The Sport and Recreation Alliance would like to send its congratulations to Her Majesty the Queen, for becoming Britain’s longest reigning Monarch.
Queen Elizabeth the Second, the Patron of the Alliance, passed the reign of Queen Victoria by being on the thrown for 23,226 days, 16 hours and 30 minutes at 17:30 on Wednesday.
The original royal patrons of the Alliance, decreed as such upon the creation of the Alliance (Central Council of Recreative Physical Training as it was) in 1935 were the Queen’s Grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary. Queen Elizabeth is also a patron of over 600 other charities and organisations.
Interesting sporting facts about the Queen include:
The Queen’s racing colours are a purple body with gold braid, scarlet sleeves and black velvet cap with gold fringe. They were adopted from those used by King Edward VII; one of his most successful horses was called Diamond Jubilee.
She attended her first football match in 1953, when she watched “the Matthews final” in which the late Sir Stanley Matthews inspired Blackpool to come from 3-1 down to win the cup 4-3.
Coincidentally, this match was considered the first major TV audience for a sporting event. After this final, the FA cup was given its own standalone slot for radio and TV broadcast.
The Alliance hopes to continue this long and prosperous royal association for many years to come, beginning with the Patron's Lunch which will be held on the Mall next year.
This afternoon, the Chancellor delivered her Budget speech to Parliament, outlining decisions on tax and spending.
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Ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget statement on 26 November, we take a look a look at the key areas to be aware of and the work the Alliance has been doing lobbying on behalf of members.
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Government has today formally launched a consultation on reforming the role of statutory consultees in the planning system. The consultation runs for eight weeks, closing on 13 January 2026.
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