THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE TO COMPLETE HIS LAST SHIFT WITH THE EAST ANGLIAN AIR AMBULANCE

Cambridge Airport

Thursday, 27th July 2017

The Duke of Cambridge will complete his last shift with the East Anglian Air Ambulance on Thursday 27th July at Cambridge Airport. On his final day at work, The Duke will arrive for a night shift, and attend the hand over briefings from the day team as usual. He will then join his team-mates at the helicopter he has flown for the past two years for a group photograph.

The Duke joined EAAA as an Air Ambulance pilot in March 2015. After completing an initial period of job-specific training involving simulator, aircraft and in-flight skills training, he began piloting his first operational missions in July 2015. Throughout his service, The Duke has been based out of Cambridge Airport, as part of a team including specialist doctors, critical care paramedics and pilots providing emergency medical services across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

EAAA helicopters can reach patients anywhere in the region within 25 minutes. They provide rapid, effective treatment as soon as possible after injury, and transport patients directly to hospital if required. Regular landing areas for EAAA helicopters include residential gardens, carparks, beaches, roadsides, and any open space deemed possible by the captain. Last year, the EAAA carried out 2361 missions.

Over the last two years, The Duke has enjoyed the opportunity to connect directly with the community of East Anglia and has valued being part of a team that provides such a critical and often life-saving public service.

In statement issued by Kensington Palace earlier this year the Duke of Cambridge said:

“It has been a huge privilege to fly with the East Anglian Air Ambulance. Following on from my time in the military, I have had experiences in this job I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and that will add a valuable perspective to my Royal work for decades to come.

“I would like to thank the people of East Anglia for being so supportive of my role and for letting me get on with the job when they have seen me in the community or at our region’s hospitals. I would especially like to thank all of my colleagues at EAAA, Babcock, and Cambridge Airport for their friendship and support. I have loved being part of a team of professional, talented people that save lives every day. My admiration for our country’s medical and emergency services community could not be any stronger.”

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The Duke of Edinburgh attends The Captain General’s Parade

Wednesday 2nd August 2017

The Duke of Edinburgh, Captain General, Royal Marines, will attend a Parade to mark the finale of the 1664 Global Challenge on the Buckingham Palace Forecourt on Wednesday 2nd August 2017.

His Royal Highness’s association with the Royal Marines dates back 64 years to 2nd June 1953 upon appointment as Captain General in succession to the late King George VI.

As previously announced, The Duke of Edinburgh will no longer undertake his own programme of public engagements. The Captain General’s Parade will bring His Royal Highness’s individual programme to a conclusion, although he may choose to attend certain events, alongside The Queen, from time to time.

The Royal Marines are the amphibious troops of the Royal Navy, acknowledged as one of the world’s elite commando forces. The 1664 Global Challenge is raising funds and awareness for The Royal Marines Charity, marking the symbolic significance of 1664 as the year in which the Corps was founded. This year, the challenge will see Royal Marines from around the country running 16.64 miles each day for 100 days, totalling a distance of 1664 miles.

His Royal Highness will arrive on the Forecourt of Buckingham Palace and take position on the dais for the Royal Salute and the National Anthem. The Duke will meet representatives from the runners’ contingent, including two Royal Marines who have completed the entire 1664 miles. His Royal Highness will also meet veterans and cadets before returning to the dais to receive the 1664 Global Challenge baton.

The Parade will conclude with a march past, a Royal Salute and three cheers for the Captain General.

Background – The Duke of Edinburgh, Captain General, Royal Marines

The Duke of Edinburgh was appointed Captain General of the Royal Marines on 2nd June 1953, in succession to the late King George VI.

His Royal Highness carries out a number of engagements with the Royal Marines each year to include the following over the last 12 months:

25 March 2017 Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall
22 November 2016 The Royal Marines Colonels Commandant lunch (London)
18 November 2016 60th Anniversary Dinner – Op MUSKETEER (Plymouth)
28 October 2016 Visit to the Royal Marines School of Music (Portsmouth)
26 May 2016 Audiences with outgoing/incoming Commandants General

The Duke of Edinburgh has also undertaken a number of overseas visits to the Royal Marines including:

April 1960 40 & 42 Commando Exercises in the Mediterranean and Malta
June 1968 Presentation of Colours to 42 Commando, Singapore
February 1980 Royal Marines on Winter Training in North Norway
October 1984 40 Commando in Cyprus
September 1988 Royal Marines Exercise Teamwork ’88 in Norway
April 1993 75th anniversary of the Raid of the Mole at Zeebrugge, Belgium
June 2000 Service of Dedication at Ouistreham-Riva-Bella, Normandy (as Patron of Normandy Royal Navy/Royal Marines Memorial Fund)

Other key dates and information

Since 1948, The Duke of Edinburgh has been Honorary President of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Association and Club (a society for past and present members).

