did the queen visit bradford

A look back at Her Majesty the Queen's incredible visits to Yorkshire

The Queen visited a number of towns and cities across Yorkshire during her remarkable reign

• 05:00, 9 SEP 2022
• Updated 06:32, 8 SEP 2023

During her time on the throne, Her Majesty the Queen attended countless public engagements, visiting towns and cities across the globe.

Her Majesty made many visits to Yorkshire during her 70-year reign. Her first visit to the county was in July of 1949 shortly after her wedding to Prince Philip. She began a three day tour of the West Riding where 50,000 people gathered to welcome Her Majesty at Roundhay Park.

The visits continued over the years and she returned for many openings, centenaries and anniversaries. Here we take a look back at the visits Queen Elizabeth II paid to our region.

Read more: King Charles marks first anniversary of the Queen's death by paying touching tribute and releasing favourite photo

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The Queen visited Doncaster in 1953 during her Coronation year. She was accompanied by then Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. During her visit she attended Doncaster Racecourse and was also welcomed at York Racecourse and the Harewood Horse Trials.

The Royal Family were no strangers to the Great Yorkshire Show. On three occasions, The Queen visited the show in Harrogate. The first occasion was during her 1977 Silver Jubilee year.

It was during her visit to the show in 1977 that she went on to make a number of appearances across the county visiting York, Hull, Wakefield and Leeds where she made a special visit to Elland Road Stadium to watch a Youth Festival in her honour with 40,000 people. Most recently, the Queen made a visit 12 years ago on the show's 150th anniversary.

Being the Monarch, Queen Elizabeth was in attendance at a number of major openings often seen up and down the country. In Yorkshire, The Queen officiated the 900th anniversary of Selby Abbey in 1969 and the opening of the Humber Bridge in 1981 - in which she distributed the Royal Maundy money seven times.

Starting in 1949 the Queen made her first visit to Huddersfield, along with her husband Prince Philip they visited Ramsden Street and then in 1990 the Queen visited again to open a rugby club. In 2007 crowds met her again in St George's Square.

In 1950, The Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, visited Beverly Minster. Her Majesty later returned on July 12, 2002 and attended a service at Beverley Minster and visited the racecourse.

On April 4, 1985, The Queen met with the Lord Mayor of Harrogate for a walk along Station Parade. The day after she visited Fountains Abbey, no stranger to Royals as the Queen Mother would often visit these historic, ancient ruins.

In 1993 she visited Hull to board the Royal Yacht Britannia which arrived in King George Dock during her visit. In June of 1999 the Queen made another trip to Hull, arriving at Paragon Station to be greeted by the Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Richard Marriott.

The people of Bradford were witness to Royal visits from the beginning of her reign right until her Diamond Jubilee. Often crowds would gather in the city's Centenary Square, the first occasion was just a year-and-a-half into her reign.

18 months after her coronation on Thursday, October 28, 1954, the Queen visited Bradford as part of a nationwide tour which followed months of state visits to Commonwealth countries. This was Bradford's first Royal visit since 1942 when King George VI Queen Elizabeth toured the city in the wartime.

The Queen also visited the cricket ground at Bradford Park Avenue, and was sang to by 30,000 school children. She and Prince Philip returned on November 12, 1974 to officially open the city's police headquarters.

On March 27 - 1997 - with Prince Philip - the Queen visited for a third time for the centenary of Bradford's royal charter, she distributed Maundy money and visited Centenary Square to unveil a plaque and pay respects at the Bradford City fire memorial.

Their fourth visit came on May 24, 2007 when the Queen and Prince Philip returned again to Centenary Square, arriving at Bradford Interchange where they were introduced to Yorkshire dignitaries with hundreds of cheering people. She was given flowers by the daughter of murdered Bradford policewoman Sharon Beshenivsky.

On July 19, 2012 Saltaire was draped with red, white and blue when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the World Heritage Site as part of their Diamond Jubilee tour of the nation. Her Majesty also visited South Yorkshire a number of times. In October of 1954 she and Prince Philip visited Sheffield to attend schools and walk the streets to greet the people, only a couple of years after she was crowned Queen. In 1975 during a Royal tour, The Queen opened Barnsley's new markets and visited Cannon Hall.

In 2010, Her Majesty was back in Sheffield watching a 3D display at the University of Sheffield Research Centre. She and Philip returned again in 2015 to attend an Easter Service, once again handing out Maundy Money.

