Minster marks Queen's Accession with special service

Halifax Minster will be celebrating the accession to the throne of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by holding the special service which will take place this Sunday (February 5) at 4pm.

The Queen’s accession was on February 6, 1952 while she was on a Royal tour of Australia and New Zealand by way of Kenya.

The Queen and Prince Philip had just returned to their Kenyan home, Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, when word arrived of the death of her father, King George VI and consequently Elizabeth’s immediate accession to the throne.

Vicar of Halifax Minster, The Rev Canon Hilary Barber, said: “This special service takes place on the eve of the accession, a pivotal turning point in history.

“We felt it fitting that Halifax Minster, which is a Crown Living, should mark this historic occasion.”

The service will take place in the presence of the Mayor of Calderdale, Coun Howard Blagbrough and the Deputy Lieutenants of the Borough.

The music that will be performed includes the anthem Confortare, which was commissioned by Calderdale Council for The Queen’s Jubilee in 2013 and written by Dr Simon Lindley with words taken from the book of Psalms.

Everyone is welcome to the service.