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Margate is preparing to paint the town red, white and blue in a loyal show of patriotic support when The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visit today.
The flags will be out for the eagerly-awaited arrival of the Royal couple mid-morning – marking Her Majesty's first trip to the island since July 16, 1993.
On that occasion they received the warmest of welcomes when they visited Thanet for the first time since she was Princess Elizabeth, 42 years earlier.
Margate mayor Cllr Iris Johnston is sure the special guests will get an equally rousing reception this time around.
She said: "We're absolutely delighted the Queen and Prince Philip are coming to Margate.
"It's a real accolade for the town and puts the seal on a fantastic year for us in which we have celebrated the 100th anniversary of Margate Winter Gardens and the opening of the acclaimed Turner Contemporary gallery."
It is understood that the Armistice Day visit may give the Queen the chance to meet war veterans in the old town area.
The annual commemoration service planned for Margate Regal Walk shopping centre has been transferred to the old town for 11am.
The Last Post will be sounded at a ceremony attended by Cllr Johnston, the Charter Trustees, and service veterans. There will be a minute's silence in memory of those who have given their lives in service of the UK.
Her Majesty's itinerary will include a visit to the Turner Contemporary – Margate's latest success story as part of the ongoing regeneration work in the town.
The visit has stirred memories of those who met the Queen during her 1993 visit.
Then she arrived at Margate railway station, visited Ramsgate's Royal Harbour where she named a new £650,000 RNLI lifeboat, Her Majesty the Queen.
After the ceremony the royal couple inspected the boat and met its crew before undertaking a public walkabout along the quayside.
Oliver Hodder was an 11-year-old schoolboy who spoke to The Queen when he and classmates from Holy Trinity Primary School, Ramsgate, visited the harbour.
He said: "She asked me what school I went to and I told her. Shortly after, Prince Philip asked my friend the same question. Referring to me, she said 'He just told the lady that!' It was only afterward she realised she was talking to The Duke of Edinburgh."
