Member of the Royal family will visit Milton Keynes later this year to formally bestow city status

It is not yet known which member of the Royal family will attend. But an announcement will be made nearer the time, says MK Council.

It was publicly announced just after midnight today that Milton Keynes was one of eight towns to be granted city status by Her Majesty the Queen as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The other towns are Bangor in Northern Ireland, Colchester, Doncaster, Douglas in the Isle of Man, Dunfermline in Scotland, Wrexham in Wales and Stanley in the Falkland Islands.

For MK, it was the fourth attempt in 21 years to win the coveted status. But this time the bid was fuelled by people power, with everyone from children to pensioners invited to play a part.

Local experts were asked to help create the 40 page application, while residents were asked to send in photographs of their favourite places in MK to illustrate it.

Schoolchildren were invited to design a ‘flag for MK’ and the winning drawing by 12-year-old Thea Callaghan from St Paul’s Catholic School was made into a flag to fly in the city centre.

MK Council then produced the application itself, without the help of consultants and external designers.

A council spokesman said said the authority was “enormously grateful” to everyone who supported it.

"Minister of State Lord True wrote to us yesterday to confirm the honour, saying we should be very proud as the standard of applications was very high. He said: “It has been truly inspiring to read the applications, and to see the sense of civic pride on display. As we celebrate the first British Monarch to reach 70 years on the throne, this competition has been a very fitting way to mark this very special occasion,” he said.

"This is a fantastic recognition for our brilliant city and people. Later this year we’ll receive a Royal visit to be formally bestowed with city status. Watch this space for more about that.”

While city status doesn’t grant any additional functions, funding, or powers, it can provide a boost to local communities and open new opportunities, as well as putting MK on the international map as a place to do business. This has been the experience of previous winners.

Leader of MK Council Pete Marland, said: “Many people have always said that Milton Keynes looks like a city, feels like a city and now we can say, it is a city. We’re thrilled with the news which validates how important Milton Keynes has become to the regional and national economies. City status will make people even prouder to call Milton Keynes their home and gives us the platform to make our great city even greater.”

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Steve Barclay said: "What was clear to me during the process of assessing each application was the pride that people felt for their communities, local cultural heritage and the Royal Family.

“As we celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s colossal contribution to society, I am thrilled that we are able to recognise some of the many places that make Britain great.”

The huge announcement comes just over a year since The MK Citizen launched a campaign to finally make Milton Keynes a city.