Stoke-on-Trent leaders express their sincere condolences on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Stoke-on-Trent leaders express their sincere condolences on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leaders have today expressed their sincere condolences following the very sad news from Buckingham Palace announcing the death of Her Majesty The Queen.

The authority has also announced plans to mark this solemn occasion.

During the official period of mourning, which will continue until the formal state funeral, several events will be organised to help the city and its residents pay their respects.

In the coming days, a national online book of condolence will be available on the British Monarchy website, also in the coming days, a book of condolence will be available in the King’s Hall where residents will be able to leave their own personal message.

On behalf of the city, Lord Mayor Councillor Faisal Hussain and council leader, Councillor Abi Brown and will be sending a letter of condolence to His Majesty King Charles III’s private secretary to offer the city’s condolences.

Stoke-on-Trent Lord Mayor Faisal Hussain said: "I am deeply saddened to learn of the announcement that Her Majesty The Queen has passed away today.

"On behalf of the City of Stoke-on-Trent, our deepest condolences and prayers are with the members of the Royal Family.

“Her Majesty The Queen dedicated her life to public duty. We join communities across the UK and the world in mourning her loss.”

Council leader Abi Brown said: "It is with the greatest sadness that I learned of the death of Her Majesty The Queen. My thoughts are very much with the Royal Family at this time.

“We will mourn her passing and pay our thanks for her dedication to the nation.

“Her Majesty has led our nation so steadfastly across seven decades. Her dedication to serving our nation is without parallel and the impact of her death cannot be expressed in words alone. Her Majesty has been a source of inspiration to so many people.”

During the period of mourning, council meetings will include marks of respect, including the mace being draped in black and the Lord Mayor’s chain of office being worn with a black ribbon.

Flags will also be flown at half-mast at Stoke Town Hall and Hanley Town Hall until 8am on the morning after the funeral.

Notes to editors

The Queen had visited Stoke-on-Trent on a number of occasions including her first visit on 1 November 1949 before her reign meeting the then Lord Mayor Cllr Arthur Spark and Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire, Wallace Copeland, who welcomed the Princess along with children and young people’s organisations. On her two day visit to the Potteries she visited factories in Stoke-on-Trent including Paragon China in Longton and Royal Doulton in Burslem, meeting workers and watching the process of manufacture with a keen interest.

On her second day she visited the King’s Hall for an exhibition of modern pottery and the Victoria Hall for a Royal concert where she watched a choral performance.

Other memorable visits include on 2 November 1955, when the Queen visited Stoke City FC. She had an audience of 30,000 schoolchildren packed into the old Victoria Ground, being the first reigning monarch to visit the Potteries for 30 years since when her grandfather King George had visited Stoke-on-Trent in 1925.

On 24 May 1973 she officially opened Hanley Forest Park and visited the City Centre and Mason’s Ironside China factory.

On 7 August 1986 the Queen officially opened the National Garden Festival in Etruria to celebrate the best of gardens, leisure and horticulture. And on 7 December 1995 the Queen visited Churchill China at the Tunstall works as well as officially opening the sheltered housing complex, Bradeley village.

Cllr Ally Simcock was one of the children at the National Garden Festival and personally met the Queen. She said: “I was 9 when I met the Queen at the National Garden Festival. Two Brownies from every pack in Stoke were chosen to line the steps where she was doing her official opening and I was one of them. I remember the day, it was very surreal, everything seemed so big. A soldier with a gun stopped my mum’s car to ask where we were going as she dropped me off that day. It was pretty exciting though. The garden festival was really colourful. There was a pagoda, a mini Blackpool tower and cable cars! I know when the Queen left, she went on a barge from the marina and we waved her off! I felt very important that day.”