It was a lampoon on the cost and the extravagance of the visit. The song was written by veteran Tees folk singer Graeme Miles, allegedly about the Duchess of Kent - and about Middlesbrough General. The aldermen held a collection. To get the mayor's chain out of pawn, The message went round To the heads of the town That collars and ties should be worn. The rest needs must be summarised.
Trouble is, everyone's forgotten to open the new ward.
Some may consider the story apocryphal. Others might exercise the royal prerogative. Pat Cariss shall have her words, though the last word may be some way off yet. The Lord Lieutenant of Durham officiates in Stockton and sundry places, the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire around the Boro. Tyne and Wear, where clearly they aren't so cultured, still has its own Lord Lieutenant though the county no longer exists.