City gets a Royal variety show of its own

And, after patiently waiting for more than an hour for their monarch to arrive, the assembled crowd erupted in a huge cheer as they watched the stately, black royal car come to a halt at the top of the street.

As everyone craned their necks for a better view, with some even clambering onto nearby phone boxes and street furniture, the Royal party emerged to greet the crowd before making their way into the City Varieties.

After another half an hour, they began their walk down the length of Leeds’s famous shopping destination. Taking time to stop and speak to local school children, they were greeted at every point by a huge ovation and the frantic waving of a sea of miniature Union Flags.

The Duke surprised a number of children who wanted to give flowers to the Queen by asking his protection officers to lift them over the barrier and escort them to his wife, who was working her way down the opposite side of the road.

Junior Frood, eight, from Meanwood, Leeds, was the first to be helped over and was led from one side of the street to the other where he presented his bouquet and a letter to the Queen.

His mother, Kerry Frood, said he had stayed up late writing his special letter, even researching her favourite colour so his yellow carnations would prove a hit.

Mrs Frood said: “He was in floods of tears, he was so happy. He is obsessed with the Royal Family and there are photos of them all over the place in his bedroom.

“He asked Prince Philip to give the flowers to the Queen but he said ‘wouldn’t you rather give them to her yourself?’ The letter said ‘Thank you for looking after me and our country. You are amazing people’.”

The Duke also helped Charlotte Carlyle, eight, to scale the barriers. Charlotte, from Morley, said she was nervous meeting the Queen.

Her mother ,Catherine, said: “Prince Philip asked who the flowers were for and when I said they were for the Queen he asked them to lift her over.”

The Duke helped adults cross the street too.

Luke Smith, 24, said: “I’m such a huge fan of the Queen. I spoke to the Prince and he just said, ‘why don’t you give them to the Queen yourself?’ So they let me climb over. It was fantastic.”

Kellyann Gillies, 31, also from Morley, showed the Queen a picture of herself during a visit to Leeds a decade ago.

“I was here then and I’m here now,” she said. “I showed her the picture and she asked if I was here last time.

“I think she looked great. She’s fantastic.”

The Royal party accepted dozens more bouquets before finally proceeding to a seating area at the junction with King Edward Street.

As they arrived, hundreds of bright, orange balloons were released into the sky over Leeds as the city’s ambition to become a Child Friendly City was officially launched.

The Royal Party was then treated to a performance by a choir made up of singers from across the city.

The choir, which had also entertained the crowd before The Queen’s arrival, gave a stirring rendition of the National Anthem and three cheers for the Queen.

Louise Iontton, a former Paralympic powerlifter and volunteer for the 2012 Olympics, then presented a posy to Her Majesty to mark the end of her visit to the city.

Finally, the crowd gave the royal car an enthusiastic farewell as it slowly drove away.

The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Ann Castle, said: “It has been fantastic to have The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh visiting the city today, and it was great to see so many people turn out to welcome them.

“This was a unique occasion for the city and an excellent memory for all those involved.”