THE PRINCE OF WALES WILL UNDERTAKE ENGAGEMENTS IN NEWQUAY

FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 2020

Engagement 1

The Prince of Wales, Patron, Campaign for Wool, will visit Celtic Sheepskin & Co. Ltd. to mark the firm’s 30th anniversary.

His Royal Highness will tour the Celtic Sheepskin & Co. Ltd. warehouse, meeting staff members as they explain the production process of their slippers from raw sheepskin to finished item ready for sale. The Prince will then join a small reception for longstanding employees, company stakeholders and representatives from the Campaign for Wool in the shop. Before departing, His Royal Highness will unveil a plaque to mark the company’s 30th anniversary.

Nick and Kath Whitworth started Celtic Sheepskin & Co. Ltd. 30 years ago as a small boot-making business, with just seven pairs in stock, teaching themselves how to sew. The manufacturing side of the business is still at the heart of its operations and the wide range of sheepskin boots, slippers and accessories are still made by hand in the factory in Newquay.

The company passionately believes in maintaining British manufacture, enabling them to employ local people that may otherwise find it difficult to find work in the winter months in Cornwall, while shipping to customers in over 60 countries. Celtic & Co. employs 52 permanent staff and achieved £8.9m turnover at year end Jan 2020.

In recognition of international growth in recent years, the company was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2018 for International Trade.

Sustainability has always been at the heart of the business and as pioneers of the slow fashion movement, Celtic & Co. only ever create styles that will stand the test of time both in quality and design. Only sustainable materials such as wool, sheepskin and linen are used to create these products.

Engagement 2 

The Prince of Wales will attend a reception to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Cornish based charity Surfers Against Sewage and officially open the Nansledan development’s new school.

Surfers Against Sewage

Cornwall based charity Surfers Against Sewage was founded in May 1990 in response to chronic and widespread sewage pollution of the UK coastline. At that time, only a quarter of UK beaches would have passed the minimum bathing water standards now in place. Today over 98% of UK beaches pass these standards, benefitting the ocean, beaches and everyone that enjoys the country’s coastline for surfing, swimming, sailing and recreation. Surfers Against Sewage works with over 100,000 community volunteers around the UK, protecting our beaches for the future. The charity founded the Plastic Free Community movement, now active in 650 locations nationwide, and the Plastic Free Schools initiative which will reach 1.3 million school children in 2020. The charity will be rolling out an ambitious programme of marine conservation in 2020, and setting out a vision for the decade ahead, tackling issues including plastic pollution, climate change, habitat loss and water pollution.

In 2015, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall joined Surfers Against Sewage in its Ocean Plastic Awareness Day at Fistral Beach in Newquay. In 2018 Their Royal Highnesses visited the Surfers Against Sewage headquarters at Wheal Kitty, St Agnes for a follow up event promoting the solutions to plastic pollution, which highlighted just how much progress is being made across society by individuals, communities and businesses.

Skol Nansledan

The two-form entry, 14-classroom Nansledan School (‘Skol Nansledan’ in Cornish) opened its doors to its first intake of pupils in September 2019. Operated by the Aspire Academy Trust, its mission is to provide an outstanding education that ensures all pupils can reach their greatest potential and live by life’s highest values. The innovative STEAM curriculum is built around the principles of active discovery and experiential learning, using Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points.

Originally established as a single academy trust in 2010, the Aspire Academy Trust now comprises 28 primary academies across Cornwall, from Carbis Bay in the West to Bude in the North East. Each academy proudly retains its own identity and sense of place in the local community but as a member of the Aspire family, better provision, richer resources, higher standards and exceptional learning experiences can be ensured for all.

Nansledan

Nansledan is a 540-acre extension to the coastal town of Newquay on the north coast of Cornwall in South West England. The name is Cornish for ‘broad valley’. The development embodies the principles of architecture and urban planning championed by HRH The Prince of Wales.