Since 1974, The Duke of Edinburgh has been Patron of the National Museum of the Royal Navy (was the Royal Marines Museum), in Portsmouth.

To mark the Royal Marines 350th anniversary year, in 2014, The Duke of Edinburgh accompanied The Queen to the State Opening of Parliament wearing Full Ceremonial Uniform as Captain General Royal Marines. Also in 2014, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh also attended the Royal Marines 350th Anniversary Beat Retreat.

This year, in 2017, a Band of the Royal Marines played at the DofE Gold Awards Presentation at the Palace of Holyroodhouse (expected to be HRH’s last Gold Awards).

A summary of statistics for The Duke of Edinburgh dating from 1952 to 2nd August 2017:

• Total number of solo engagements – 22,219
• Total number of solo overseas visits – 637 (Commonwealth countries – 229 visits to 67 countries / other countries 408 visits to 76 countries)
• Total number of speeches given – 5,496
• Total number of patronages – 785 organisations
• Presentation of colours – 54
• Number of service appointments – 32
• Number of books authored – 14

The Royal Marines 1664 Global Challenge

Over the past four months, 1500 Royal Marines and Army Commandos from around the United Kingdom have taken part in the 1664 Global Challenge to raise funds for The Royal Marines Charity.

The 1664 running challenge began in Plymouth on the 25th of April and will finish 1664 miles and 100 days later on 2nd August at Buckingham Palace.

In addition to the 1664 mile run, Royal Marines from around the globe have been participating in extreme events which include a 34 mile swim underwater and a company of Royal Marines lifting 24,000 tonnes and running 10,000km over 20 days.

History of the Royal Marines

On 28th October, 1664, an Order-in-Council was issued calling for 1,200 soldiers to be recruited for service in the Fleet, to be known as The Duke of York and Albany’s Maritime Regiment of Foot. As The Duke of York was The Lord High Admiral, it became known as the Admiral’s Regiment. The Regiment was paid by the Admiralty, it and its successors became the only long service troops in the 17th and 18th century navy. On 1st August, 1923, the Royal Marine Artillery amalgamated with the Royal Marine Light Infantry to become ‘The Royal Marines’.

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FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS IN ‘DIANA, OUR MOTHER: HER LIFE AND LEGACY’

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry are pleased to share three photographs from the personal photo album of the late Diana, Princess of Wales that feature in the new ITV documentary ‘Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.’

The 90-minute film, made by Oxford Film and Television, celebrates the life and work of Diana, Princess of Wales in the 20th anniversary year since her passing. In the documentary, The Duke and Prince Harry recall fond memories from their childhood as they look through photographs in a family album assembled by the late Princess.

‘Diana, Our Mother: Life and Legacy‘ will air on ITV at 21.00hrs on Monday 24th July.

OFFICIAL PORTRAIT OF PRINCE GEORGE TO MARK HIS FOURTH BIRTHDAY

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to share a new official portrait of Prince George to mark His Royal Highness’s fourth birthday tomorrow.

The photograph was taken at Kensington Palace at the end of June by Chris Jackson, Getty Images Royal Photographer.

The Duke and Duchess are very pleased to share this lovely picture as they celebrate Prince George’s fourth birthday, and would like to thank everyone for all of the kind messages they have received.

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The State Rooms – Buckingham Palace

Open Saturday, 22 July 2017 to
Sunday, 1 October 2017

Buckingham Palace serves as both the office and London residence of Her Majesty The Queen. It is one of the few working royal palaces remaining in the world today.

A speech by The Duke of Cambridge at
The Queen’s Birthday Garden Party in Berlin

Vielen Dank, Herr Botschafter. Guten Abend, meine Damen und Herren.

Thank you, Ambassador, and good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a pleasure for Catherine and me to be with you on this occasion as we celebrate the birthday of my grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen.

It is just under a year since I was last in Germany, to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Britain’s role in its creation. I am delighted to be able to return so soon – this time with Catherine, George and Charlotte.

We have already had a fascinating first day here in Berlin.

We have seen powerful symbols of the historical events which helped shape modern Germany, and spoken with those who carry that that legacy forward today. I thank President Steinmeier and Chancellor Merkel for welcoming us so warmly.

