City gets royal seal of approval

The Queen has given the royal seal of approval to Leicester's bright new future.

In her first visit to the city in six years, Her Majesty was yesterday shown around key sites including the £61 million showpiece Curve theatre, the University of Leicester's £32 million library and Leicester Grammar School's state-of-the-art campus in Great Glen.

At each of the venues, hundreds of well-wishers gathered to cheer on the Queen and Prince Philip.

The royal couple received an enthusiastic welcome when they arrived at London Road railway station yesterday morning at the start of their visit.

They were greeted by some of the county's civic dignitaries before making the short trip to the university campus.

The 82-year-old monarch and her husband were greeted by hundreds of staff and students when she arrived to officially open the David Wilson library.

The Queen was told about the technology within the building.

She spoke to students about how it was helping them with their work.

Professor Bob Burgess, the university's vice-chancellor, said: "We share this honour with our students and staff.

"I doubt there will be another occasion when the Queen visits the university. We have waited 50 years since the last visit."

At Curve, the royals spoke to architect Rafael Vinoly, who came up with the pioneering design that gave the theatre its name.

They were treated to a performance of one of the musical numbers from the venue's Christmas show, Simply Cinderella.

They spoke to cast and crew members before unveiling a plaque to mark their visit.

Casey Hodges, 10, from Coalville, was given the honour of presenting a bouquet of flowers to Her Majesty.

She said: "I was pleased because I remembered all my lines and the roses I gave her matched her outfit. She seemed very nice and thanked me for the flowers."

The Queen and the Duke had been due to visit Shree Hindu Temple, in St Barnabas Road, Leicester, but the visit was cancelled at the last minute.

Instead, they met leaders of the city's various faith communities at Curve.

Suleman Nagdi, of the Federation of Muslim Organisations, said: "It was a great honour to meet Her Majesty the Queen and His Highness Prince Philip. She is the head of the Anglican Church and it was good to see her interest in other faiths.

"The whole issue of faith has been sometimes controversial in recent years.

"I am sure I can say, on behalf of all faith communities in the county, that we were delighted that faith featured so highly during our introduction.

"We spoke about the hard work that has been done and is still being done to bring about peaceful and coexisting communities in our city and county.

"The recognition we received from the Queen was testimony to the people of Leicestershire."

The royal party ended its visit with a trip to Leicester Grammar School's £33 million Great Glen campus following its relocation from the city centre in September.

The Queen spoke to pupils and staff during a tour of the buildings, and saw pupils' gymnastics displays, and choral and musical performances.

To see more pictures of the royl visit, click here:

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