Representatives from St Albans were welcomed by HM The Queen last week to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta.

As a Magna Carta Charter Town, St Albans was represented by Mayor of St Albans City and District, Councillor Salih Gaygusuz, as well as other councillors and civic leaders, at the event which took place at Runnymede on Monday, June 15.

St Albans was at the start of the development of Magna Carta. It hosted the first meeting between the churchmen and barons that led to the charter of rights being sealed by King John at Runnymede in 1215.

Also present at the Runnymede commemoration event were Prime Minister, David Cameron, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, HRH the Duke of Cambridge, and HRH The Princess Royal.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby was among the other dignitaries from the UK and around the world present.

As part of the celebrations, a new art installation, The Jurors by Hew, was unveiled by HRH the Duke of Cambridge on Runnymede Meadows.

There were also musical and spoken word performances and a rededication of the American Bar Association's Magna Carta Memorial by HRH the Princess Royal.

Cllr Salih Gaygusuz, Mayor of St Albans City and District, said: "This event commemorated the momentous changes that began in St Albans in 1213.

"Magna Carta is the foundation stone that supports the freedoms enjoyed today by hundreds of millions of people around the world.

"It brought protection and justice to ordinary people by enshrining the Rule of Law in English society. For centuries Magna Carta has influenced constitutional thinking worldwide including in Europe, Japan, the United States, many Commonwealth countries, and throughout Latin America and Africa."