Borough Pays Tribute to Her Majesty The Queen

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Flags lowered and message of sympathy sent to palace on behalf of all residents

Flag lowered (not half-mast) at Hammersmith & Fulham Council offices

Flags around the borough have been lowered, as tributes are paid and memories shared of Her Majesty The Queen, following her death this Thursday, 8 September, at the age of 96.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council have announced that its flags will remain lowered, as a mark of respect, until after her state funeral.

Cllr Stephen Cowan, Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham, has sent a formal message of sympathy to Buckingham Palace on behalf of all the borough’s residents.

Residents are also invited to sign books of condolence which are being placed in Hammersmith Library in Shepherd’s Bush Road and Fulham Library in Fulham Road.

“I know I speak for everyone in Hammersmith & Fulham in expressing the deep sadness all of us feel on hearing the news about Her Majesty The Queen,” said Stephen Cowan.

“The Queen’s selfless dedication to our country and the Commonwealth defined her life and the best of our way of life, from her service while Princess Elizabeth during World War II to this week when as our Monarch she performed her constitutional duties even while gravely ill. We mourn her passing and send our sincere condolences to the Royal Family.”

The Queen’s first official visit to Hammersmith & Fulham was in 1946, when the then Princess Elizabeth, aged 20, was guest of honour at the prizegiving at Burlington School in Fulham, as the school prepared to mark its 250th anniversary.

That visit was a year ahead of her marriage to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and more than five years before she ascended to the throne following the death of King George Vl in February 1952.

Her coronation on 2 June 1953 was celebrated with street parties across the borough, with the town hall decked in bunting and streets strung with flags and messages of goodwill.

Hammersmith Town Hall decorated for the Queen's coronation

As so few people had television sets, a live screening of the coronation was organised at a packed Commodore Theatre in Hammersmith’s King Street.

Two days later, Queen Elizabeth ll and the Duke of Edinburgh were cheered by crowds lining the streets as an open-top car took the couple on a ‘state drive’ through west London, which included Askew Road in Shepherd’s Bush.

The crowds were six-deep, with many more hanging out of windows to get a glimpse of the new monarch. Resident Jean Clark of Roxwell Road presented Her Majesty with a bouquet of flowers as the car slowly progressed up the packed street.

Two years later, on 6 June 1955, The Queen made an official visit to Hammersmith Hospital, in Du Cane Road in White City, where she met staff and students at the postgraduate medical school. This visit followed in the footsteps of her grandfather, King George V, who had opened it in 1935.

She also met patients and hospital staff on a tour of the facilities and performed the official opening of a new £80,000 cancer facility. Hundreds of residents lined her route around the hospital grounds.

As well as Hammersmith Hospital, The Queen was also closely connected to Charing Cross, in Hammersmith’s Fulham Palace Road and St Mary’s in Paddington.

Today, Professor Tim Orchard, Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which includes all three hospitals, said “We are incredibly saddened by news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen.

“Her Majesty demonstrated many qualities, including those that are the foundation of excellent patient care – humility, compassion and kindness. Her dedication to this country and to the Commonwealth was extraordinary.

“We are so grateful for the special connection she had to our organisation, both to Charing Cross Hospital, where she was patron, and to The Lindo Wing at St Mary’s, where several of her grandchildren and great grandchildren were born.

“We give our heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family.”

The Queen and her family also enjoyed many cultural visits to our area. In 1957, the Royal Family, including nine-year-old Prince Charles and seven-year old Princess Anne, paid a visit to Bertram Mills circus at Olympia.

The Queen and Prince Philip also visited BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane and in October 1979, attended the opening of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.

The Queen meets Harry Secombe at Television Centre

Following yesterday’s sad news, the Lyric posted a picture of the couple on the opening night and tweeted @LyricHammer: “ We are deeply saddened by the news that Her Majesty The Queen has passed away. Our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal Family at this time.”

The Queen at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith

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Jacob Phillips - Local Democracy Reporter

September 9, 2022