It is being led by the Duchy of Cornwall, which owns most of the land that will make up Nansledan. The Duchy is a private estate established in 1337 which funds the public, charitable and private activities of The Prince of Wales and his family. The Prince has long been concerned with the quality of the natural and built environment, urging a return to sustainable human-scale development that is land-efficient, uses low-carbon materials and is less car dependant. His vision is to plan connected urban centres where mixed-income housing, shops, offices and leisure facilities combine so that daily needs can be met within walkable neighbourhoods.

To date, 344 homes have been completed in Nansledan. Over time, it will evolve into a community of more than 4,000 homes supporting a similar number of jobs through its own High Street and public facilities, helping to meet the future needs of Newquay in a complementary and sustainable way.

THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL WILL ATTEND THE WOW (WOMEN OF THE WORLD) FESTIVAL

6TH MARCH 2020

The Duchess of Cornwall, President, WOW (Women of the World) will attend the Grand Opening Session of the WOW Festival 2020, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX.

The Duchess of Cornwall will give a speech at the WOW Festival’s Grand Opening Session: Domestic Abuse – Everyone’s Problem. With two women a week in Britain dying at the hands of their partners, the panel will discuss whether the dial has moved on domestic abuse. Speakers include: Businesswoman and Campaigner Gina Miller; Survivor, SafeLives Pioneer, Domestic Abuse and Youth Violence consultant Naomi Donald; artist, activist and SafeLives Pioneer Celia Peachey; and SafeLives CEO Suzanne Jacob. The session will be chaired by WOW Founder, Jude Kelly.

Launched by Jude Kelly in 2010, WOW (Women of the World) Festivals aim to celebrate women and girls by raising awareness of the issues that prevent them from achieving their potential and discussing solutions together. Run by The WOW Foundation, to date WOW has reached over two million people in 17 countries on six continents across more than 80 festivals and events including in Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somaliland, the UK and the USA. In 2018, WOW took place in Rio, Karachi, Beijing, Cardiff and Bradford, as well as London, New York, Dhaka, Pakistan, Atlanta, Istanbul and China in 2019 and 2020.

The Duchess of Cornwall became President of WOW (Women of the World) in 2015 having been involved with the organisation since 2010. HRH launched WOW Australia in Sydney in 2012 and WOW Washington in America in 2015. More recently, The Duchess joined a series of discussions for Women of the World in New Zealand in 2019 and West Africa in 2018.

THE PRINCE OF WALES WILL VISIT JESUS COLLEGE AND KELLOGG COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Thursday 5th March 2020

Engagement 1

The Prince of Wales will visit Jesus College in recognition of the reinstatement of the Jesus Chair of Celtic, a professorship in Celtic Studies at Oxford University.

Upon arrival His Royal Highness will have the opportunity to meet current students, staff and College Fellows. In addition, pupils from three Welsh primary schools, visiting the college for the day, will offer The Prince daffodils in recognition of St. David’s Day which will have been celebrated a few days prior to the visit. The Prince will then meet the College Principal and the newly appointed Chair of Celtic, as well as college alumni in the dining hall. Whilst in the hall, His Royal Highness will listen to a college choir performance of a Welsh prayer. Before departing, The Prince will view The Red Book of Hergest, a medieval manuscript on special display for the visit.

His Royal Highness previously visited Jesus College in 1971 to open the Habakkuk Building as part of the college’s 400th anniversary celebrations.

Jesus College

The college was founded in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth I, at the request of a Welsh lawyer and clergyman, Hugh Price. Today the college continues to maintain strong links with the Principality. About 15% of current undergraduates are Welsh. Chalk drawings of Welsh dragons sit at the entrances to staircases in one of the college quads, and student rooms are bedecked with the Welsh flag.

Jesus Chair of Celtic and Welsh initiatives at Oxford

Since 1877, the Jesus Chair of Celtic has been entrusted to support the scholarship and preservation of Celtic languages, literature and history at the University of Oxford. It is the only Professorship in Celtic at an English University and the appointment to the Jesus Chair of Celtic has been made for the sixth time in its distinguished history to Dr David Willis from the University of Cambridge. Dr Willis’ appointment comes following an eight-year hiatus and a £3.35m fundraising campaign to permanently safeguard the role.

