Blackpool welcomed a Royal visit this October to commemorate the 125 birthday of the resort’s two famous landmarks, the Blackpool Grand Theatre and The Blackpool Tower.

Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex GCVO came to the town on Tuesday 1 October, meeting some of the key people who have helped save and restore the resort’s iconic attractions.

Her Royal Highness first visited the Blackpool Grand Theatre, where she enjoyed a short performance from two youth groups, Our Lady of the Assumption RC Primary School group who are part of the Blackpool Grand’s Associate Schools Programme and the Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Brownies, who performed an excerpt from Blackpool Scout Gang Show.

Following the performance Her Royal Highness met representatives from the three charities who saved the Theatre from demolition in the early 1970s along with young people for whom the Blackpool Grand is an important part of their lives, both as a venue to perform in and as an educational resource that works with schools across Blackpool to improve young people’s literacy, resilience and learning.

Following her meeting at the Theatre, The Countess then visited The Blackpool Tower

Chairman of the Blackpool Grand Theatre Trust, Roger Lloyd Jones, said: “We were absolutely delighted to welcome HRH The Countess of Wessex GCVO to our beautiful building on this, our 125 anniversary year.  All year the team have been working hard to both celebrate and fundraise for the preservation and development of this important Grade II* Listed heritage asset and the Royal visit is really the cherry on the cake of our very special year.”