In 2012, Greenwich was formally declared a Royal Borough as part of Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Join us as we look back through the archives to find out more about Elizabeth II's visits to Greenwich.

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On 25 April 2012, the Queen reopened Cutty Sark following a major conservation project. Her visit came almost 55 years after she had first opened the ship to the public in 1957.

To preserve the hull’s shape, Cutty Sark had been lifted three metres above the ground, allowing the Queen to walk beneath the ship itself. Millions of visitors have since enjoyed the same unique perspective.

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This is the Queen's Bedchamber in the Queen's House as it was laid out during Elizabeth II's visit in 1990.

From lavish royal residence to a school training boys for a life at sea, the Queen's House has seen numerous transformations since it was designed by Inigo Jones in the 17th century. Today it is home to Royal Museums Greenwich's internationally renowned art collection.

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The Queen had a long association with the National Maritime Museum. On 27 April 1937, as Princess Elizabeth, she accompanied her father, King George VI, at the official opening of the new museum.

She is seen here in the centre of the photograph, walking through the colonnades that connect the National Maritime Museum with the Queen's House.

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The young Princess Elizabeth follows her mother, Queen Elizabeth, up the stairs of the Queen's House.

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In 2003, Her Majesty returned to these same steps as part of an official visit.

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The Royal Observatory Greenwich has played host to numerous royal visits throughout its 350-year history. In 1698, for example, the Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great, observed the planet Venus with first Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed.

Centuries later, on 22 May 2007, Queen Elizabeth II was joined by her husband Prince Philip for the opening of the new Planetarium and Astronomy Centre. 

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This photograph shows the Queen walking through the main entrance of the National Maritime Museum during a visit in 1999.

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In 1951, Princess Elizabeth signed the royal visitors' book in the Great Hall of the Queen's House, having opened a new wing of the National Maritime Museum. Less than a year later, in 1952, she acceded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II.

Art in focus

An oil painting showing the royal yacht Britannia sailing up the River Thames, with the historic buildings of Greenwich in the background

This painting by the artist Norman Wilkinson captures the royal yacht Britannia arriving in Greenwich on 15 May 1954.

In 1953-4, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh undertook a six-month tour of the Commonwealth. They returned to London in the new royal yacht. It is shown here off Greenwich, where it stopped briefly to allow the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret to come aboard before sailing upstream, to moor above Tower Bridge.

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