AS THE country mourns the death of its longest-reigning monarch, we look back at the times the Queen visited Basingstoke. In 1960 Queen Elizabeth visited Basingstoke to open the first phase of the Basingstoke Technical College (as it was then called) in Worting Road. In 1962 Queen Elizabeth II visited Portals mill, in Overton, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the company. But first, she was welcomed for lunch at the Portal family’s home as Sir Jonathan’s father, Sir Francis Portal, was chairman and managing director of the company. While he was not able to attend the lunch, Sir Jonathan, now 59, said there was a “buzz of excitement” around the village.

Source: The Times September 09, 2022 11:15 UTC