King and Queen to visit Middlesbrough

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are due to visit Middlesbrough later.

It comes 32 years after a monarch last visited the town, when Queen Elizabeth II officially opened Pallister Park in 1993.

The King and Queen will attend several engagements before attending a celebration event in Centre Square.

Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said it was "wonderful news" for the town.

It is also the first time the King has visited the North East since he became monarch in 2022.

Cleveland Police has put a dispersal order in place to prevent anti-social behaviour and to increase public safety.

The notice will be in place from 09:00 GMT until 17:00 and covers the areas bound by the A66, Marton Road, Southfield Road, Linthorpe Road, Borough Road, Hartington Road and the B1272 in Middlesbrough.

Local musician and mental health campaigner Mike McGrother will lead performances of songs and poetry that celebrate the Middlesbrough area, with his Infant Hercules Choir and band The Wildcats of Kilkenny.

The year of the last royal visit to the town saw mixed fortunes for football, the arts, leisure and petty thieves.

Middlesbrough FC were playing in what was then the all-new Premier League, having been one of its founder members - although the joy did not last long as they were relegated from it in the May.

One of the town's most eye-catching sculptures, the 30ft (9.1m) Bottle of Notes, was installed in the same year, having been made by steelworkers in Hebburn, South Tyneside, as part of plans to regenerate the region.

Elsewhere in the town, the Victorian-built Empire Theatre reopened as a bar and Marks & Spencer introduced CCTV - then becoming increasingly prevalent - to help its security guards identify shoplifters in its now-closed Linthorpe Road branch.

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