Sixteen oaths of allegiance to the Queen marked a historic moment as Oxford hosted its first British citizenship ceremony.

Dr Amanda Ingham Adler, above, and Qing Ying Huang, right, with daughter Suki, show their pleasure at becoming British

The 30-minute ceremony on Thursday, April 15, featured music, pledges to respect democratic freedoms and a warm welcome to Oxfordshire from the Queen's Representative in county, the Lord Lieutenant Hugo Brunner.

First up to collect a certificate was Ed Witney, a 50-year-old IT director from South Africa, living in Banbury, whose accountant wife Pam also took an oath of allegiance "to give loyalty to the UK and respect its rights and freedoms".

It was also a family affair for Qing Ying Huang, who arrived with her one-year-old baby Suki, and husband Martin Fogg.

They had met when Martin was working in China as a consultant engineer.

While some had turned up in jeans and t-shirt, Dr Amanda Adler, 44, a consultant in diabetes from California, wore an English rose surrounded by Scottish bluebells and a Welsh daffodil.

She said: "I appreciate the responsibility of it. I particularly liked the words about showing tolerance."

After children from the Oxfordshire Youth Brass Ensemble played Jerusalem and the National Anthem, the Lord Lieutenant said: "I found it very heartening because those attending seemed to have been glad to have been involved in the ceremony rather than simply signing papers."

Until now, successful applicants were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Crown before a solicitor or justice of the peace.