King Charles III has given his royal approval to Burnley, calling the town “beautiful” during a meeting with the town’s MP.
Oliver Ryan, who is the MP for Burnley, was one of a group of new MPs and members of the House of Lords invited to a reception with King Charles in London on Wednesday, January 29.
During their exchange, the King informed Oliver he remembered doing work in Burnley on the regeneration around the canals and Weavers Triangle and that he was very fond of the town.
The MP passed on the best wishes od the towns of Burnley, Padiham and Brierfield to his majesty and his family and asked him to visit Burnley again when possible.
Mr Ryan said: “It was a complete privilege to meet Their Majesties The King and Queen at Buckingham Palace on behalf of my constituents.
“I’d never been to Buckingham Palace before, and it felt a very long way from home in Burnley, it was a truly surreal experience and a great honour.”
King Charles’ connection to the town stems further than just canals, however, with the monarch a huge fan of Burnley FC.
At a reception at Windsor Castle in 2012, the then Prince revealed that he was a Clarets fan and spoke to audiences of his love for Turf Moor.
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Dog lover and self-confessed ‘nerd’ Mr Ryan became Lancashire’s youngest MP when he won back Burnley for Labour with a majority of 3,420 on July 4, after Antony Higginbotham’s once-in-a-century Tory victory in 2019.
His ambitions for his time in Parliament included attracting investment, ending generational poverty, tackling youth unemployment and improving public services – with a particular focus on the NHS.