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Look back: When the Queen visited Bradford

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Post: Platinum record: Bradford Museums and Galleries’ Jubilee displays

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Platinum record: Bradford Museums and Galleries’ Jubilee displays

To celebrate the platinum jubilee of queen elizabeth ii, bradford district museums and galleries have put together four displays across their sites using objects in their collection and photos from bradford district photo archive. photo archivist john ashton and assistant curator of collections dr lauren padgett have put together an online version of some aspects of the displays..

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her platinum jubilee, having reigned for 70 years. Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning and longest lived monarch in Britain’s history. To celebrate this historic milestone, a bank holiday from the 2 nd to 5 th of June 2022 was declared for four days of public events and community activities. 

To celebrate the platinum jubilee, Bradford District Museums and Galleries have jubilee displays across their sites using collection objects and photographs. At Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, find out about the televised coronation. Discover nursery rhymes with royal connections at Bolling Hall Museum. At Cliffe Castle Museum and Bradford Industrial Museum, learn about Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and royal visits to Bradford District, and see a range of coronation souvenirs, from tins to tea towels and table cloths, mugs to magazines, a jigsaw puzzle to pencils.

Coronation Collecting

Here are some examples of objects in our collection relating to the coronation and royal visits with links to the Bradford District:

Visitor Book

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, visited Bradford in 1954. They went to Perseverance Mills at Dudley Hill to meet employees of J. Cawthra & Company Limited, a worsted textiles manufacturer. Her Majesty and his Royal Highness signed a specially-made visitor book to commemorate the visit. 

Certificate and Invitation

This certificate was presented by the Yorkshire Observer, in celebration of the coronation year, to Miss M. B. Williams for her 40 years’ service as an employee of John Priestman and Co. Ltd, a Bradford worsted spinning and manufacturing company. Miss Williams was also invited to a presentation lunch in the canteen on the 3 rd of July 1953.

Keighley Coronation Programme

This is the official programme for the coronation celebrations that took place in Keighley in 1953. It details the different events that took place, such as processions and performances. 

Oil painting

On display at Cliffe Castle Museum is this oil painting by William D. Dring shows ‘Princess Elizabeth Receiving the Freedom of the City of London from the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Bracewell Smith’ on the 11 th of June 1947.

Bracewell Smith was born in Keighley in 1884. After attending Wesley Place Primary School in Keighley, he became a pupil teacher before attending Leeds University. Smith went into the property business, owning and having shares in London hotels. He entered politics in 1922, becoming Sheriff of the City of London in 1943, then Lord Mayor of London in 1946. He presented the freedom of the City of London to Princess Elizabeth in 1947. In February 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II when her father, King George VI, died. Her official coronation took place on the 2 nd of June 1953.

In 1950, Bracewell Smith bought the Cliffe Castle estate for Keighley Corporation for the sum of £18,000. The grounds were opened up as a public park but the house, in a state of disrepair and suffering from dry-rot, needed extensive work. Bracewell Smith donated £50,000 for the renovation costs in 1955. The building opened as Cliffe Castle Museum on the 14 th of April 1959 ‘for use as a museum and art gallery to be enjoyed in perpetuity by the citizens of his native town’. He died in 1966.  The octagonal hall within Cliffe Castle Museum is named the Bracewell Smith Hall in his honour.

Royal Visits to the Bradford District

Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Royal family have visited the Bradford District. On Thursday 28 th October 28 1954, nearly 18 months after her Coronation at Westminster Abbey, Queen Elizabeth II made visit to Bradford with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. Among the people in town that Thursday was 17-year-old David Hockney. In 1954 he was in his second year at Bradford Art College.

Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Royal family have visited the Bradford District. On Thursday 28 th October 1954, Queen Elizabeth II made a royal visit to Bradford with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. Amongst the people in Bradford to catch a glimpse of the Queen that day was 17-year-old David Hockney, in his second year at Bradford Art College. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Bradford (Park Avenue) cricket ground where they heard 30,000 school children sing. They then visited Perseverance Mills, Dudley Hill, where several hundred millworkers welcomed them. This visit was part of a nationwide tour, followed by state visits lasting nearly six months to 11 Empire and Commonwealth countries.

