HAD life worked out differently, yesterday she would have been Queen of England. As it is, her fans will have to make do with the memories they have when Diana, Princess of Wales came to Worcester almost 31 years ago to the day, on May 5, 1992, to open the first St Richard's Hospice in Rose Hill House.

The event features in Worcester’s History and Heritage Calendar, which marks special occasions in the city over the centuries, and few are more poignant than this.

Diana stole everyone’s hearts that day, sitting with residents and chatting with staff. As she left, she walked over to meet the waiting crowds and accepted flowers and gifts to take back for her two young sons. The decision to ask her to open the hospice was inspirational.

The St Richard’s organisation began in Droitwich in 1984 before moving to Castle Street, Worcester. As it developed, larger premises were needed and there was first a move to Rose Hill and then, following a £5.25m appeal, to the present complex in Wildwood Drive in 2006.

Other notables in May in Worcester have included:

May 4, 1899: Worcestershire County Cricket Club, which had relocated from the Cinderella Ground in Bransford Road, took on Yorkshire in the first County Championship game to be played on the New Road ground, eventually losing the three day match by 11 runs.

May 7, 1839: Worcester Chamber of Commerce was founded. Current chief executive Sharon Smith said: “The local Chamber of Commerce was founded by a group of local businesses who believed working collectively could achieve more than they could individually. Nearly 200 years on the Chamber vision remains exactly the same bringing together local businesses to support and grow the local economy.”

May 13, 1864: Star of the Victorian music halls Vesta Tilley was born Matilda Alice Powles in Commandery Street, Worcester. She first appeared on stage at the age of three and by six was singing songs dressed as a man at the Alhambra Music Hall in Lowesmoor. She then added male impersonation and never looked back, performing on stage until 1920. Her father chose the name Vesta Tilley when his daughter played the Royal Music Hall in 1878. During the First World War, Vesta gave concerts to support the war effort and was nicknamed “Britain’s greatest recruiting sergeant”. She died in 1952 aged 88.

May 14, 1203: Wulstan, patron saint of vegetarians whose shrine is in Worcester Cathedral, was canonised. Dr David Morrison, Cathedral librarian, said: “ After miracles at his tomb Bishop Wulstan was made a saint and confirmed in a Papal document of May 14, 1203.”

May 24, 1982: Local lad Nigel “Bernie” Bruen was decorated for his bravery and skills in the Falklands War. He and his small bomb disposal team removed the unexploded missiles from HMS Sir Galahad and HMS Sir Lancelot, thus saving the huge value of those warships. He wrote in his book Keep Your Head Down: “The Sir Galahad bomb had made a terrible mess. Entering on the port side below the shade deck it had punched its way through several compartment before coming to rest among the havoc it had created. Was it fitted with a time fuse? If so how long had we got? This bomb was waiting to detonate. Eventually we eased the bomb over the side into a rubber boat and then let it sink to the bottom of the ocean. Now to do the same again on HMS Sir Lancelot.”

May 20, 1950: Sir Winston Churchill visited Worcester to be awarded the Freedom of the City. By then leader of the opposition, he was greeted by a rapturous reception from thousands of onlookers, who crowded into the High Street around the Guildhall to get a glimpse of their Second World War hero. After the ceremony and lunch at the Guildhall, others who were unable to get into the city centre lined the route through Worcester to show their appreciation as his car took him north to see a memorial to the 1920s prime minister Stanley Baldwin, at Astley, near Stourport, for which he had provided some of the funding.

May 28, 1963: The Beatles play the Gaumont Theatre, Worcester, the first of two visits to the city that year, the second being on September 4. On the first occasion they were actually supporting top of the bill Roy Orbison, but as the tour progressed Beatlemania began to grip the country and by the time they got to Worcester it was the Liverpool band everyone wanted to see. The second time they topped the bill with other acts including Rockin’ Henry & The Hayseeds, The Fourmost and Mike Berry & The Innocents.

May 31, 1928: The last electric tram ran in Worcester and the next day a fleet of Midland Red motor buses took over. The life of the city’s fleet of single and double-decker electric tramcars had been comparatively short at just 24 years. They were introduced in 1904 to replace the city's fleet of horse-drawn trams, which had operated for 22 years from 1881 until 1903.