Elizabeth II remembered in the south of England

Following the death of The Queen – the only monarch that most of us have ever known – we look back at some of her special connections to the south of England and notable recent visits.

She was a 21-year-old princess when she married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten on 20 November 1947, five years before she became Queen.

The couple spent their honeymoon at Broadlands in Romsey.

The Queen and Prince Philip revisited Broadlands to mark their Diamond Wedding Anniversary in November 2007.

A notable visit to the Isle of Wight came in 2012, with the Duke of Edinburgh, as the final stop of her Diamond Jubilee tour of the country.

The couple arrived at Cowes on the motor yacht, Leander, and were greeted by a spectacular crowd.

They also received a 21-gun salute, fired from the Royal Yacht Squadron.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in October 2005, the Queen visited Portsmouth’s Royal Naval Dockyard, where she lit the first of a series of Trafalgar Beacons.

She and the duke dined onboard Victory, Lord Nelson’s flagship – it was the first time a reigning monarch had done so.

In 2015, Southampton hosted the Queen for the official naming ceremony of luxury cruise ship, Britannia.

She previously christened the Royal Yacht Britannia and four cruise ships; Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), Oriana, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth.

She also marked the 55th anniversary of her coronation by waving off the QE2 in Southampton in 2008.

In 2017, she attended the commissioning ceremony of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth – the largest warship ever built by the Royal Navy.

A giant cake modelled on the warship was also presented.

The Queen’s most recent visit to the city was in June 2019, when she was joined by 16 world leaders, including then US President Donald Trump, to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

She told the crowd: “When I attended the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, some thought it might be the last such event. But the wartime generation, my generation, is resilient.”

In 2020, the couple marked their 73rd wedding anniversary at Windsor Castle where they had been living during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Queen’s home and working palace in Berkshire has seen royal couples wed, events and ceremonies held, and thousands of visitors welcomed.

After the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, her first official engagement in person was in the grounds of the castle in July, when she knighted Captain Tom, following his NHS fundraising triumph.

The Queen also led tributes after the 100-year-old died with coronavirus, “recognising the inspiration he provided for the whole nation and others across the world”.

Known for her love of horse racing, the Queen enjoyed many winners at Royal Ascot, which has been a royal occasion since 1911. Her first was Choir Boy, which won the Royal Hunt Cup in 1952.

The annual Royal Windsor Horse Show in the castle’s grounds was also a highlight of the Queen’s calendar.

After she officially opened Reading Railway Station’s upgrade in 2014, the Queen posed for a striking group photograph with Network Rail construction workers.

She had first visited the station in April 1989 to officially unveil a £20m redevelopment.

She distributed Maundy money to 87 men and 87 women from Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to mark the her 87 years of age.

A trip to Banbury will be remembered by many in 2008.

His Royal Highness toured Prodrive, the motorsport and advanced technology firm, while Her Majesty visited the Leonard Cheshire charity.

But the visit was not without incident – a man was arrested for running out into the path of the royal entourage.

She was greeted by hundreds of people during the visit as she toured the new galleries.

Along with the duke, she was first greeted in the town by 60 World War II veterans and local sea cadets.

Later in the day, three-year-old Jasmine Shaw presented her with a 17-inch long red, white and blue stick of rock, reading Bournemouth.

The visit also included the opening of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s Poole training centre.

Thousands of people lined the beach for the first visit by a reigning monarch for more than 300 years.

During a walkabout, they viewed traditional seaside activities as well as a specially-made sandcastle shaped like Windsor Castle.

Hundreds of people braved the weather to welcome the royal couple when they arrived at Sherborne by train.

They met schoolchildren at a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in a marquee on the lawn outside Sherborne Abbey.

The 9ft 6in (3m) bronze statue by sculptor Philip Jackson stands in the square of the Poundbury urban development on the edge of Dorchester.

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