Queen visits Leamington

The home of Spicy Bites and Smack justified its name on Friday March 4 as Queen Elizabeth II made an official visit to Royal Leamington Spa.

The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, visited Leamington to open Warwickshire Justice Centre, a new one-stop judicial complex on Newbold Terrace. She then continued to Stratford-upon-Avon, where she opened the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

The new £26m Justice Centre, which officially opened last summer, intends to provide many of the county’s judicial services, including facilities for witnesses and victims, a Youth Offending Service and a Probation Service. It is part of the police station, adjacent to Jephson Gardens.

Reaction to the visit was mixed among students; while many welcomed the opportunity to see the monarch, some students questioned the necessity of the affair.

Third-year Rachel Wood, who joined the thousands of others on Newbold Terrace, was shocked by how close she was to the Queen. Rachel commented: “It was really nice, all the different people who came out to see the Queen created a great atmosphere. Meeting the Queen and Prince Philip is not something that happens every Friday morning.”

The sentiment was echoed by the children of Kingsley Primary School, who had been given the morning off to see the Royal party. The excited children greeted the Queen with continuous high-pitched cries of “Your Majesty!” for over an hour prior to her appearance.

The crowd were an irritation for those students who were less enthusiastic about the Royal visit. Some questioned the necessity of the road closures, as restrictions were placed on Newbold Terrace, Newbold Street, Rosefield Place, Euston Place and Rosefield Street.

Assistant Chief Constable Neil Brunton claimed that the closures were justified, arguing that “the hosting of an event of such national and international importance will provide huge benefits to the county.” The restrictions did not, however, please fourth-year Maths student Eleanor Newton, who was forced to move her car to make way for the Royal parade, and the various diversions made her late for her seminar.

James Entwistle-Wilkinson, a PPE student, criticised the visit as expensive and obstructive, claiming that “the monarchy is such a pointless and anachronistic institution these days that this commotion just seems to be a total waste of time and money.”

The significant police presence, the weekday timing of the visit and the environmental impact of the use of a helicopter for transportation to the West Midlands were all criticised by students, with undergraduate Lucy White claiming that “it just all seemed a bit over the top and unnecessary. Did she really need to use a helicopter to help her ‘open’ a place that’s already been up and running for six months?”

Neither Warwickshire Police nor the Buckingham Palace Press Office would comment on the total cost of the visit, which despite these criticisms was hailed by a local paper as “a massive success.”

Leamington Spa acquired its ‘Royal’ epithet in 1875, after Queen Victoria’s visit to the Royal Pump Rooms, a short walk from the new Justice Centre.