In 2022, Great Britain witnessed a moment that had not occurred in most citizens' lifetimes - the ascension of a new monarch.

Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III was officially declared as Britain’s sovereign.

The declaration, part of a centuries-old tradition, took place in towns and villages across the country, including Farnham.

In its edition of September 15, 2022, the Herald reported: “A large crowd gathered at the Farnham Town Council offices in South Street on Sunday to hear the mayor declare King Charles III as Britain’s ‘lawful and rightful liege lord’.”

Present at the proclamation was Surrey’s Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Bill Biddell, and MP Jeremy Hunt.

The occasion was tinged with sadness too of course, with the Herald reporting the “mournful sound of St Andrew’s tolling bells could be heard across the Farnham valley last Thursday evening after the death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.

The paper added: “Every town and village paid their respects when the news broke of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.” 

Farnham Town Council opened a book of condolence at the Town Hall in South Street, while the Herald ran an eight-page special supplement of tributes, reports and photographs.

The town council also organised for a string quartet to play at Gostrey Meadow ahead of a National Moment of Reflection on the eve of the Queen’s funeral.

Elizabeth II’s state funeral on September 19 was the first held in Britain since Winston Churchill’s in 1965 and many Farnham residents will have viewed the events unfold on television and some will have joined in with the estimated one million other mourners in central London – and some will have queued and queued to visit the Queen lying in state along with around a quarter of a million others.