New Brightonwas buzzing with excitement on Thursday 1st December, 2011 as Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, paid a special visited to the seaside town.
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh attended the Floral Pavilion Theatre and Conference Centre; the flagship project inNew Brighton's long awaited regeneration.
Leader of Wirral Council, Councillor Steve Foulkes said: "I felt honoured to be able to showcase the fantastic achievements that have been made to regenerateNew Brightonto Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. Opportunities like this are extremely rare and it was great to see so many people providing such a warm, Wirral welcome. I would like to say a huge thank you to every individual who helped to make today so memorable."
During the visit, Her Majesty unveiled a plaque to commemorate the visit and met representatives fromNeptuneto find out more about the work that has been undertaken to breathe new life into the area.
Daniel Hynd, Property Director at Neptune, said:"This is a hugely exciting day for Marine Point and we are delighted to be welcoming Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh toNew Brighton.Neptunehas invested millions of pounds and created hundreds of jobs through the Marine Point development and we are proud to have played a key part in the regeneration of the area.
"New Brightonhas an historic reputation as a popular waterfront destination and the Marine Point development will go a long way to restoring this. The Floral Pavilion, which The Queen is visiting today, was the first phase of theNew Brightondevelopment and has been extremely successful.
"For phase two we have some great national and local brands already signed up to the development including Morrisons, Travelodge, The Light Cinemas, Grosvenor Casinos, Brooklyn's, Home Bargains, Starbucks and boutique coffee and ice cream bar Caffe Cream and will have more positive news in the New Year.
"This is a fantastic event to be shared by the whole community, and we are proud to be a part of it. We hope The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh thoroughly enjoy their visit toNew Brighton."
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were entertained by the theatre's in-house choir, The Choral Pavilion, and also enjoyed a short performance in the theatre by students of St. Mary'sCatholicCollege, Wallasey before meeting groups of guests, including people from the local community, in the Panoramic Lounge.
Up to 90 people, including local volunteers, ex-servicemen and local residents, joined The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh for lunch at the Floral Pavilion. Lunch was prepared by a team of top chefs from around the country, led by Wirral-born Claire Lara, winner of Masterchef - The Professionals 2010.
The menu included an entrée of marbled terrine of duck liver and slow cooked duck leg with fig and pear chutney, port reduction and toasted brioche. This was followed by oven-roasted turbot, served with braised winter vegetables, pomme anna and red wine jus. A desert of white chocolate mousse mille feuille with raspberry, elderflower & lemon thyme jellies was then served.
Claire Lara explained: "People who have supported me to become the chef that I am today, took holidays from work to cater for this very special event. As well as those who have influenced my career, the team included a number of students fromLiverpoolCommunity College, who have demonstrated great potential during their training.
"I would like to thank all of the catering team for their professionalism and enthusiasm in preparing this menu. This has been a fantastic opportunity for them to demonstrate their culinary talents; it doesn't get much bigger than this and we all feel very privileged to have been involved."
As Her Majesty The Queen left the Floral Pavilion, she was presented with a flower posy by Lucy Burdett, age 9, fromNew BrightonPrimary School.