Wrexham awarded city status for Platinum Jubilee
Eight locations become cities across the UK
Last updated 20th May 2022
Wrexham has been given city status in celebration for The Queen’s platinum jubilee.
It is the seventh city to be given city status in Wales.
Today, a record eight places have been awarded the new title to mark the jubilee occasion across the UK.
The newly crowned cities are:
- England - Colchester
- England - Doncaster
- England - Milton Keynes
- Scotland - Dunfermline
- Wales - Wrexham
- Northern Ireland - Bangor
In addition to that list, for the first time ever, Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have competed for and been granted city status.
Stanley in the Falklands, and Douglas on the Isle of Man will now be regarded as cities.
They are some of the places that "make Britain great", according Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay.
Wrexham is awarded city status
Alongside Wrexham, other places awarded city status in Wales are:
- Bangor in Gwynedd
- St Davids in Pembrokeshire
- Cardiff, the capital of Wales since 1955
- Swansea, for Prince Charles's investiture as the Prince of Wales in 1969
- Newport, for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002
- St Asaph, in honour of its cathedral in 2012
Wrexham's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a Unesco World Heritage Site and the region, which is a base for firms including JCB and Kellogg's as well as aerospace giants such as Magellen and Cytec, is to become home to the new National Football Museum of Wales.
Wrexham Football Club, founded in 1864, has the world's oldest international ground and gained more attention last year when it was bought by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wales Secretary of State Simon Hart said: “Wrexham has a wonderful history and an exciting future, and I am absolutely delighted to see it awarded city status as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.”
What does it mean to win city status?
Winning city status can boost local economies and create new opportunities for the people who live there and contribute to increased national and global standing, putting them on the international map as a place to do business.
The new cities can expect a boost to local communities and open up new opportunities for people who live there, according to the Cabinet Office.
Those applying for The Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition had to demonstrate why their community deserved to be awarded city status, and had to mention their royal associations and cultural heritage.
The competition for city status has taken place in each of the last three jubilee years, with previous winners including Chelmsford, Lisburn and Newport.
Introducing the new cities
Bangor
Bangor has a naval heritage. Due to its location at the mouth of the Belfast Lough, it became a key site for allied forces during the Second World War.
Colchester
Colchester is Britain's first recorded settlement and its first capital.
Doncaster
Originally a Roman settlement, Doncaster is almost 2000 years old. Its industrial heritage is built on rail and coal, with The Flying Scotsman and The Mallard both built there. Doncaster is synonymous with the St. Leger, founded in 1776 and the oldest classic horse race in the world.
Douglas, Isle of Man
Her Majesty The Queen is patron of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution which originates from Douglas. George IV was the original patron, before it became the RNLI under the patronage of Queen Victoria in 1854.
Dunfermline
Dunfermline became the centre of Scottish kingship under the reign of Malcolm III. It was his principal residence and court, where he married his wife (Margaret of Wessex) in the first union of the crowns between England and Scotland.
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes is the pinnacle of the national post-war planning movement. It is a new town started in Her Majesty's reign.
Stanley, Falkland Islands
The island celebrates the Queen's birthday on the 21st April. The islands are regularly visited by the royal family, starting with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1957. In 2016, the Duke of Cambridge was deployed to the Falkland Islands, spending a 6 week tour there as a search and rescue helicopter pilot.
Wrexham
The architectural heritage of the area was recognised when UNESCO deemed the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct a World Heritage Site (describing it as 'a masterpiece of creative genius').