: A resolution passed at the AGM urging that hospitals allow parents to visit children

1954: The Keep Britain Tidy group is formed following the WI's call for a national anti-litter campaign.

1972: WI members pass a resolution urging the Government to make it mandatory for all local authorities to provide a full and free family-planning service.

1979: Members at the AGM vote to support doorstep milk deliveries.

1986: This year's AGM sees members vote for more public information to be made available about HIV and Aids.

1993: The WI becomes a founding member of the Fair Trade Foundation.

2000: The Calendar Girls launch their now famous nude calendar in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, shaking up the public perception of the WI.

2001: The volunteer hours survey of 1,000 WIs reveals that members devote 3,477,312 hours to voluntary work every year.

2012: The WI launched a campaign for More Midwives.

2015: The Queen spoke at the WI's Annual Meeting at the Royal Albert Hall to mark the Centenary.