We have also experienced the city beyond the monuments and corridors of power. This afternoon we visited the Strassenkinder project in east Berlin, which supports homeless children and young people. It reminds us of the difficulties faced by some of the most vulnerable people in society, even in prosperous countries such as Britain and Germany, and the value of both countries looking at examples of best practice in the other.

We look forward to seeing more of this great city during our stay here.

But we also want to get to know and understand Germany outside the capital. Tomorrow, we travel to Heidelberg, and on Friday to Hamburg.

Our visit will reflect, and I hope reinforce, the strong and wide-ranging ties between Britain and Germany. These include political, cultural, historical, commercial, sporting, academic and scientific links. 

The United Kingdom and Germany proudly share the same values as open and democratic societies, and the same determination to champion those values and to defend them – not least through our very close defence and security partnerships. Today, we share a fundamental interest in the peace and prosperity of the continent of Europe to which we both belong. 

This relationship between the United Kingdom and Germany really matters.  It is the product of many years of working closely together.  It will continue despite Britain’s recent decision to leave the European Union.  I am confident we shall remain the firmest of friends. 

With this confidence in mind, I am particularly pleased that the British and German governments have agreed to double their funding of UK-German Connection, the bilateral initiative for school and youth links. UK-German Connection was established after the State Visit of the Queen to Germany in 2004, and it provides a wide range of UK-German activities, networks and funding for schools and youth groups. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and we want to establish friendships between our young people that will last a lifetime.

I should like to finish with a message that my grandmother The Queen has sent to you all for this evening, and which she asked me to read to you:

Prince Philip and I send our warmest good wishes to all of you gathered for this special Garden Party, on the occasion of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s official visit to Germany.

We have fond memories of our five State Visits to Germany, from our first in 1965 to our most recent in 2015. Over the course of those fifty years, British-German relations have thrived, allowing us to face the challenges and embrace the opportunities of the 21st century together.

I am delighted that The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will experience the beauty of this country and the warmth of its people when they visit Berlin, Hamburg and Heidelberg.

I hope you all have a most enjoyable evening.

– Elizabeth R

Vielen Dank.

Thank you.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Poland and Germany

Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are undertaking an official tour to Poland and Germany this week, the 17th to 21st of July. This visit is at the request of The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and is Their Royal Highnesses’ first official joint visit to Poland and Germany. The Duke made an official visit to Germany last summer.

As with previous tours, Their Royal Highnesses have asked that this tour allow them opportunities to meet a wide variety of people in both countries. In addition to meeting leaders in business, government and civil society, The Duke and Duchess will prioritise opportunities to meet the young people of both countries; from entrepreneurs, to mental health campaigners, and bright young talents in music and the arts.

The tour will also take in the stunning scenery and architectural feats of Poland and Germany. The Duke and Duchess will wander through the beautiful market of Gdansk flanked by terracotta houses and cobbled pathways; they will take part in a rowing race on the Neckar River; and they will tour the spectacular Elbphilharmonie Concert hall in Hamburg.

The five day tour will also include time acknowledging the complex 20th century histories of each country with visits to the Warsaw Rising Museum, Stutthof Concentration Camp, and the Berlin Holocaust Memorial. At each location Their Royal Highnesses will meet survivors of these periods, who will describe their personal experiences.

The tour begins with The Duke and Duchess arriving in Warsaw at midday on the 17th, after which they will be greeted by President Duda and the First Lady at the Presidential Palace, who will officially welcome Their Royal Highnesses to Poland.

From here they will travel to the Warsaw Rising Museum, which is dedicated to the uprising of 1944 which saw the Polish resistance Home Army attempt to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. The Polish resistance was defeated after 63 days of fighting, but is remembered as the largest single military effort by any European resistance movement during World War II. Their Royal Highnesses will tour the museum, and meet with veterans before lighting candles in memory of those involved in the Rising.

Their Royal Highnesses will next visit the Heart in the Warsaw Spire building, joining young Polish entrepreneurs. The Heart is a business incubator with impressive panoramic views of Poland’s capital, and is home to a range of exciting new business start-ups. The Duke and Duchess will join a busy, bustling event which includes a tech market-place, and pitching sessions from Polish start-ups. This event will mark the beginning of a ‘Warsaw-London bridge’ initiative that aims to help small Polish businesses access London’s unique opportunities for scaling up to become global players.

That evening the Royal couple will travel to the picturesque Orangery in Łazienki Park, where the British Ambassador will host a Queen’s Birthday Party. Here in front of 600 invited guests, The Duke will give a speech, which will close the first day of the tour.

