In Barnsley they met 32 local people, including a miner, a glassworker and schoolchildren and were presented with a miniature pit tub containing a piece of coal from a Barnsley seam and a miner’s lamp.

After stopping only minutes in Wombwell and Wath, the Royal couple called in at Rotherham Town Hall to meet representatives of the local community before travelling to Sheffield.

They watched 3,270 youngsters go through formations at Hillsborough Stadium, creating the words ‘welcome to Sheffield’ and a Union Jack, and visited Firth Hall at the University of Sheffield, which was celebrating its golden jubilee.

The Queen returned to Sheffield in 1975, on a warm, sunny day in July. Again, local children turned out to see our monarch, waving their flags in excitement, and she took time to stop and speak to them. As soon as she arrived she was inspected a military guard of honour drawn from the Yorkshire volunteers. Later, she also had dinner at one of the city’s most iconic buildings Cutlers Hall.

Queen Elizabeth II - visit to Barnsley - 12th December 1986
The Queen signs the visitors book at Barnsley CVS

During the same visit, she also found time to go underground and see Silverwood Colliery and walk around Fargate to meet local residents.

Two years later, on July 12 1977, she completed another tour of the region as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations, taking in Sheffield, Doncaster and Barnsley. Excited people lined the streets to welcome the Queen, who was then aged 51 and had been on the throne for 25 years. While she was in Barnsley, she opened the town’s new markets. The whole tour lasted just five hours, but thousands of children put on entertainment for our monarch in that time.

On December 12 1986, Her Majesty was in Doncaster, this time to visit the Doncaster Leisure Centre complex and see the borough’s train station. Many people, including children from Stirling Nursery and Wilby Carr middle school, waited at these sites to catch a glimpse of Elizabeth II. Then Mayor of Doncaster Edward Gardner was among some of the residents who met the Queen.

Her Majesty also visited Barnsley, where she signed the visitors book at Barnsley CVS. On the same day, she went to Sheffield, where she was greeted by the then Lord Mayor of Sheffield Frank Prince, and looked around the Town Hall.

Queen Elizabeth II - Visit to South Yorkshire 25th March 1994
The Queen at the Church Lads and Church Girls Brigade in Wath

The Queen also found time to visit Rotherham, where she visited the Brampton Centre, accompanied by the then Mayor of Rotherham Jack Skelton. School children waited for her with a gift of flowers.

In March 1991, the Royal couple returned. They visited Barnsley’s Metrodome sport and leisure complex and young swimmers showed them their skills. Later the same day, 8,000 people turned out to see the Queen officially open Sheffield Arena. She then stopped off at Doncaster’s historic Mansion House building.

Three years later, on March 25 1994, the Queen visited Wath to see the Church Lads and Church Girls Brigade and also Elsecar Heritage Centre.

In November 2010, the Queen spent the whole day visiting the area again, this time taking in numerous attractions, including Sheffield Cathedral. She visited the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility at Catcliffe, donning a special pair of protective glasses to try her hand at virtually driving a JCB digger.

Her Majesty’s most recent visit came in Aril last year, when she again returned to the Cathedral to hand out the Maundy Money, as part of traditional Easter celebrations. Hundreds of people and dignitaries gathered inside the Cathedral to watch the service, which was the first time South Yorkshire has played host to it.

The recipients, 89 men and 89 women to reflect the Queen’s age, were given two leather pouches, one red and one white, which contained Maundy coins equating in pence to her age.

ELIZABETH THE II Visit to South Yorkshire 1975 - The queen inspecting a military guard of honour drawn from the Yorkshire volunteers when she arrived in Sheffield

Her Majesty will be carrying out engagements in Windsor today to mark her milestone birthday, with a number of events taking place in June to mark the monarch’s official birthday.

The public celebrations begin in May with the Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration, a 90-minute spectacular in the private grounds of Windsor Castle with 900 horses and more than 1,500 riders and performers.

Visit to South Yorkshire 29 July 1975- Queen underground at Silverwood colliery on 30th July 1975