THE world mourned the death of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II after she died on Thursday, September 8, at the age of 96.
A statement from Buckingham Palace read: “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.”
She was the longest serving monarch in British history, marking her 70th anniversary on the throne with Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June..
On Thursday, September 8, Buckingham Palace confirmed the Queen’s doctors became concerned for her health and she was kept under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
On Tuesday, September 6, the Queen was seen in public for the first time in several weeks when she received the outgoing and incoming prime ministers.
This was the first time in her reign that she had carried out this duty at the retreat, rather than at Buckingham Palace.
During her reign, Her Majesty had been a frequent visitor to the Thames Valley.
In June 1962, the Queen and Prince Philip, in a Rolls Royce, were driven through packed streets of Wokingham town centre.
Archive photos taken by our predecessor, Wokingham Times, show a town decorated with bunting and flags, dignitaries salute and the assembled crowds wave and cheer.
In 1974, she visited Wellington College in Crowthorne, to open its new buildings. She returned to the school in October 2011, to open the International Round Square Conference.
She opened the Shire Hall complex in Shinfield in 1982, again joined by Prince Philip. More than 5,000 children are reported to have been in the crowds, and played a fanfare in her honour.
The Royal Berkshire Hospital welcomed her in 2006 to celebrate the merging of the Battle Hospital with the main buildings.
In 2013, she presented Maundy money at Christ Church cathedral in Oxford. Recipients included parishioners from Sonning.
The queen’s jubilees – 1977, 2002 and 2012 – have been well celebrated in the borough, with street fayres, parties and special commemorations.
In 2012, members of Wokingham Art Society created a 36-metre long frieze with 18 panels depicting scenes from across her reign. A smaller replica of it is on display outside Wokingham’s railway station.
In recent years, she remained fit and active, still carrying out visits and chairing meetings.
She contracted covid in February 2022, but recovered, and the town was able to celebrate her platinum jubilee in June with beacon lighting ceremonies, thanksgiving services, street parties and celebrations.
The borough’s four MPs all paid tribute to the Queen, recounting their personal emotions towards her.
Theresa May shared a funny anecdote of a picnic at Balmoral with the Queen during a House of Commons tribute.
She said: “The hampers came from the castle that we all looked into, put the food and drink out on the table. I picked up some cheese, put it on a plate and was transferring it to the table.
“The cheese fell on the floor.
“I had a split second decision to make. I picked up the cheese, and I put it on the plate, and put it on the table. I turned around and saw my every move had been watched very carefully by Her Majesty the Queen.
“I looked at her, she looked at me, and she just smiled and the cheese remained on the table.”
Books of condolence opened in many civic offices and churches across the borough as thousands wrote messages and shared their own personal encounters.
About 100 Hurst residents joined together at the community orchard at Church Hill for a moving commemoration of the Queen’s life
This included the lighting of a beacon, first lit just 14 weeks earlier for the happy celebration of her platinum jubilee.
The bells at St Nicholas Church, Hurst, had rung fully muffled, apart from the tenor bell which was half muffled. This is the custom on the death of the monarch.
Rejoining the St Nicholas ringers for the first time in 20 years was Nicky Jones.
The church drew a large congregation for their commemoration service after the ringing. The Revd Helen Charlton led the service and spoke of the Queen’s hope, humanity and faith.
Deacon at St Thomas More RC Church at Twyford, the Revd Michael Jackson, led the prayers.
After singing the national anthem the congregation crossed the road to the beacon lighting.
Churchwarden Sue Payne said: “We’re delighted so many people came.”
In the following days, local authorities up and down the country hosted their own proclamation ceremonies for the new Sovereign.
The ceremony does not create a new King.
It is an announcement of the accession which took place immediately upon the death of the reigning monarch.
On Sunday, September 11, at exactly 2pm, Market Place in Wokingham Town Centre fell silent for the town’s own proclamation ceremony.
It felt like the whole of Wokingham had turned out with just one aim – to shout God Save The King.
Thousands of people flocked to Market Place to be part of this history. They filled the courtyard area, spilled round the sides of the town hall. They stood on the other side of the road.
Toddlers sat on parents’ shoulders, while phones were held aloft, all to honour this moment in time.
Among the dignitaries were Wokingham MP Sir John Redwood, senior council staff, and councillors from town and borough councils.
As Wokingham’s first citizen, borough mayor, Cllr Caroline Smith explained the ceremony before proclaiming the beginning of the King’s reign.
She finished by saying God save the king, a refrain repeated by the assembled crowds.
A similar ceremony was held by Woodley Town Council, led by the town mayor, Cllr Janet Sartorel.
Cllr Sartorel was joined by the town crier, Tony Roper, the deputy leader of Woodley Town Council, Cllr Shandi Brindley and hundreds of residents.
A number of civic services were also held in churches as the borough wished farewell to the nation’s longest-serving monarch.
September saw the launch of The Berkshire Pet Food Bank, created by the owners of Best Friends Pet Store in Crowthorne.
The scheme aims to help pet owners who are struggling amidst the cost of living crisis.
Ridwan Sai, owner of the store which opened earlier this year, was determined to start the cause after learning of people giving up their pets due to affordability.
As a dog-owner himself, Mr Sai said he couldn’t imagine being forced to make a decision over keeping his dog.
He said: “The thought of having to give him up, if I didn’t have any money to feed him, it would destroy me so that was another motivation behind the idea.”
In our September 29 edition, we unveiled two proposals launched by Wokingham Borough Council as it continued to search for savings to cover a shortfall in its budget.
One would see weekly bin collections come to an end and the other would result in parking charges more than double for some areas in the borough.
Both would cause outcry from residents and councillors with the issues set to rumble on throughout the remainder of the year.
In more positive news, PT:U marked the opening of their new training centre, at the Pinewood Recreation Centre on Old Wokingham Road, with a range of activities and charity fundraisers.
As well as celebrating the new location, the open day was also raising money for a cause close to gym owners’ hearts.
“Kevin was a long term client and had worked with three of us throughout the time he trained with us,” said Richard Jones, co-owner of PT:U.
“During covid he was diagnosed with bowel cancer and unfortunately, just before we were due to move sites, he lost his battle so he was unable to see our new gym but we know he would’ve been fully supportive.
“We felt like we wanted to do something in memory of Kevin, a local businessman, a family man and an all round nice guy.”
The fundraising activities included a raffle and a sports massage and in total, the event raised £460 for Bowel Cancer UK.