Day two starts with a trip to the former Nazi Germany Concentration Camp, Stutthof. Stutthof was the first camp set up outside German borders, in September 1939, and one of the last camps liberated by the Allies, in May 1945. 110,000 people – men, women and children – from 28 countries were imprisoned in Stutthof, of whom as many as 65,000, including 28,000 Jews, died. During their visit, Their Royal Highnesses will meet a group of five former prisoners of the camp.

Following their morning at Stutthof, the Royal couple will travel to Gdansk. This handsome port city is located on Poland’s northern Baltic coastline. It is awash with colourful buildings, and narrow cobbled streets, with numerous shops devoted to amber, the city’s most prominent export. In the central market square Their Royal Highnesses will join a street party where they will be offered Goldwasser – a Gdansk liqueur, and traditional Polish pierogi, while watching amber craftsmen at work, and listening to local musicians and artists who will contribute to the festive feeling.

From here they will visit the Gdansk Shakespeare theatre, of which The Prince of Wales is Patron. During the seventeenth century there was a large English-speaking community based in Gdansk, which made the city an important destination for travelling English players. The Shakespeare Theatre opened in 2014, and is home to the city’s annual Shakespeare festival, attended by theatre-lovers from around the world. The Theatre has an adaptable auditorium which allows for three different sized stages, and a retractable roof. Their Royal Highnesses will see the roof opening during a special performance, before attending a small reception inside the theatre for Poles from the world of arts, culture and media.Their time in Gdansk will end with a trip to the European Solidarity Centre, in Gdansk’s shipyards the birth-place of the Solidarity movement in Poland. The Duke and Duchess will tour the museum there, and meet with founding members of Solidarity. On departure Their Royal Highnesses will walk through the iconic shipyard gates, a key symbol of the protests during the 1980s, before laying a wreath at the foot of the Solidarity Monument. This visit will mark the end of the second day, as The Duke and Duchess return to Warsaw for the night.

Day three will see Their Royal Highnesses bidding farewell to Poland, before beginning the German element of the tour in the capital, Berlin. The Duke and Duchess will start the day’s engagements with a private meeting with Chancellor Merkel. This will be The Duke’s second meeting with the Chancellor; they first met during his trip to Düsseldorf last year.

Following this Their Royal Highnesses will visit the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s most famous landmark and a symbol of German unification. The Royal couple will say hello to crowds gathered on Pariser Platz in front of the Gate, before making their way to the Holocaust Memorial. Here they will tour the museum before walking through the Memorial itself.

The afternoon will see The Duke and Duchess travel to the eastern district of Marzahn. They will visit Strassenkinder, a charity which supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, including homeless children. In the charity’s youth club, Their Royal Highnesses will spend time with some of the young people who have received help from the charity, as well as meeting individuals from the Robert Enke Foundation. Set up in memory of the footballer, this organisation raises awareness of mental health issues, particularly in sport.

The Royal couple will then return to the west of the city, and meet with President Steinmeier at the Bellevue Palace.

That evening, Their Royal Highnesses will attend a Queen’s Birthday Party held in the gardens of the British Ambassador’s residence. The Duke of Cambridge will give his second speech of the tour during this reception.

Day four includes a visit to one of Germany’s most enchanting cities, Heidelberg, which has been twinned with Cambridge since 1965. Just south of Frankfurt, surrounded by thick forest, this is the oldest university town in Germany.

The Duke and Duchess’s first stop in Heidelberg will be the German Cancer Research Centre. They will meet researchers and visit the stem cell research lab to learn more about the important work being done there.

Their Royal Highnesses will then proceed to the centre of Heidelberg, situated by the riverside and overlooked by the ruins of its famous castle. They will wander through the central market square, on which a British-German market will be set up offering local food and drink before the Mayor of Heidelberg leads the way to the River Neckar.

There, The Duke and Duchess will embark on a rowing boat each for a friendly competition, joined by rowers from both Cambridge and Heidelberg. The winners will be congratulated at the finish line, before The Duke and Duchess return to Berlin.

That evening, The Duke and Duchess will attend a reception in the vintage mirrored hall of Clärchens Ballhaus. Opened in 1913, Clärchens is one of the last remaining old ballrooms in Berlin, and will play host to a reception for some of the most creative, innovative, and exciting new names in the world of art, culture, style, fashion and technology in the city.

Day five will see The Duke and Duchess visit Hamburg which is Germany’s second largest city, and home to its largest harbour. It is known for its strong links to the UK, which go back to the Hanseatic League in the 13th century. The first stop for The Duke and Duchess will be the Maritime Museum on the bank of the river Elbe. Here The Duke and Duchess will celebrate the joint UK-German year of science, which this year is focused on oceans.

