THE QUEEN was a regular visitor to Reading and her most recent formal engagement was the opening of Reading’s revamped railway station in 2014.
The station had five new platforms, two new entrances, a new link bridge and additional shops.
It was a £897 million project and now links up with the Elizabeth Line, the new route that puts Reading on the tube map.
The visit was the second time that the Queen had visited to open Reading station – she was present following a previous revamp in 1989.
She arrived at the station by train, seeing the service at first hand herself.
Greeting her was thethen Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, the Hon Mary Bayliss, and dignitaries including then transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin, and Reading MP Alok Sharma and Rob Wilson.
She was presented with a bouquet of flowers by children.
And the Queen unveiled a plaque, as well as naming a train, before posing for a famous photograph with engineers who worked on the project, her turquoise blue dress and hat constrasting with the hi-vis orange uniform of the staff.
Crowds flocked to meet the royal visitor, including reader Sarah Gregory, who kindly shared her photos of this historic occasion.
