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This summer marks the centenary of two major events in Leicester.

In June 1919 Leicester was granted city status following a visit by King George V and Queen Mary. Later that summer, Leicester Fosse was renamed Leicester City to reflect this new status.

Leicester City Football Club’s official historian John Hutchinson highlights some of the milestones in Leicester Fosse’s history and shows how, in the wake of the royal visit, the Fosse became known as Leicester City.

To view the corresponding pictures, scroll through the gallery below.

At the end of the 1914-15 season, prior to the suspension of the Football League for the duration of the First World War, this Leicester Fosse team (picture 1) had finished bottom but one of the Football League and had been forced to seek re-election to maintain its league status.

The club had successfully overcome this hurdle but by the summer of 1919, four years of poorly attended wartime regional league competitions had left the club in an unsustainable financial state.

It was against this background that on Wednesday, May 28, it was announced that King George V (picture 2) and Queen Mary were to pay their long-promised visit to the town of Leicester on Whitsuntide Tuesday, June 10, 1919.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of this visit. The King had originally intended to come the town in November 1918 to see hospital and munitions centres, but the visit had been postponed due to the Armistice, which ended the First World War, being signed that month.

It was to be a full ceremonial visit with royal carriages and horses. The intention was for the King and Queen to make a royal progress through the town, to hold a reception and an investiture at DeMontfort Hall and to witness a grand march past of demobilised and serving troops on Victoria Park.

The weather was fine on the day of the visit, with clear blue skies. The King and Queen arrived at London Road’s Midland Railway Station. Anticipating the royal arrival, dense crowds had been gathering for hours, lining the route and taking up every vantage point.

At the station, the platform and stairs were carpeted with blue and white streamers fluttering overhead. At the entrance to the staircase at the end of the platform, there was an archway surmounted with a gold-coloured crown. The station walls were covered with blue-and-white drapes. Impressive floral displays abounded, both in the station and along the route of the royal procession. There was a red carpet in the station’s outer court, where 100 demobilised soldiers who had served since 1914 were drawn up.

After being greeted by civic dignitaries, the King, who was wearing a Field Marshall’s uniform, and Queen Mary were greeted by the public outside the station. There was spontaneous cheering and a 21-gun salute.

The town was bedecked with impressive decorations. These included the ones at the entrance to Midland Station, and at the Victoria Park gates. Countless flags flew from private buildings. Bunting criss-crossed the royal route. A magnificent blaze of colours entirely transformed the appearance of the streets. Church bells rang out for an hour before the royal arrival.

The royal party, in two horse-drawn carriages, headed by scarlet-coated outriders set off for the clock tower. Among other venues, the royal couple visited the Corah factory in St Margaret's which had produced over 10million knitted articles for the forces during the war (pictures 3 and 4) and the Discharged Soldier and Sailors Club in Bond Street near the clock tower.

Four days later on Saturday, June 14, the Lord Mayor Alderman Lovell received a letter from the Home Secretary informing him that "His Majesty has been graciously pleased to approve the restoration to your ancient town of its former status as a city” (picture 5). Leicester had lost its city status in the reign of King John in 1199. Eight-hundred and twenty years later, Leicester, by now a town of 230,000 inhabitants, had its status restored.

During that same summer of 1919, Leicester Fosse Football Club was struggling for survival. It had played its last ever game against Birmingham City on April 26, 1919, in the Midland section of the War Time Football League. The Fosse lost the game 4-2, with Sam Currie (picture 06) scoring the Fossils’ last ever goal. The team-sheet (picture 07) for this match is on display in reception at the King Power Stadium.

When the decision was taken within weeks of the King’s visit to re-form Leicester Fosse, it seemed natural that the new club’s name should be Leicester City Football Club in order to reflect the town’s new city status.

Eight months after his visit to Leicester, King George V watched the newly-named Leicester City in an FA Cup match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (picture 08) when a special silk programme bearing the royal coat of arms was produced to mark the occasion (picture 09).