Tetbury welcomes Royal son

THE normally quiet town of Tetbury was celebrating the birth of their new neighbour on Monday night.

Customers in the town’s hotels and public houses raised their glasses to toast the arrival of the new Prince as soon as the announcement was made.

At the Prince of Wales Inn, less than a mile from Highgrove, the Gloucestershire home of the Prince and Princess of Wales, landlord Colin Dyer, his wife Sue and their regulars joined in the celebrations while at The White Hart Hotel, the manager George Wortley popped the champagne corks and was joined by what seemed the world’s press and television.

The town still had its flags and bunting flying from the Woolsack Day a month ago but shopkeepers added their own decorations on hearing the news.

The Mayor, Councillor Tony Williams, sent a telegram of congratulations to Buckingham Palace. It read "Heartiest congratulations on the safe arrival of our new Prince, from the town council and townsfolk of Tetbury. We wish both parents and child a long and happy life.

The Mayor said that it had been decided several months ago that the town would not be making any official presentation. He said that Tetbury raised over £2,600 to present the Prince and Princess with new gates for Highgrove. Instead we will be planting commemorative trees outside the library to mark the birth.

In nearby Malmesbury too the Mayor Councillor Brian Denley has also sent a telegram of congratulations addressed to the Prince of Wales. Members of the Tetbury Chamber of Commerce are waiting for the appropriate time to send off their own gift for the Royal Baby. Several weeks ago the 90 members bought the present in readiness for the baby’s arrival. It is a child’s rattle, dated, 1820 which they purchased from one of their own members.