Hundreds lined the streets to see The Queen on her last visit to Wirral more than a decade ago.
Over her 70-year reign, Her Majesty made four official visits to Wirral, with her most recent trip taking place back in December 2011. Her Majesty died peacefully at Balmoral on Thursday, September 8, 2022, making her Britain's longest serving monarch.
Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne after her father, King George VI died in 1952. And during her lifetime, Her Majesty made numerous visits to Merseyside.
In tribute, we take a look back at the last time The Queen visited Wirral. More than 500 people lined New Brighton’s promenade and gathered outside the Floral Pavilion theatre to catch a glimpse of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh as they inspected the £60m regeneration scheme at Marine Point, the Liverpool ECHO previously reported.
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Her Majesty unveiled a commemorative plaque and took a tour of the rebuilt Floral Pavilion Theatre. Speaking to the ECHO at the time, local councillor Pat Hackett said he hoped the "symbolism" of the Queen’s visit would finally silence those who harboured any doubts about the once controversial regeneration scheme.
The Queen was also introduced to a number of VIPs including the late veteran comedian Ken Dodd, Wallasey MP Angela Eagle and then Mayor of Wirral Moira McLaughlin. Local choir Choral Pavilion sang Siyahamba, a South African welcome song known in English as We Are Walking In The Light.
After a performance by students from St Mary’s Catholic College, there was a lunch prepared by a team of cooks led by Masterchef winner Claire Lara who described the experience as “the biggest moment” of her career. As she left the Queen was presented with a posy by nine-year old-Lucy Burdett from New Brighton Primary School.
Prior to 2011, Her Majesty had visited the region to open two major Wirral landmarks. After five years of building works, the first tube of the 1.5 mile road tunnel between Wallasey and Liverpool was opened by the Queen on June 24, 1971.
Large crowds turned out to watch the Queen’s ceremonial opening of the tunnel, which is now used by around 45,000 vehicles per day. More than a decade later, on May 4, 1982, Queen Elizabeth returned to Wirral to open the £35m Arrowe Park Hospital.
Over 3,000 people gathered outside the hospital’s main entrance to watch as the Queen and Prince Philip toured the facility and greeted hundreds of excited staff. Last month, a message on behalf of HRH was sent to Arrowe Park to commemorate 40 years since the hospital opened.
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Janelle Holmes, the Trust’s chief executive of the Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, said: “We were delighted to receive the letter from the Queen to mark our celebrations. It is an honour and a privilege to lead the team at Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust, which operates Arrowe Park Hospital.
“During the 40 years of Arrowe Park, we’ve trained thousands of doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, clinical support workers, pharmacists and midwives. We have also taken part in ground-breaking research for new drugs and techniques."
The Queen made her first visit to the region in July 1957, taking in Wallasey town hall as part of her tour of Cheshire.
Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
Following the sad news of the Queen's death on Thursday, a predesigned plan known as Operation London Bridge has now been put into place.
This sets out exactly what will happen in the coming days ahead of Her Majesty's funeral - and during the official mourning period. The day of the Queen's death is referred to as D-Day, with the coming days to be referred to as D-Day plus the number of days that have passed since her death.
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