THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL WILL VISIT THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN AND THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT 

At the request of the British Government, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and The Arab Republic of Egypt. 

The tour will showcase these strong bilateral relationships, with a focus particularly on addressing the climate crisis. His Royal Highness will explore how leaders, the private sector and wider society can implement commitments following COP26, and the World Leaders’ Summit due to be held from 1st – 2nd November in Glasgow. 

THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN 16TH – 18TH NOVEMBER 

Their Royal Highnesses will visit The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the year that marks both Jordan’s own centenary and 100 years of the UK-Jordan bilateral relationship. 

Their Royal Highnesses’ return to Jordan, underlines the importance that Her Majesty’s Government places on its close ties with Jordan, which is underpinned by the countries’ deep security cooperation and the long-standing relationship between the two Royal Families. 

On the first day of engagements, Their Royal Highnesses will be formally welcomed by King Abdullah II and Queen Rania at Al Husseiniya Palace. 

During their visit, The Prince and The Duchess will visit programmes and organisations working in areas they are committed to supporting. The Prince will focus on environmental issues, inter-faith dialogue, heritage preservation and the creation of jobs and opportunities for young people. The Duchess will continue her commitment to supporting women, as well as girls’ education. Their Royal Highnesses will also visit a number of sites of cultural, religious and environmental significance across the country. 

The Prince will participate in an interfaith discussion. This will acknowledge the diverse, tolerant and integrated nature of Jordanian society, highlighting the importance placed on religious freedom. 

His Royal Highness will meet humanitarian organisations, including the UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee, of which The Prince has recently become Patron. The International Rescue Committee supports refugees in transitioning from camps to local communities and assists them in finding employment. The Prince will highlight Jordan’s generosity in hosting refugees who have fled conflict in neighbouring countries. 

The Duchess will see the work undertaken by Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan to protect vulnerable children and mothers, as well as educate parents about child protection and safeguarding. Her Royal Highness will also visit educational programmes for teenagers and young women no longer in formal schooling, and will participate in a Women of the World (WOW) event that promotes the empowerment of women from all walks of life. 

The Prince and The Duchess will then attend a “Centenary Celebration” Reception, to highlight the depth and breadth of this 100 year relationship and look forward to the next century of relations working together for our mutual benefit. 

THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT 18TH – 19TH NOVEMBER 

Their Royal Highnesses’ visit to Egypt will highlight the country’s close relationship with the UK, and will provide an opportunity to demonstrate Egypt’s growing commitment to protecting the environment. 

This visit comes immediately after the UK’s hosting COP26, and Egypt’s nomination to assume the COP27 Presidency in 2022. The Prince has a deep and longstanding interest in these issues, and will be taking the opportunity to discuss how we best work together to combat climate change. 

The visit will also highlight cultural heritage preservation and religious tolerance across Egyptian society. 

On arrival, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will meet with President Sisi and First Lady Entissar Amer at Al-Ittihadiya Palace, to be formally welcomed to Egypt. 

Their Royal Highnesses will then meet with the Grand Imam for discussions and dialogue on religious harmony and the role of faith in preserving the environment. This will serve to further strengthen religious ties between the UK and Egypt. 

His Royal Highness will meet with craftspeople and conservationists, celebrating traditional crafts and UK support for preserving cultural heritage, as well as the skills of artisans. 

The Prince will also support his Sustainable Markets Initiative through bringing together young entrepreneurs with major companies from the private sector, to discuss the opportunities for growing green, innovative business in Egypt. 

Meanwhile, The Duchess will focus on supporting women’s empowerment, through learning more about the stories of women leaders in Egypt and their efforts to promote conservation. She will also learn more about how female heads of households are coming up with innovative ways of supporting themselves and their families. 

Their Royal Highnesses will together attend a UK-Egypt reception to celebrate the bond between the two countries, to be held overlooking the Pyramids at the magnificent Giza Plateau. On the final day of the Tour, Their Royal Highnesses will visit the ancient city of Alexandria. 

This programme will allow Their Royal Highnesses the opportunity to celebrate Egypt’s ancient culture and spiritual significance, while also looking ahead to a modern Egypt, embracing a greener future. 

Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens Opens at the British Library

Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens (8 October 2021 – 20 February 2022) is the first major exhibition to consider Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots together, putting them both centre stage and giving them equal billing. The exhibition takes a fresh and revealing look at the infamous story of two powerful queens bound together by their shared Tudor heritage, whose turbulent relationship dominated English and Scottish politics for thirty years.