In 1974, Queen Elizabeth II came to Bradford again to unveil a plaque to open the new Civic Precinct and visit the Odeon cinema, greeting well-wishers outside City Hall. Queen Elizabeth II returned in 1997 when Bradford was celebrating the centenary of receiving a Royal Charter to become a city. During this visit she unveiled a plaque in the new Centenary Square and visited Valley Parade football stadium. There was another visit in 2007 and one in 2012 as part of her diamond jubilee tour when she visited Saltaire.

Here is a sneaky peek at some of the photographs in Bradford District Photo Archive which illustrate the jubilee displays. There are two collections relating to Queen Elizabeth II. The C H Wood collection has photos of places in Bradford decorated for local coronation celebrations in 1953, while the newly-acquired Barrie Rawlinson collection has photographs of Queen Elizabeth II during her visits to Bradford in 1954 and 1974.

To see more information, photographs and objects relating to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and royal visit, please visit the jubilee displays across our sites. Information about the displays can be found on our What’s On page: https://bradfordmuseums.org/whats-on/

To see more photographs from the Bradford District Museums’ Photo Archive, visit: https://photos.bradfordmuseums.org/ .

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King Charles III visits Bradford and Leeds ahead of trip to York and Doncaster

• Tuesday 8 November 2022 at 9:31pm

Follow the latest updates as King Charles III spends two days in Yorkshire, visiting four of the county's cities, including its newest.

That's it from the first day of the King's visit to Yorkshire.

Where will the King be on Wednesday?

The King will be joined by Camilla, the Queen Consort, when he visits York and Doncaster on Thursday.

Starting the day in York, Their Majesties will be welcomed with a special ceremony. The ceremony, which sees the monarch enter the city, was last carried out in 2012 when Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh entered the city to attend the Maundy Service at York Minster.

The King and Queen Consort will then attend a short service at York Minster. They will be welcomed by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell. His Majesty will unveil a statute of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

From there, Their Majesties will travel to Yorkshire's newest city, Doncaster, to officially confer the city status granted by the King's late mother, Queen Elizabeth. The King will make a short speech. After the ceremony, Their Majesties will attend a reception in the Mansion House banquet hall.

Road closures in York

The King and Queen Consort will arrive in York late morning on Wednesday and depart early afternoon.

The following roads are affected: Micklegate Bar, Priory Lane, Trinity Lane, Barker Lane and St Martin Lane (9.30am-11.30am); routes around Tadcaster Road will be closed as the King and Queen Consort enter the city around 10.30am; Duncombe Place (9.30am-1pm); routes along the A19 will be affected by temporary road closures for around 10-15minutes as the King and Queen Consort leave York in the early afternoon.

Barriers have been installed at Micklegate Bar and Duncombe Place on Tuesday.

A kiss from the King

The King greeted one of the artists at an exhibition in Leeds with a kiss on both cheeks.

Fiona Compton was taking part in the Worlds Re-imagined Globes project, which explains Britain's role in slavery. The St Lucian artist and historian, showed him her Palace of the Peacock design which pays homage to enslaved women who used poison to resist slavery.

"She's my goddaughter," the King told his host.

Afterwards, she told reporters that the King was ready to discuss Britain's role in the slave trade.

Ms Compton, whose father was prime minister of St Lucia, said: "It's an ongoing conversation, he says he is ready to speak on it.

"He is ready to have these conversations and see what work can be done.<

"We are not talking about reparations, this is not solely something for the British monarchy [to talk about], this is for the British people to have the conversations.

"He agrees, this is British history, it should not be hidden."

His Majesty meets the mascot

While in Leeds, King Charles met Ted – a mascot of the Child Friendly Leeds initiative. The King unveiled a plaque marking 10 years of the initiative, which aims to promote the interests of children in the city.

After his visit to the library and art gallery, the King travelled to the head office of Leeds Building Society to meet representatives from the city's financial sector. His Majesty was due to unveil a plaque.

'My mum couldn't make it, so she told me to FaceTime her'

People gathered outside the Leeds Art Gallery said it was an honour to see the King in the city. But one woman told us she was sent by her mother to witness the event as she couldn't be there in person.

King departs

The King has left Leeds Art Gallery and is on his way to Leeds Building Society for his final engagement of the day.

A small crowd waved him on his way.

Phones at the ready! The King arrives in Leeds

Hundreds of people gathered outside the library and art gallery to catch a glimpse of the King arriving, with many trying to film the moment on their mobile phones. His Majesty greeted some of the public before climbing the gallery's steps.

