King Charles in Doncaster: City status 'special moment for people,' says mayor

Coun Ian Pearson said His Majesty bestowing city status was ‘an exciting new chapter’ for Doncaster.

He joined elected mayor Ros Jones and junior civic mayor Evia-Lewis Shaw in welcoming the Royal couple to Doncaster.

He said: “It is my very great honour and privilege to stand here today as Civic Mayor of Doncaster and welcome you to the Mansion House for what is, a very historic occasion.

“Today we formally receive the letters patent granting Doncaster City Status.

"Being awarded city status represents a very special moment for the people of Doncaster.

“The honour was bestowed on us by the late Queen Elizabeth II as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, so it is particularly poignant, and a true privilege, that their Majesties King Charles III and the Queen Consort are here today.

“This Royal ceremony signals the start of an exciting new chapter in Doncaster’s history and we move forward, together, with a renewed sense of community pride and hope for a prosperous future.”

The King said his late mother would be ‘immensely glad’ at Doncaster’s ‘richly deserved’ city status and praised Doncaster for its Roman origins, its part in the Industrial Revolution and creating the nation’s railway network as well as its links with horse-racing.

The Royal couple were met by hundreds of flag-waving and cheering fans outside the Mansion House, with His and Her Majesty shaking hands with members of the public duiring a walkabout.