In the summer of 1951, as part of the Festival of Britain, Queen Elizabeth II came to Hatfield and witnessed aviation's most advanced aircraft take to the skies.

As part of the Festival of Britain, an ambitious day of air racing was planned for June 23 Royal Aero Club, that would see propellor-driven planes take part in annual King’s Cup Air Race.

But, the future of flying would also show what they could do, with a de Havilland Vampire, de Havilland Venom and Supermarine Attacker pitted against each other to set the fastest speed.

At the controls of these aircraft would be three of Britain’s best pilots, with John Cunningham in the Vampire, John Derry in the Venom and Mike Lithgow in the Attacker.

All of this would take place in front of royalty, with soon-to-be Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret – who entered a Hawker Hart II into the King’s Cup – watching on.

Things didn’t go to plan though, as bad weather saw both the King’s Cup and the highly-anticipated jet race cancelled.

But, the future Queen and the large crowds at Hatfield did get a glimpse at the cutting edge of aviation, with a Gloster Meteor – the RAF’s first jet aircraft – and the world’s first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet.