During her 70-year-reign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Merseyside on numerous occasions - including St John's Market.
Many Liverpudlians will remember The Queen's visits to our region, including the time she officially opened the new St Johns Shopping Centre and returned years later to unveil a plaque. Her Majesty died peacefully at Balmoral on Thursday, September 8, 2022, making her Britain's longest serving monarch.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow. " In tribute, we take a look back at the last time The Queen visited St John's Market.
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The new St Johns Shopping Centre was built in the 1969 and officially opened by the Queen in 1971. On June 24 that year, the Liverpool ECHO reported how Merseyside "powdered its face with sunshine" to greet The Queen for her arrival in Liverpool to open the second Mersey Tunnel.
Arriving in Liverpool by train, Her Majesty was accompanied by her lady in waiting, the Marchioness of Abergavenny, an assistant private secretary, an assistant press secretary and her equerry-in-waiting and arrvied at Liverpool Lime Street at 2.15pm that day. The Queen then drove along Skelhorne Street, Lime Street, Renelagh Street, Great Charlotte Street, Elliot Street, Lime Street , Communication Row, Christian Street, Scotland Road and through to the tunnel entrance.
Presentations then took place and after the opening, The Queen met some of the men who had designed and built the tunnel, later driving through the tunnel leading a procession of cars. The next stop was the St John's Precinct, where The Queen met representatives of the developers, Ravenseft Properties Limited, before entering St John's Market.
One images, from our archives Mirrorpix, show The Queen getting a warm welcome from locals and shoppers. At the time, the ECHO reported how 'there were more cheers and thunderous applause for The Queen" when she visited the market
.It said: "Hundreds of people packed the market balcony and side entrances and The Queen showed her pleasure in meeting he housewives of Liverpool. on her walk through the market, she frequently stopped to talk to stall holders and members of the public." But that wasn't the only time Her Majesty came to St John's Market.
The Queen visited again on May 4, 1982. The Queen and Prince Phillip walked up the steps and into St John's Market together and at the time the ECHO reported how over 3,000 people had waited for hours to spot the Royal couple.
On May 5 that year, the ECHO reported how in the market, 11-year-old Angela McVeigh spent 40p of her pocket money to present a bouquet. Before that, Mrs Norah Breslin, from Anfield, handed over a posy of freeside and carnations.
Whilst in the city, The Queen also unveiled a plaque to commemorate the restoration of St Johns's Market. The image above captures that moment.
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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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