From amicable beginnings to distrust and betrayal, the exhibition explores the complex relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots through their own words. Despite their fates being intertwined, the queens never met and their relationship was played out at a distance, much of it by letter. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see their original correspondence.

Drawing on the British Library’s outstanding collection of early modern manuscripts and printed books, Elizabeth and Mary’s autograph letters will be displayed alongside 16th-century state papers, speeches and cipher documents, as well as beautiful maps, drawings and woodcut engravings to illustrate key moments and events. There will also be paintings, jewels, textiles, maps, drawings and objects borrowed from private and public collections in the UK and Spain.

Dr Andrea Clarke, lead curator of Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens at the British Library, said:

‘Almost 500 years on, the story of Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots continues to fascinate and enthral. It is a story of two women whose lives were inextricably connected, for not only were they fellow sovereign queens but also, as Mary reminded Elizabeth in countless letters to her, ‘both of one blood, of one country and in one island’. It is remarkable that many of the themes woven through the exhibition narrative, such as Anglo-Scottish relations, international diplomacy and Europe, state surveillance and espionage, still have a deep resonance today.’

Revealing a dangerous world of plots, espionage and treachery, Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens will explore how the drama unfolded against the backdrop of an England and Scotland deeply divided between Protestants and Catholics and a Europe torn apart by religious conflicts and civil wars.

Exhibits include:

• Elizabeth’s handwritten translation of her stepmother Katherine Parr’s Prayers and Meditations (1545), which was a gift for her father Henry VIII
• Sonnet handwritten by Mary, Queen of Scots the night before she was executed (1587), which might be the last thing she ever wrote, on loan from the Bodleian Library
• Elizabeth I’s mother of pearl locket ring (c.1575), which opens to display miniature portraits of herself and her mother Anne Boleyn, by kind permission of the Chequers Trust
• Late 16th-century gold necklace and gold enamelled, heart-shaped locket set with two miniature portraits said to be of Mary and her son, James VI, on loan from National Museums Scotland. Known as the ‘Penicuik Jewels’, they are thought to have been given away by Mary, Queen of Scots at her execution  
• ‘The Marian Hanging’ decorated with embroideries sewn during Mary Queen of Scots’ English imprisonment, on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum
• Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots painted by the leading French painter François Clouet (c.1560-61), lent by Her Majesty the Queen from the Royal Collection
• Portrait of Elizabeth I attributed to George Gower (c.1567), which provides one of the very best likenesses of her, on loan from a private collection
• Elizabeth I’s speech dissolving parliament in 1567 where she attacked MPs questions about the succession as ‘lip-laboured orations out of such jangling subjects’ mouths’
• Warrant confining Mary, Queen of Scots in Lochleven Castle in 1567, following her forced abdication for refusing to try her third husband, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, for the murder of her second, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, on loan from the National Library of Scotland
• The first letter handwritten by Mary, Queen of Scots in English, sent to Sir Francis Knollys after fleeing across the border into England (1568)
• Robert Beale’s eye-witness drawing of Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution (1587), depicting her entering the hall, disrobing, and placing her head on the block
• Henry VIII’s last will and testament (1546), which established the succession after his death, on loan from The National Archives
• King Henry VIII’s Great Bible (1540) printed by Edward Whitchurch on vellum and illuminated, which was later inherited by Elizabeth I
• 15th-century carved stone head, which was once part of a full-length figure of St Andrew at St Andrews Cathedral and was toppled at the Reformation, on loan from the Board of Historic Environment Scotland
• Hand drawn map of the British Isles by antiquarian Laurence Nowell (1564-5), which belonged to Elizabeth’s closest adviser, Sir William Cecil

There is a programme of talks, panel discussions, lectures and cultural events to accompany the exhibition, and a new catalogue edited by Professor Susan Doran with essays from leading Tudor historians, which is available from the British Library shop and all major bookstores.

The exhibition is sponsored by The Sir John Ritblat Family Foundation, with thanks to the John S Cohen Foundation and all supporters who wish to remain anonymous. The exhibition catalogue is supported by The Strathmartine Trust.

The early modern period is the first in British history to be so thoroughly documented in manuscripts, letters and state papers and, to coincide with the exhibition, the British Library has digitised 600 of its early modern manuscripts, many of them with the generous support of industrialist and philanthropist Mark Pigott, KBE, KStJ.