Crowds outside Leeds Town Art Gallery

After leaving Bradford, the King's next engagement is at Leeds Central Library and Art Gallery. He is viewing The World Reimagined Globes, part of a national project to explore the history and impact of the Transatlantic slave trade.

He will also meet young achievers and will be introduced to  members of the Jamaican and West Indian community and will tour the Jamaica Society Leeds’ Rebellion to Romance exhibition. 

King meets Queen of the ring

Among those to meet the King at a reception for young leaders in Bradford was Safiyyah Syeed. The 21-year-old has been nicknamed the 'Hijabi boxer' as one of a small number of Muslim fighters to wear a headscarf in the ring.

More pictures from Morrisons

There was a huge turnout from staff as the King visited the Morrisons headquarters in Bradford earlier, where he unveiled a plaque commemorating the occasion.

His Majesty was given a rapturous welcome as he walked through the doors.

The King has arrived!

King Charles is greeted by cheering crowds as he arrives in Centenary Square in Bradford.

'I'll always tell my two girls the story'

Some of the crowd gathered in Bradford's Centenary Square have been telling us of their excitement at the prospect of seeing the King.

Monarch at Morrisons

The King's first engagement of the day in Bradford was at the headquarters of supermarket giant Morrisons.

He met people from the company's farming, community, sustainability and apprenticeship programmes and spoke to butchers, bakers and fishmongers.

Brass meets bhangra

An authentic Bradford welcome awaits the King in Centenary Square with a musical medley from the City of Bradford Brass Band and the Punjabi Roots Academy bhangra group. Upon departure, the City Hall bells will play On Ilkley Moor Bah t’At.

More pictures from Centenary Square in Bradford

Crowds line Bradford Centenary Square

Crowds are lining Centenary Square in Bradford, where the red carpet has been rolled out ahead of the King's imminent arrival.

Vicki Smith, who is in the square for ITV News, said: "The red carpet is out and the gloomy weather hasn't put off the crowds who want to greet the King on his first visit to Yorkshire since becoming monarch.

"The Union flag bunting is out, along with hundreds of people who have come to the square early in the hope of a good view of Charles."

Brass and bhangra

The King will be given an authentic Bradford welcome when he arrives in the city, with a combination of brass and bhangra music. And it looks like the performers are buzzing at the prospect.

Red carpet rolled out

Preparations are well underway at City Hall in Bradford, where the red carpet has been rolled out ready for the King's arrival, expected around lunchtime.

'People welcome'

Leeds City Council says people are welcome to greet the King as he arrives on The Headrow at Victoria Gardens in the city centre. He will view The World Reimagined Globes, part of a national project to explore the history and impact of the Transatlantic slave trade.

His Majesty will then meet young achievers and will be introduced to  members of the Jamaican and West Indian community and will tour the Jamaica Society Leeds’ Rebellion to Romance exhibition. 

The King is expected to arrive mid afternoon.

When was the last time Charles visited Yorkshire?

The King last came to Yorkshire as Prince Charles, with Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, to attend the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate in July 2021.

Excitement in schools

School children are among those invited to meet the King.

Star Academies, which runs three schools in Bradford, said pupils and staff were "honoured" to have been asked to welcome His Majesty.

Disruption expected

Bradford City Council is warning that there will be disruption in the city centre between around 11am and 3pm as roads are closed for security reasons.

Some bus services will also be affected. More information can be found  here .

The council says "all are invited" to Centenary Square to welcome the King.

Which locations are on the King's itinerary?

The King begins his visit in Bradford this morning, before travelling to Leeds. He will fulfil two official engagements in each city. On Wednesday he will be joined by Camilla, the Queen Consort, as he visits York and Doncaster, where he will formally confer the city status granted by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth.

You can find details of the full itinerary here .

'Terrific honour'

In Bradford, Charles will visit the headquarters of supermarket Morrisons, before heading to Centenary Square, where he will be greeted by performances from the City of Bradford Brass Band and Punjabi Roots Academy.

It is the first time Charles will have been to the city since 2010.

Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Martin Love, said: "It is a terrific honour for Bradford to be among the first places that our new King will visit.

“We are looking forward to showing off our great city and introducing King Charles to some of the exceptional people from across our district.  

