Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne on the 6th February 1952, so on the 11th of March, she will have reigned for 70 years and 70 days.
Test Valley is important in the Queen's life for it was at Broadlands she spent her honeymoon and then visited many times to rest and recuperate and fly fish on our River Test.
To celebrate the Platinum Jubilee Deputy Mayor Cllr Alan Dowden Is planting an oak tree in Test Valley Council’s Head Quarters in Andover, to add to the thousands that the Borough is planting this year. The tree will add to the Queen's Green Canopy - an U.K. wide initiative. It is a memorable concept as it helps restore the country's verdant landscape and, at the same time, is a practical response to the Climate Emergency to which most local Councils, including Test Valley, have signed up.
That we are planting an oak tree is apposite not just because it is stout symbol of the nation but because at the Coronation, which took place on 2nd of June 1953, acorns from the oak trees of Windsor Great Park were shipped around the Kingdom and the Commonwealth and planted in parks and school grounds. They have now grown into what have become known to some as the Royal Oaks and to others as the Coronation Oaks.
With the Platinum Oaks we plant today we celebrate her ongoing reign and thank Her Majesty the Queen for her continuing commitment to duty and her devotion to a life of service to her people.
