London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

King Charles visits Milton Keynes to mark city status

King Charles visits Milton Keynes to mark city status

King Charles III has joined community groups and business leaders to mark the granting of city status to Milton Keynes.

It was awarded the title in May 2022 as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, was unable to attend after a positive Covid test.

Anti-monarchy protesters who joined the crowds were outnumbered by royal supporters chanting "God save the King".

A reception was held at the Milton Keynes' Church of Christ the Cornerstone, where the King met representatives from local charities and businesses.

The King gave a speech during the ceremony

On his arrival, King Charles went on an impromptu walkabout, shaking hands with some of about 300 people who lined the barriers.

However, anti-monarchy protesters from the campaign group Republic waved banners reading "Not My King", with one shouting: "Why are you wasting money on a coronation Charles?"

Graham Smith, from Republic - which campaigns for an elected head of state - said the protest was aimed at raising awareness for a larger demonstration his organisation is planning for the coronation in May.
A group of anti-monarchy protesters were in the crowd in Milton Keynes


During a speech at the church, the King described Milton Keynes as "something special in its own right, that we can celebrate with its inhabitants at this moment in its history".

After the ceremony at the church, the King visited the Milton Keynes (MK) Food Bank to see the support it provides to communities across the city.

One of the themes of the King's first Christmas address was the cost of living crisis, and the broadcast featured footage of a food bank.

Louisa Hobbs, operations manager of MK Food Bank, which supports more than 5,000 families across the city, showed King Charles around and said his interest was clearly "genuine" after he explicitly requested to visit a food bank in Milton Keynes.

The King also visited a food bank in the new city

King Charles met volunteers at the food bank


Milton Keynes first applied for city status in 2000, then in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee, and again in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee.

It was eventually awarded the title in May 2022 during the Platinum Jubilee events.

The monarch met a group of Ukrainians at the city's celebratory ceremony


'A grand vision'
The concrete cows, created by the Canadian artist Liz Leyh in 1978, became a symbol of Milton Keynes


In January 1967, plans for a new town were approved - and soon a quiet Buckinghamshire village became the vast development of Milton Keynes.

The then housing minister Anthony Greenwood granted permission to transform an 8,850-hectare area of villages and farmland into a town for 250,000 people.

It was a grand vision - part of the third and final phase of the government's plans to relocate populations from London and other cities that suffered immense bomb damage during World War Two.

Some five decades on, Milton Keynes has a population of about 280,000 and has become home to more than 10,000 businesses.

It is used as a model for new towns across the world.

Bletchley Park, the hub of code-breaking in World War Two, is part of the Milton Keynes district


The new city is home to the distance-learning institution, the Open University, which was established by Royal Charter in 1969 and is the largest university in the UK in terms of students enrolled.

The Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust established the nation's first independent medical school, and Milton Keynes was the first place to introduce kerbside recycling in the UK.

Today, 140 languages are spoken in Milton Keynes' schools including those of every Commonwealth nation, and 30 religions are observed, the council said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×