“We are a young, diverse, vibrant and very welcoming place and I am certain that our Royal guest will be impressed and will have an enjoyable time.”

What's the weather like for the King's visit?

On Tuesday it will be fine with sunny spells at first, but there will be a mix of sunshine and blustery showers later. Showers may be heavy and thundery in places, perhaps with more prolonged rain developing. Maximum temperature: 13C.

Here is Kerrie Gosney with the early forecast:

On the latest episode of the ITV News podcast Royal Rota, Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson discuss Prince Harry's memoir and just what happened with King Charles and COP27.

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Home › Retrospective › When The Queen came to Bradford City

When The Queen came to Bradford City

By Width of a Post on September 12, 2022 • ( 1 )

By Mark Neale

“Did you realise we have had a Queen, a King and two Prime Ministers since Bradford City last won a game?”

I received the above quip from a non-City supporting relative shortly after the Queen’s death and it immediately made me recall the visit to Valley Parade by Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip on Thursday March 27 1997.

The visit marked the Centenary of Bradford’s royal charter as a city and it was her third visit to Bradford but her first to Valley Parade.

She arrived at Bradford Forster Square station on the Royal train and first visited the Cathedral to distribute Maundy Money before walking to the newly named Centenary Square, unveiling a plaque and paying respect at the Bradford City Fire Memorial.

I believe that she enjoyed lunch in City Hall before travelling by car up to Valley Parade where she was scheduled to formally open the new £1.5m Allied Colloids stand on the Midland Road side of the stadium.

The official party entered Valley Parade by the front entrance where she met club officials including Geoffrey Richmond and his wife Elizabeth.

We wondered if a conversation had taken place about cars as Geoffrey at the time had a Bentley GR1 and Elizabeth had ER1 on her vehicle. Surely the Queen should have trumped Elizabeth on that one.

It was largely thought that Geoffrey had been the prime mover behind the Queen coming to Valley Parade but in fact Associate Director Mike Smith was the instigator of this coup. Mike, through his work as a toastmaster, had the right contacts, including the Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding (West Yorkshire).

And that is how it came about.

The previous day, in anticipation of the visit, a security sweep of the stadium had taken place with many toilets sealed which required City staff to use the loo at the petrol station at the top of Valley Parade. One toilet remained in use – just in case!

On the day security was stepped up with (allegedly) snipers on the main stand roof.

A section of the new seating in the Midland Road stand was removed leaving special raised seating for the Queen and Prince Philip.

The stand’s construction was completed the previous year and used for the first time on Boxing Day when a crowd of 17,475 attended a game against Sheffield United.

The Queen and Prince Philip walked from the banqueting suite and walked through the stand to pitch level.

She had previously met club officials and staff, which included Christine Gilliver, and both Alan and Gladys Hannah. Gladys probably outshone the Queen that day as she was a very regal lady in her own right.

At pitch level the party crossed the pitch along the halfway line where she was introduced to Stuart McCall, Bobby Campbell and World Cup winner Bobby Charlton.

On the day City sat fourth from bottom of the second tier with just two points separating them from the relegation places.

Chris Kamara had cobbled together a team on the cheap.

If I remember correctly, it was transfer deadline day, and several players had not even played a game for the club but were now being introduced to the Queen.

There is a picture which includes Edinho, Nicky Mohan, Craig Midgley and Chris Wilder and Robbie Blake who were amongst the players introduced to the Queen by Chris Kamara.

The Queen then took her place in the new stand but not before unveiling a plaque, which I remember was mounted on a frame held up by two serious faced club officials.

And then a pageant took place in front of her on the pitch tracing the history of Bradford and this included the Nachda Punjab Dancers, and Stage 84.

Gerry Marsden appeared on the pitch and attempted to sing `You will never walk alone`. But guess what? In the best traditions of Bradford City, the microphone failed.

My son Kevin, who then worked in the control room had to run onto the pitch with a replacement!

When it was time to leave, Alan Gilliver was stood with his fingers firmly crossed. The Royal Party took the unreliable lift from the concourse to Midland Road street level where cars sped them to LBA. The lift was famous at the time for trapping people in it.

And then they were gone.

On the plane back to London Robin Janvrin, the Queen’s personal Secretary wrote to Geoffrey Richmond saying how much the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had “enjoyed a programme of events despite the rain”.