Full price tickets are £16 with a range of concessions available: https://www.bl.uk/events/elizabeth-and-mary.

THE QUEEN, ACCOMPANIED BY THE EARL OF WESSEX, WILL LAUNCH THE QUEEN’S BATON RELAY FROM BUCKINGHAM PALACE AHEAD OF THE BIRMINGHAM 2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Thursday 7th October 2021

The Queen, accompanied by the Earl of Wessex, will launch The Queen’s Baton Relay for Birmingham 2022, the XXII Commonwealth Games, from the forecourt of Buckingham Palace on Thursday, 7th October 2021. The Queen and the Earl of Wessex are patron and vice-patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation respectively.

Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will join a ceremony to launch the 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay from the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, alongside representatives from the Commonwealth Games Federation and grassroots sports organisations in the West Midlands, as well as athletes who will be competing in the games next year.

The baton will arrive at Buckingham Palace ahead of the Queen and the Earl of Wessex, having travelled down the Mall accompanied by a tri-service military band and the Birmingham 2022 ‘Hometown Heroes’ – a group of volunteers, coaches and managers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to support grassroots sports in the West Midlands.

On arrival in the forecourt, the Queen and the Earl of Wessex will meet the design team behind this year’s Queen’s Baton, and hear about their creative process. For the first time, the baton, which has been designed in a collaboration between West Midlands businesses, includes a 360-degree camera, heart-rate monitor, atmospheric sensors and LED lighting. In recognition of Her Majesty’s 70 years of service to the nation and the Commonwealth in her Platinum Jubilee year, the baton also includes a platinum strand.

In front of the assembled guests, the Queen, accompanied by the Earl on the dais, will place Her Majesty’s message for the Commonwealth Games into the baton, which will then be automatically sealed. The Queen’s message will be read out in full at next year’s Birmingham 2022 opening ceremony on 28 July 2022.

The Queen will then present the baton to double Paralympic gold medallist Kadeena Cox, the first batonbearer, marking the official start of the 16th Queen’s Baton Relay. At the Centre Gate of Buckingham Palace, the baton will then be passed to Team England squash player Declan James and Olympic Gold medal-winning Team Wales boxer Lauren Price to be taken around the Queen Victoria Memorial, before continuing down the Mall, passing on to further batonbearers.

Other batonbearers include athletes from Team England, para swimmer Alice Tai MBE and artistic gymnast Alice Kinsella, Team Scotland hockey player Sarah Robertson, and Team Northern Ireland cyclist Mark Downey.

Once the baton is safely on its way, the ceremony will close with a performance from Birmingham-based acapella group Black Voices.

The ceremony will also include a live-streamed performance from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and an original poem read by Birmingham’s Poet Laureate for 2020-2022, Casey Bailey.

The baton will next be seen at Birmingham Airport before departing for Cyprus, the first overseas stop on The Queen’s Baton Relay, where it will arrive on 9th October 2021.

The Queen’s Baton Relay will span 294 days, and the baton will visit all 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth. Live coverage on BBC One from 11:45.

www.birmingham2022.com/qbr.

THE DUKE OF ROTHESAY WILL UNDERTAKE ENGAGEMENTS IN ABERDEENSHIRE 

Tuesday 5th October 2021 

Engagement 1: The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, will visit Amity Fishing Company.

Led by industry leader Jimmy Buchan, star of the BBC’s BAFTA award-winning Trawlermen TV series, the Amity Fishing Company sources only the best catch from the icy waters around the Scottish coastline using over 40 years of experience in the fishing industry. 

Amity Fish Company is proud to be an approved Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) supplier, keeping the chain of custody from sea to plate. Already supplying the offshore sector with MSC certified fish, Amity is a great advocate of championing the responsible fishing scheme which is an industry approved standard which their vessels work to. Well-known within the industry, Amity provides an opportunity to seek and source their customers’ chosen seafood so they have the confidence to promote the best Scottish seafood in their business.

https://www.amityfish.co.uk 

Engagement 2: The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, will visit Rora Dairy. 

Rora dairy produces a range of pure Scottish yogurts on their organic family farm in Aberdeenshire. It was established in 2017 by Jane Mackie and her husband Bruce. The yogurts are made with organic milk and live culture in small batches without the addition of unnecessary sugar or additives. They use a range of Scottish fruits to flavour the yogurts, reducing the companies carbon footprint. All of the milk used in the yogurts are from the farm’s free-roaming grass-fed cows. Sustainability is at the heart of the brand; Scottish wind powers the farm and the dairy is powered by the sun. 

