Britannia, beacons and tasty kippers - they were all part of the 1993 Royal visit to Hartlepool

There was the girl who gave the Queen a posy, the residents of Bramley Court who made Her Majesty welcome and the man who gave the Queen and Prince Philip some kippers.

The Queen’s visit in 1993 turned into quite some event and seemed to put the feelgood factor into Hartlepool that summer.

“Simply Magic” said the headline.

It certainly was for schoolgirl Emma Metcalf who got to hand a posy to the Queen.

Lily Weatherall, 82, loved it as well because she got to meet Her Majesty.

But it was much more besides and, as the Hartlepool Mail put it at the time: "Young and old made it a day to remember for a town trying to forget the last few troubled years."

It was described as proof that Hartlepool’s renaissance was well on course and MP Peter Mandelson said: "The Royal visit brought out the people of Hartlepool and brought out the best of the people of Hartlepool."

The Queen and Prince Philip were in town to open the new £165m Marina and they came ashore on a Royal barge. The Queen was to be given a tour of the new complex and tour the Historic Ships Centre while the Duke looked round HMS Trincomalee.

From there, Her Majesty was due to visit Bramley Court before heading back to the Royal yacht Britannia where she was due to host a reception.

Later that night, the Band of the Royal Marines played and a giant fireworks display lit up the Marina sky.

But the preparations for the Royal arrival had started much earlier.

The night before, a beacon was lit on the Headland to mark the 400th anniversary of a freedom charter being handed over by Queen Elizabeth I as well as being a sign of welcome for the Royal guests.

House later, workmen were out from the early hours on the day of the Royal arrival, sweeping up. And the Davis family from Greatham were the first to arrive and managed to book a prime spot to see the Queen.

Elsewhere, Tony Pearson certainly knew how to serve up a tasty treat for the royal party in 1993.

Just like he had done on the Queen’s previous visit in 1977, Hartlepool fish merchant Tony supplied the Queen and the Duke with kippers.

But by 1993, there needed to be a bit of a change to the tradition as the smoked delicacies this time round were not from Hartlepool.

Tony explained at the time in 1993: “When they came in 1977, I sent them a pair and when Prince Charles visited, he sent an aide for some.

“But since then, J.Pattison has gone out of business and the smokehouse demolished.”

But Tony was determined not to disappoint the Royal visitors and sent smoked kippers to the Royal yacht Britannia from Tyneside.

Tony, who ran a wet fish shop at Northgate in 1993. said at the time: “I’ll explain they are the next best thing to Hartlepool kippers and that our customers like them.”

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