Britain’s Queen Elizabeth got a taste of the Essex lifestyle yesterday (06.05.14).
The monarch and her husband Prince Philip took part in a 650-strong service at Chelmsford’s cathedral church of St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd, where the reverend joked about ITV2 reality show ‘The Only Way is Essex’, famed for its fake tans and nightlife.
During the service, which celebrated 100 years of the diocese, the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell said: "Created to solve the pressing challenge of massive population growth and urbanisation in east London we are, as one experienced priest put it: ‘the most complicated and diverse diocese in the English Church’.
"We serve the most rural, the most urban, the most coastal, and I wish to add, the most glorious diocese in the Church of England. You name it; here in the Diocese of Chelmsford, we’ve got it. "
"Yes, you could even say, the only way is Essex, but I want to tell you about a better way and its roots in this old county – the way of Jesus Christ."
The Daily Express newspaper reports the 88-year-old ruler and Philip, 92, also paid a visit to Felsted School to unveil a plaque commemorating the school’s 450th anniversary and another marking the completion of a new boarding house.
The royals have a strong connection to the establishment since the late Queen Mother attended its 400th anniversary celebrations back in the 60s and former pupil Sir Marcus Setchell helped deliver Prince George last year.
The Only Way is Essex for Queen Elizabeth