The Farm 
Middleton of Rora is a 565-acre farm, located in the northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, close to the fishing town of Peterhead and about 30 miles north of Aberdeen. Bruce Mackie took over the farm from his father in 2008. He immediately looked to improve the land for the benefit of wildlife, building a wind turbine, planting seven new woodlands and creating a network of small native woodlands joined by wildlife corridors and hedges, linked with waterways. Biodiversity has increased significantly on the farm as a result of these developments. 

The herd currently comprises 250 pedigree dairy cows: Holstein Friesians with some Jersey and Norwegian Red. They produce well over 2 million litres of milk each year; Jane and Bruce believe it’s their attention to the cows’ wellbeing and welfare which helps them make delicious, natural yogurt. They grow a variety of crops, grass, wheat and barley which is fed to the cows to supplement their rich grazing. In 2016, a robotic milking shed was built with the help of Nico Vreeburg of Cow Signals, which has won several awards. This development is part of work to optimise the wellbeing of the dairy herd, which in turn increases yield. 

In 2021, the farm completed organic accreditation. This means that Rora dairy yogurt is all made with organic milk. 

https://www.roradairy.co.uk

Engagement 3: The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, will visit Glen Garioch Distillery. 

One of the oldest operating distilleries in Scotland – and its most easterly – Glen Garioch has been making its Single Malt Scotch Whisky in the historic market town of Oldmeldrum, near Aberdeen in North East Scotland, since 1797. 

Glen Garioch is currently undergoing a renovation and upgrade project, following a £6 million investment from Beam Suntory, to reinstate more traditional production processes and reduce the distillery’s carbon footprint. 

The project includes the reintroduction of floor maltings as well as the installation of direct-fired heating to the wash still – traditional methods still used by only a handful of distilleries. The return to these traditional processes is a sign of Glen Garioch’s deep respect for its rich heritage, as well as the complexity and quality of its small batch, hand-crafted Highland single malt. 

To complement this return to tradition, Glen Garioch has developed a state-of-the-art, highly efficient and safe method for direct fired distillation, which is expected to reduce the distillery’s carbon footprint by around 15%. 

Beam Suntory is proud to employ more than 360 people in Scotland, the large majority of whom are involved in the production of its renowned Scotch whiskies at distilleries such as Glen Garioch. 

https://www.glengarioch.com

Engagement 4: The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, will visit Inverurie Farmers Market and local shops around the Town Centre. 

Inverurie Farmers’ Market is a monthly market featuring produce from the local area. It has been run by local volunteer, Ron Reid, since 2003 and Ron can be always be spotted on market day wearing his trademark red boiler suit. The market is open to the public from 9am to 1pm every second Saturday of the month. This Tuesday’s market is a trial to see what response there would be to a weekday market in the town. Stallholders include: 

Ingram’s Aberdeenshire – Sandy Ingram 
A family business specialising in the production of the finest quality pork from their farm near Newburgh in Aberdeenshire. 

Udny Provender – Dr Liz Campbell 
A small, local, family business, making and selling local honey, craft, shrubs and flavoured vinegars near Ellon in Aberdeenshire. 

Wark Farm Pies – Laurel Foreman & Sabrina March 
Craft pies produced on a farm near Alford in Aberdeenshire using fillings from Royal Warrant Holders, Belted Galloway Beef and Hebridean Lamb. 

His Royal Highness will also meet representatives from: 

Grampian Opportunities – Linda Singer 
Grampian Opportunities promote learning, volunteering & employment opportunities. They also provide support for disabled people, people with mental health problems or other long-term conditions. They also launched their own Foodbank ‘Inverurie Community Larder’ within their premises earlier this year. 

Inverurie Community Allotment – Archie Peebles 
Inverurie Mens Shed was opened earlier this year thanks to land being donated by J George Ross of J G Ross Bakers Ltd. 

About Inverurie 
Inverurie is in the valley of the River Don at the centre of Aberdeenshire and is known locally as the “Heart of the Garioch”. It sits between the River Don and the River Ury and is only 10 miles from the imposing hill of Bennachie. The town centre is dominated by the grand Town Hall, built in 1862. In the middle of “The Square” as it is known locally is the ‘Inverurie & District War Memorial’, capped by a lone Gordon Highlander looking out over the town. Inverurie is very much still a market town and has a thriving retail sector with independent shops alongside national retailers. The town has recorded a higher occupancy of retail and commercial units than before the pandemic. 

https://www.facebook.com/inveruriefarmersmarket/

Engagement 5: The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, will visit Garioch Heritage Centre. 