Their Royal Highnesses will make their way further through Hamburg’s dockside warehouse quarter to the Elbphilharmonie. Opened in January 2017, the “Elphi” was built with the aim of creating a new city landmark. It is one of the biggest concert halls in the world and renowned for its advanced acoustics. The Duke and Duchess will join the orchestra on stage, before listening to a special performance by the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. The audience will be filled with children from all corners of the city, with the aim of inspiring a new generation to develop a passion for music and perhaps play at the venue in years to come.

The Duke and Duchess will then depart by boat and travel down the River Elbe to their final destination for this tour: Airbus. The company’s base in Hamburg is home to production, maintenance and training facilities. The couple will tour the complex and meet apprentices, both German and English. The Duke and Duchess will then visit the final assembly line of an A320 aircraft and view the cockpit of a near-complete plane.

This engagement will close The Duke and Duchess’s tour to Poland and Germany, and Their Royal Highnesses will depart from there to the UK.

Before I close I have one further point to add. The Duke and Duchess are very much looking forward to this tour and are delighted with the exciting and varied programme that has been put together for it. They have decided that their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, will travel with them and we expect the children to be seen on at least a couple of occasions over the course of the week. They look forward to a busy and impactful tour and are grateful that they will have the opportunity to meet the Polish and German people – such important friends of the United Kingdom – as a family.

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The Duke of Cambridge’s speech at The Queen’s Birthday Garden Party in Poland

Mr. President, Minister, Ambassador,

Panie i Panowie Dobry Wieczor 

Good evening to you all – and thank you for joining Catherine and me at this very special occasion. 

Tonight we have double reason to celebrate:  we mark the birthday of my grandmother The Queen, and we celebrate the depth and breadth of the shared ties of our two great countries.

The links between Britain and Poland go back centuries, and are steeped in a rich history of cultural exchange and close commercial relations.  The Shakespeare Theatre in Gdansk, which Catherine and I will see tomorrow, is a reminder that cultural links have long been at the heart of our close relationship.  

Shakespeare’s plays were performed in Poland – and indeed in Polish – very soon after they were first staged in London.  

Around the same time, grain merchants from Poland were plying their trade into Britain, pathfinders for the many entrepreneurs and skilled workers who make the same journey in both directions today.  

We in the United Kingdom value our links with Poland enormously.  We admire Poland as a remarkable example of courage, fortitude and resilience.  You have survived centuries of assaults on your land, including partitions that were designed to wipe you off the map of Europe.  

In the 20th century, Poland displayed incredible bravery in resisting brutal Nazi occupation, not least the heroic uprising in Warsaw’s Jewish ghetto in 1943, and the Warsaw Rising of 1944.  

Catherine and I were very moved to visit the Warsaw Rising Museum this afternoon with President and Mrs Duda; as I know we will be, too, when we visit Stutthof concentration camp tomorrow, a reminder of the suffering of Poland’s people and of the Holocaust.

After the Second World War, Poland endured the imposition of Communist dictatorship. But in 1989, in the culmination of a great national renaissance spearheaded by Solidarity, Poland threw off the authoritarian shackles and again took its place as one of the leading nations of Europe.  It has been an astonishing achievement – and testament to the Polish character and courage.  

There is much to celebrate about the warmth of our relationship today.  We are partners in NATO and, for the first time since the Second World War, British troops are stationed in Poland.  Some of them, I am pleased to say, are with us here tonight.  

And Polish is now the second most spoken language in the United Kingdom, with a generation of young people growing up who feel both British and Polish.  Such links – diplomatic, military, cultural – offer much promise and opportunity for the future.

Catherine and I are delighted to be embarking on our first visit to Poland, and we hope to return many times in the years to come.  Mr. President and Mrs. Duda, thank you for your hospitality, and thank you to everyone for the warm welcome you have given us, which underlines the strength of the relationship between our two peoples.

If I may, I would like to conclude by reading a short message which my grandmother The Queen asked me to give to you tonight from her:

‘Prince Philip and I send our warmest good wishes to all of you attending this special Garden Party on the occasion of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first official visit to Poland. 

‘We have fond memories of our visit to Poland in 1996, when we experienced its world-renowned hospitality in Warsaw and Krakow. I am delighted that The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be able to experience this for themselves in Warsaw and Gdansk. 

‘In 1996, I spoke about the depth of British-Polish relations, dating back nearly a thousand years, and it gives me great pleasure that the friendship between our two nations and peoples has since gone from strength to strength. I have no doubt it will continue to prosper in the years to come.  

‘I hope you have a most enjoyable and memorable evening. 

‘Dziękujemy i miłego wieczoru’