The Queen had followed Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama in having an association with Bradford City FC and Valley Parade.

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Maybe the Midland Road Stand should be renamed in her honour now

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The True Story of How the Kennedys Met the Queen

What really happened the day the first couple came to Buckingham Palace.

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Here's what really went down.

According to America's Queen , a biography of Jackie Kennedy by Sarah Bradford, there was some initial hesitation in inviting Jackie's sister Princess Lee Radziwill and her brother-in-law Polish Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł to the event.

Traditionally, divorcées were not invited to State Dinners at Buckingham Palace—Stan was Lee's second husband; Lee was Stan's third wife—but the royals eventually relented and extended an invitation to Jackie's relatives. After all, this was only a banquet and not an official State Dinner.

But the Queen "had her revenge," at least according to Jackie's friend, writer Gore Vidal: Princess Margaret and Princess Marina, two attendees Jackie had specifically requested, were not invited to the party.

Jackie apparently found the guest list less than scintillating. "No Margaret, no Marina, no one except every Commonwealth minister of agriculture they could find," she reportedly told Vidal. Jackie also told him that while Prince Philip was "nice but nervous," the Queen was "pretty heavy-going."

Per Hello Goodbye , a chronicle of "remarkable meetings" by Craig Brown, "When Vidal repeats this to Princess Margaret some years later, the Princess loyally explains, 'But that's what she's there for .'"

Perhaps these rumors of name-calling and drama-filled dinners are just that: rumors. After all, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan described the evening in his diary as "very pleasant." That exact phrase was also used by Kennedy's chief of protocol, Angier Biddle Duke, when he spoke about the night in a 1964 interview. "It was a delightful evening," he said , "very pleasant, very charming, very attractive evening! I think everybody enjoyed it very much."

And the president himself wrote kindly of the evening in a birthday note to the Queen. "May I also at the same time say how grateful my wife and I are for the cordial hospitality offered to us by your Majesty and Prince Philip during our visit to London last Monday," he said . "We shall always cherish the memory of that delightful evening."

Hearst Home Town & Country: The Queen: A Life in Pictures

Unfortunately, Kennedy never made it back to Buckingham Palace. He was assassinated in Dallas in November of 1963. Prince Philip attended the funeral .

In the years following JFK's death, the British government established the Kennedy Memorial Trust , which operates in two parts: a physical memorial in Runnymede, England (the site of the sealing of the Magna Carta) and a scholarship for British post-graduates attending either Harvard or MIT.

“The unprecedented intensity of that wave of grief, mixed with something akin to despair, which swept over our people at the news of President Kennedy’s assassination, was a measure of the extent to which we recognized what he had already accomplished, and of the high hopes that rode with him in a future that was not to be," Queen Elizabeth said at the dedication of the Runnymede site.

Jackie attended that ceremony with her brothers-in-law Bobby and Ted Kennedy and her children, Caroline, then 7, and John, then 4. As they stood beside the memorial, John John held his mother's hand on one side and Prince Philip's on the other.

The modest gift Kennedy presented to the Queen during his first and only meeting, a signed picture in a silver Tiffany's frame, was displayed publicly for the first time at Buckingham Palace over the summer.

As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects 

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Bradford Parkinson SM ’61 awarded Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering

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Bradford Parkinson SM ’61, who received his master of science degree in the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro), was honored last month with the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering along with three colleagues responsible for creating the first truly global, satellite-based positioning system (GPS).

The Queen Elizabeth Prize is the world’s most prestigious engineering accolade, a £1 million (about $1.3 million) award that celebrates the global impact of engineering innovation on humanity. Parkinson was honored along with Hugo Fruehauf, Richard Schwartz, and James Spilker Jr., whose widow received the award, at Buckingham Palace in December from the Prince of Wales.

“This recognition reflects the responsibility incumbent upon those developing technology today to strive to do so for the good of humanity,” said Parkinson. “Day after day, we are astounded at the new ways in which people across the world use GPS. It is a ‘System for Humanity’ in each and every sense.”

The global positioning system represents a pioneering innovation which, for the first time, enabled free, immediate access to accurate position and timing information around the world. An estimated 4 billion people use GPS, and its applications range from navigation and disaster relief to climate monitoring systems, banking systems, and the foundation of tomorrow’s transport, agriculture, and industry.

