The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, will open the new headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, London
Thursday 23rd March 2017
Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, will open the new headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, New Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment, London on Thursday 23rd March.
Upon arrival, The Queen and The Duke will be greeted by Acting Commissioner Craig Mackey and Commissioner-Elect Cressida Dick. The Royal Party will proceed past a display of police vehicles and two police horses into the building where they will view a selection of historical items, including a WWII uniform of a female PC and an operational order for the Coronation. After viewing plans of the new building Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will watch a demonstration of a bomb disposal robot.
The Queen and The Duke will proceed to the 8th floor where they will meet officers demonstrating “A day in the life of the Met”, featuring search dogs and uniformed staff – including a dog handler, forensic specialist and a special constable. Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will be shown items on display including plans of a crime scene and seized weapons. The Royal Party will then move to the balcony to view the Thames and Westminster skyline.
The Queen and The Duke will attend a brief reception for staff, bravery award winners, officers and partner organisations before returning to the ground floor. The Acting Commissioner will say a few words of thanks and The Queen will unveil a plaque and receive a posy before departing.
The Metropolitan Police Service was founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 to serve and protect the people of London. Currently the Met polices 620 square miles and serves more than eight million people across 32 boroughs in one of the world’s most dynamic and diverse cities. With more than 43,000 officers and staff the Met is the UK’s largest police service.
The original task of organising the new service was given to two Commissioners, Colonel Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne. They occupied a private house at 4 Whitehall Place, the rear premises of which were used a police station and backed on to “Great Scotland Yard”.
In 1890 the headquarters moved to a new building on Victoria Embankment which became known as “New Scotland Yard”. By 1967 the cramped Victorian offices meant a further move to a more modern building was needed so the headquarters was moved again to the present site at Broadway and the name New Scotland Yard was given to the building.
The Met began to move into the refurbished building on the Victoria Embankment in November 2016 when the building was officially renamed as New Scotland Yard. Approximately 600 staff are based in the new HQ. They were followed by the iconic revolving sign, designed by artist Edward Wright in 1968. The font is unique to New Scotland Yard, matching all the signs and room numbers within the building. The sign revolves around 5,000 times a day and the revolving triangular shape and reflective steel lettering were designed to be ‘symbolic of the Met’s constant vigilance in guarding our safety’.
To get all the latest royal news delivered straight to your door, subscribe to Royal Life Magazine today.
