The government is backing the name change to mark the late monarch’s 100th birthday (Image: Getty)
Heathrow Airport could be re-named after the late Queen Elizabeth to commemorate the 100th anniversary of her birth next year, the Government has said.
Cabinet Minister Lucy Powell described the proposed name change as an “excellent idea”.
The Government has set up the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee to consider how the nation can recognise the decades of service from the late Queen, who was born on April 21 1926.
And Ms Powell, the Leader of the Commons, told MPs she would ask the Committee to consider the name change.
Don’t miss…
Adam Jogee, the MP Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, told MPs: “In October 2024, people from across Newcastle-under-Lyme came together for the unveiling of a wonderful statue of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Queen’s Gardens.
“There has been much talk of in recent days. As our nation will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Queen in April 2026, will the Leader of the House back my calls to rename Heathrow after Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II?
“What a wonderful tribute that would be to a lifetime of service to the country and the Commonwealth.”
Ms Powell said: “I thank my honourable friend for raising that excellent idea with me. He is absolutely right that we need to appropriately mark the late Queen’s extraordinary 70-year reign in a very big way, given all that she contributed to our public life and national identity.
“He will be aware that the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee has been set up to consider how best we could do that, and I will ensure that his suggestion is fed into that committee.”
Don’t miss…
Heathrow is set to be expanded after the Government announced it backed a third runway at the west London airport. It is currently named after the nearby small village of Heathrow but there is precedent for airports changing their names and Liverpool’s airport was re-named Liverpool John Lennon Airport in 2001.
New York International Airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport following the former president’s assassination in 1963.
Queen Elizabeth II was the nation’s longest-reigning monarch with 70 years and 214 days on the throne. The reported 32.5 million people in the UK watched at least part of her funeral following her death in 2022.
A memorial at St James’s Park in London is already planned.