RIP Your Majesty: Milton Keynes will remember you with love, pride and gratitude

The Queen’s affiliation with Milton Keynes began long before the city itself was born, and when she herself was a young Princess.

In March1948, Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth visited Wolverton, the home of the famous railway works and the place where the Royal Train carriges were meticulously created.

Wolverton Works has been home of the Royal Train since 1842, when Queen Victoria was a regular visitor.

Now the deep maroon-coloured train is likely to play an important part in the upcoming funeral arrangements.

For it is expected the Royal carriages will carry the Queen's coffin on her final trip home, from Scotland to London, in readiness for her state funeral at Westminster Abbey that will be watched by mourners all over the world.

But back in 1948, the mood was far from sombre as the beautiful Princess was greeted by brilliant sunshine and cheering crowds lining the streets of Wolverton,

The purpose of the visit was to view the special new coaches that her been built for her and the Duke of Edinburgh. Though classed as a ‘private’ visit, around 5,000 people still turned out to see her and were delighted when she declared her personal soft green decorated coach to be “lovely”.

The Queen went on to visit Wolverton Works on several more occasions over the years. One such visit was on December 1976, when she went to inspect the new updated Royal Train, choosing prints of Queen Victoria's first train journeys to decorate her personal salon.

Ten years previously, on April 4 1966, it had been Newport Pagnell’s turn to receive a Royal visit.

Resident Frank Lowe recalled the occasion in a written report published by the city’s Living Archive project.

He wrote: “A buzz of excitement like a Mexican wave rippled through North Bucks. The Wolverton road through Newport Pagnell was packed with people and there was not an inch of space between shoulders. Suddenly it went quiet. The silence was deafening, and then much slower then the stillness had come, a murmur of noise began to build up again. Was the Queen coming at long last?

“No she wasn’t, it was a old brown mongrel that was leading the way. Unable to escape from the road, it ran the whole route of the parade to the cheers of the crowds.”

Mr Lowe continued: “Finally the Queen came with a cavalcade of police cars, limousines and dignitaries. The crowd, nicely rehearsed by the dog, gave a tremendous welcome to Her Majesty.

“A child, prompted by a reporter, took a tin of Heinz baked beans from her mother’s shopping basket and asked Prince Charles if he would like some baked beans! This happened in the forecourt of Aston Martin Lagonda. This sensation made headline news in all of the national newspapers.”

The Queen was visiting Aston Martin to tour their famous factory. She was presented with a perfect miniature of the James Bond Aston, specially for six-year-old Prince Andrew. The tiny car had taken 30 employees 12 weeks to build.

In 1979, the Queen and Prince Philip came to MK again, this time to open the council’s new civic offices and to tour the brand new shopping centre.

They were greeted by thousands of cheering schoolchildren, shop workers and residents in the centre, which was then officially opened a few months later by the newly-elected prime minister Margaret Thatcher. By then, the open air Queens Court had been named in Her Majesty’s honour.

On the November 29 2007, the Queen paid another visit, again accompanied by Prince Phillip, to officially open Stadium MK. It marked the 40th anniversary of Milton Keynes and was attended by a crowd of 20,000 people.

The Queen met MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman, along with the team themselves and other city VIPs.

She and and Prince Philip visited the stadium’s ballroom, which was lined with local voluntary organisations and community groups, before she unveiled the official plaque.

Four years later, in July 2011, the Queen paid a visit to Bletchley Park, Britain's most historic site of secret wartime code-breaking activities.

She unveiled a memorial to the codebreakers as a tribute to the vital role they played in World War 2.

But it was in May this year that Her Majesty bestowed the greatest honour of all upon Milton Keynes. It was an honour that will live on for centuries to come.

For after years of trying unsuccessfully to become an official city, MK was finally granted coveted status by the Queen herself as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

"City status can only be awarded once. It is forever. It is an amazing thing and something we should all celebrate. It is a good day.” said MK Council leader Pete Marland at the time.

One of the Queen’s tasks during her final weeks was to sign a document called Letters Patent for the city status to be officially recognised.

This was only just been received and, as the news of the Queen’s death broke, a celebration was in the process of being planned for next week, when the Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Countess Howe is to formally present it to MK Council.

Now, with the country still in mourning for the longest reigning monarch in British history, that celebration will be bittersweet….