Monarch gives town the right to be royal
Source: Agencies |
October 17, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SMALL town that has honored British soldiers killed in Afghanistan as their bodies were returned home received a royal title yesterday for its compassion - the first such honor granted to a town in over 100 years.
Princess Anne delivered the Letters Patent - official documents from her mother Queen Elizabeth II - to the town of Wootton Bassett, giving it permission to change its name to Royal Wootton Bassett.
The bodies of soldiers killed in Afghanistan used to be repatriated to the RAF Lyneham airbase near Wootton Bassett, 135 kilometers west of London, and driven through the town to a coroner's office.
Each time a cortege passed, residents shut the doors of their businesses and lined the sidewalks to salute the procession. Veterans and the families of the dead soldiers came to the town to take part in this ritual, which began as an informal show of support for those killed and grew into a tradition that was broadcast around the country.
Princess Anne said: "I am privileged to be allowed to add my thanks to those of Her Majesty the Queen and the whole country for the example you set in respecting with dignity the losses that this country's operational responsibilities have forced upon us."
Wootton Bassett now joins two other royal towns in England - Leamington Spa was granted the title in 1838 by Queen Victoria and Tunbridge Wells received the title in 1909 from King Edward VII. Both towns petitioned for the honor in recognition of their antiquity and royal patronage of their spa facilities.
Wootton Bassett did not request royal recognition - UK Prime Minister David Cameron asked the queen to grant the honor.
Princess Anne delivered the Letters Patent - official documents from her mother Queen Elizabeth II - to the town of Wootton Bassett, giving it permission to change its name to Royal Wootton Bassett.
The bodies of soldiers killed in Afghanistan used to be repatriated to the RAF Lyneham airbase near Wootton Bassett, 135 kilometers west of London, and driven through the town to a coroner's office.
Each time a cortege passed, residents shut the doors of their businesses and lined the sidewalks to salute the procession. Veterans and the families of the dead soldiers came to the town to take part in this ritual, which began as an informal show of support for those killed and grew into a tradition that was broadcast around the country.
Princess Anne said: "I am privileged to be allowed to add my thanks to those of Her Majesty the Queen and the whole country for the example you set in respecting with dignity the losses that this country's operational responsibilities have forced upon us."
Wootton Bassett now joins two other royal towns in England - Leamington Spa was granted the title in 1838 by Queen Victoria and Tunbridge Wells received the title in 1909 from King Edward VII. Both towns petitioned for the honor in recognition of their antiquity and royal patronage of their spa facilities.
Wootton Bassett did not request royal recognition - UK Prime Minister David Cameron asked the queen to grant the honor.
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