Queen's birthday sees Selby achieve city status

Queen marks 90 years with an award of city status for the birthplace of her ancestor.

Selby

CITY STATUS: Selby Abbey to become Cathedral as part of city bid.
Barry Marsh / Flickr / Creative Commons
CITY STATUS: Selby Abbey to become Cathedral as part of city bid.

Selby is set to become an officially recognised city as part of celebrations to mark the Queen's 90th birthday.

The award was granted by the Queen earlier today under powers known as the royal prerogative. An official charter will now be prepared with Selby becoming an city from April 21th, the monarch's birthday.

From this date Selby will join the list of the United Kingdom's smallest cities. Our 14,731 residents putting us in seventh place, sandwiched between the cities of Armagh and Ely with populations of 14,590 and 15,102 respectively.

A statement from Buckingham Palace confirmed that Selby's winning bid was chosen to provide recognition for the town as birthplace of the Queen's ancestor, King Henry I. The Queen is said to be 'delighted' to have chosen the town and looks forward to visiting her new city in the future.

Selby Abbey will also receive upgraded status as part of Selby's winning city bid. The abbey will take receipt of its own cathedra in the coming days and will officially become Selby Cathedral on the same day as the town's city celebrations.

Selby's award marks the first time a UK town attained city status since 2012 when Scotland's Perth was upgraded as part of celebrations in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year.

A similar application by nearby Goole was rejected.