The day the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth came to Norwich on October 29 1938.
At 11am. Detachments from the military units and various organisations took up their allotted positions on the line of route into the city and representatives of youth organisations took up their allotted positions on the Market Place. One thousand schoolchildren were assembled on the footpath on both sides of the main entrance to City Hall.
11.30am. Members of the city council, magistrates, corporate officers and their ladies to be seated in the enclosure facing the main steps leading to City Hall.
11.40am. A guard of honour from the 4th Battalion The Royal Norfolk Regiment (TA) with band and drums under the command of Captain R F Humphrey, was posted in St Peter Street between St Peter Mancroft and the main entrance to City Hall.
11.45am. Their Majesties The King and Queen attended by members of the household-in-waiting arrived by car at the city boundary on Dereham to be welcomed by the H. M. Lieutenant of Norfolk Russell James Colman. The Royal Party will proceed in the following order to the City Hall.
12noon. On arrival at the Guildhall a fanfare of trumpets was sounded by trumpeters from the Royal Norfolk Veterans' Association. Their majesties were received by the Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Norwich Councillor Charles Watling, introduced to dignities, and shown the council chamber were mayors and lord mayors had been elected since 1403/4.
12.25pm. A procession was formed to proceed to the War Memorial where his Majesty placed a wreath and inspected the ex-servicemen and youth organisations on parade. Brigadier D V M Balders OBE, MC and Lieut. Colonel C R Cadge, OBE, escorted the King to the Guard of Honour and the procession proceeded to the City Hall.
Then the Royal Procession proceed up the steps of the City Hall where the Royal Standard was unfurled and flew until their departure.
After a formal ceremony inside the King praised the building, formally declared the hall open and a fanfare of trumpets sounded, an inspection followed, amid much pomp and circumstance, the bells of St Peter Mancroft rang out and the Royal Party went to St Andrew's Hall for lunch.
Huge crowds lined the route as they arrived at the hall where lunch was served at 1.30pm but less than an hour later they were off again.
At 2.25pm the King headed for Carrow Road to watch the start of the game between Norwich City and Millwall he met the players while the Queen went to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital to open the Geoffrey Colman Memorial. The King was the first reigning monarch to watch a game. Well, some of it. Play paused as he left after a quarter of an hour and the Canaries lost 0-2.
2.30pm to 3pm. The bells of St Peter Mancroft rang out across the city.
2.55pm. The King left Carrow Road and the Queen departs from the hospital to be received by Chief Constable John Henry Dain, the founder of the world famous Lads Club in King Street.
3.15pm. Their majesties left for the Mutual Service Club at Pottergate where they were met by Alderman Sir Ernest White and given a tour of the building.
And then, at 3.30pm the Royal Party left for Sandringham.
I would think there were a lot of people extremely relieved that this proud day in the history of Norwich went to plan.
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