Parkinson, often called the “father of GPS,” successfully built upon several separate systems to create the current GPS design. He directed the program and led the development, design, and testing of its key components, insisting that GPS needed to be intuitive and inexpensive, which is why it is accessible worldwide today. Leading the original advocacy for the system in 1973 as a U.S. Air Force colonel, he became the first director of the GPS Joint Program Office and led the original development of spacecraft, Master Control Station, and eight types of user equipment. He guided the program through the extensive test validation process, including being launch commander for the first GPS satellite launches.

“One of the most important things we had when the project started was a vision of world impact,” said Parkinson. “Without that inspiration, it would have been difficult for us to weather the storms of doing something for the first time. Back in 1978, I made a few drawings that depicted GPS applications that I could personally foresee; they included an automobile navigation system, semi-automatic air traffic control, and wide-area vehicle monitoring, that seem to be rather accurate 41 years later.”

GPS combines a constellation of at least 24 orbiting satellites with ground stations and receiving devices. Each satellite contains a set of atomic clocks that keep ultra-precise time down to a billionth of a second. The satellite broadcasts its time as well as a radio signal containing its location to GPS receivers on Earth, which require signals from at least four satellites to determine their position. GPS receivers measure the time delay in each signal to calculate the distance to each satellite, then use that information to pinpoint the receiver’s location on earth.

Using GPS technology, simple smartphone apps can track disease outbreaks, self-driving tractors can optimize crop harvests, and sports teams can improve team performance. New applications for GPS continue to revolutionize entire industries, and its annual economic value has been estimated to be $80 billion for the United States alone.

“This year’s laureates have demonstrated that engineering makes things happen. With the first global, satellite-based positioning system, they created an engineered system which provides free, immediate and accurate information about position and time, anywhere around the globe,” said Lord Browne of Madingley, chair of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation. “The world now depends on GPS completely and without exception. In honoring the 2019 prize winners, we hope to inspire the next generation of engineers to continue to push back the frontiers of the possible.”

A professor emeritus of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, Parkinson received his undergraduate degree in engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957, his master’s degree at MIT, and his doctoral degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford in 1966. During his military career, he served 21 years in the Air Force and five years In the U.S. Navy, retiring as a full colonel in 1978. At Stanford University, he led the development of many innovative applications of GPS, including: commercial aircraft (Boeing 737) blind landing using GPS alone, fully automatic GPS control of farm tractors on a rough field to an accuracy of two inches, and pioneering the augmentation to GPS (WAAS) that allows any user to achieve accuracies of two feet and very high levels of integrity assurance.

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Queen Elizabeth “Loved It When Things Went Wrong” During Public Engagements

By Erin Vanderhoof

For years, Queen Elizabeth II had a busy schedule that included hundreds of intricately planned engagements where she met with regular people and saw sights across the world. But according to one of her longtime aides, she was more free-spirited than you might think. Samantha Cohen, who worked for the queen for 18 years, told Australian newspaper The Herald Sun , that despite the preparation that went into an engagement for the queen, she was very tolerant when things didn’t go according to plan.

“The Queen had no ego,” Cohen said. “She was so comfortable in herself, yet she loved it when things went wrong—if a cake was not cutting or a plaque didn’t unveil—because everything was so perfectly organized, it spiced her life up when things went wrong.”

Australian-born Cohen, who is now chief of staff for mining company Rio Tinto, served as the head of royal communications, assistant and deputy private secretary to the queen, and private secretary to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during her two decades of service to the palace. She told the newspaper that her role with the queen meant that she sometimes stayed in her own bedroom at Windsor Castle after evening events. “When we were on duty at Balmoral we could bring our families. My children had summer holidays there, and when I was on duty every two years at Sandringham, they came there for Christmas. It was a beautiful time,” she added. “The Queen and I used to talk a lot…. I miss her, she was a special woman.”

Cohen told The Herald Sun that the tours to Australia were her favorite parts of her job with the queen. “I loved, loved, loved the job as the Queen's assistant private secretary,” she said. “They were happy times because the Queen was in great form, and Aussies are liked by the royals because we're outside the hierarchy and we don't take ourselves seriously.”

Cohen added that she thinks the royal family is good for Australia. “I think the royals do an extraordinary job and the relationship between the two countries is special. It’s always been symbiotic," she said. “I think they are a wonderful asset for this country and the Commonwealth, including Australia.”

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