Garioch Heritage Centre opened in October 2017 and houses the collections of Garioch Heritage Society. The Society has been researching the area’s history and gathering artefacts since 1987. Housed in the former locomotive works, the Centre tells the story of life in the Garioch from earliest settlement to the present day and sheds light on the domestic and working lives of local people. 

The upstairs gallery is constantly being reviewed and further enhanced, incorporating the use of increased technology, introducing a broader range of artefacts, and creating a meaningful historical timeline. Exciting ongoing projects include the planned reclamation and restoration of an original inspection barge from the era of the Aberdeenshire Canal and the creation of educational materials for virtual learning. 

The Centre sits in the renovated Carriage and Waggon Workshop, part of the Inverurie Locomotive Works. The Works closed their gates for the last time in 1969 but have received a new lease of life as a home for the centre’s collections. The Heritage Centre keeps the memory of the Loco Works alive, all under the watchful eye of the original 20-tonne crane. 

There is a gift shop, café and activities to amuse younger visitors. Guests can enjoy a guided tour by experienced volunteers and hear their stories of growing up in the Garioch. The reading area provides a space in which to research local history or to peruse the Society’s extensive collection of photographs and archive material. 

Entry is free but donations are gratefully received. 

https://gariochheritage.co.uk

Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers

For the first time on television, more than a dozen members of the Royal Family offer their personal thoughts and reflections as they pay an historic tribute to the extraordinary life of His Royal Highness Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh.

All the children of the Queen and the Duke, along with their adult grandchildren and other members of the Royal Family, have agreed to take part in this unique portrait of the longest-serving consort in royal history.

Originally conceived to mark Prince Philip’s 100th birthday, this landmark documentary features interviews filmed both before and after the Duke’s death in April. The documentary-makers have been inside Buckingham Palace to meet the Duke’s long-serving staff and to capture his study, private office and library, exactly as they were during his seven decades at the heart of royal life.

There are poignant recollections, plenty of humour and numerous fresh insights into the character and legacy of this royal pioneer. 

With special access to the Queen’s private cine-film collection, this film is an unrivalled portrait of a man with a unique place in royal history – by those who knew him best.

Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers airs Wednesday 22 September at 9pm on BBC One.

THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE WILL VISIT CUMBRIA

Tuesday 21st September 2021

The Duchess of Cambridge will travel to Cumbria on Tuesday 21st September where she will carry out visits highlighting the beneficial, lifelong impact that nature and the outdoors can have on young people.

The Duchess, who is Honorary Air Commandant of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, will begin the day by joining a group of Air Cadets taking part in a number of outdoor activities, including mountain biking.

Her Royal Highness’ visit will mark the re-opening of the RAF Air Cadets’ Windermere Adventure Training Centre following a £2m refit. The centre will enable hundreds of cadets from across the UK to be able to visit the Lake District each year and take part in a wide variety of activities, allowing them to build their confidence and leadership skills and achieve their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

The Duchess of Cambridge passionately believes that spending time outdoors plays a pivotal role in children and young people’s future health and happiness, building foundations that last over a lifetime by encouraging active exploration and the opportunity to form and strengthen positive relationships.

Next, Her Royal Highness will embark on a boat trip with two of the ‘Windermere Children’, a group of 300 child Holocaust survivors who came to stay in the Lake District in 1945 for a period of recuperation following the atrocities they experienced in concentration camps and the ghettos of Nazi-occupied Europe.

The Duchess wanted to be able to meet some of the survivors in person and hear their stories, having previously learnt about the history of the Windermere Children. During the boat trip she will hear about the ways in which their time in the lakes and the innovative support that they received at the Calgarth Estate, including outdoor recreation, sport and art therapy, allowed them to be able to begin to heal from the trauma of their childhood experiences.

Her Royal Highness will then disembark at the Jetty Museum, where she will meet relatives of survivors who will speak about how their loved ones’ time in Cumbria helped them to go on to build successful lives in the UK. The Duchess will also learn about the work of the Lake District Holocaust Project to document and educate the public about the experiences of the Windermere Children.