A further £1m donation from Jesus alumnus, Oliver Thomas and his family, will go towards supporting continued Welsh access at the college. The funds will go specifically to the college’s flagship Welsh Access Summer School. The annual summer school, a collaboration with the Welsh Government’s Seren Network (regional hubs in Wales to help sixth formers in Welsh state schools to get into Russell Group universities), invites students from the Principality to experience life at Oxford. In the past three years, nearly 200 young people from Welsh state schools have been welcomed to Oxford to take part in an interactive week of lectures and seminars. Not only has the summer school encouraged more applications from Welsh state schools to Oxford, it has improved the offer rate for these schools that are often underrepresented at the university.

The Red Book of Hergest

The Red Book of Hergest, believed to have been written sometime between 1375 and 1425, is a compilation of chronicles, mythology, romances and court poetry, including a Welsh version of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain.

It is best known as a source of the tales of the Mabinogion, along with the White Book of Rhydderch. The manuscript was named after its former home, Hergest Court in Herefordshire, and for its red leather binding. It was presented to Jesus College, Oxford in 1701 by the Reverend Thomas Wilkins of Llanbleddian and is kept at the university’s Bodleian Library.

Engagement 2

The Prince of Wales will visit Kellogg College to receive the Bynum Tudor Fellowship. His Royal Highness will also have the opportunity to hear about the progress being made on a new Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation, in partnership with The Prince’s Foundation.

His Royal Highness will first meet with representatives from both the college and The Prince’s Foundation to hear about the developing plans for the new Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation. In The Hub, The Prince will meet with staff, alumni and current students to hear about their work relating to the impact of rapid urbanisation on health and wellbeing concerns, before meeting multiple Chelsea gold medal winner Andy Sturgeon, to hear about his concept for the redesign of the college gardens. Finally, His Royal Highness will formally receive the Bynum Tudor Fellowship.

His Royal Highness last visited Kellogg College in May 2017, when he met Burmese students seconded to Kellogg College through a relationship with The Prince’s Foundation and heard about the work both organisations were undertaking collaboratively in response to rapid urbanisation.

Bynum Tudor Fellowship

In November 2019 it was announced that His Royal Highness was elected the Bynum Tudor Fellow for the 2019-20 academic year, the highest award Kellogg College gives. The Bynum Tudor Fellowship was established in 2004 as part of the college’s mission to engage with influential thinkers and experienced practitioners in business, policy making, and culture. Previous Fellows include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, entrepreneur Lord Bilimoria, industrialist Sir David Brown, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Director of the McCall MacBain Foundation Marcy McCall MacBain, and businessman and educationalist Dr Ralph Walter.

This year’s award is being given in recognition of His Royal Highness’s contribution to the field of sustainable urban development over the last 30 years. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of Kellogg College.

Kellogg College and The Prince’s Foundation

The Prince’s Foundation and Oxford University have a longstanding relationship through an MSc in Sustainable Urban Development, which although run by the Department for Continuing Education, has historically had a strong connection to Kellogg as most faculty members and students on the MSc are members of the college. Kellogg College and The Prince’s Foundation have also run an Urban Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series over the past two years. This successful seminar series lay the ground for establishing the Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation.

Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation

The new centre is a joint initiative between Kellogg College and The Prince’s Foundation. It has been established to foster a better understanding of the interaction between these two disciplines (healthcare and urbanisation) to make urban centres environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable, and to provide an environment that supports and sustains health and wellbeing.

The centre brings together leading and influential thinkers, together with the public, in an interdisciplinary approach embracing evidence-based healthcare, sustainable urban development and education, to provide a collaborative forum for organisations active in these disciplines to address crucial issues in current practice.

HRH The Duke of Cambridge officially opens Tarmac’s new industry-leading training facility

An industry-leading training facility for people working in the construction sector has been officially opened by His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge.

Leading construction materials business, Tarmac, has developed a National Skills and Safety Park located at an active quarry near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, to ensure that it can provide first-class, practical training for emerging industry talent – including apprentices, graduates and those retraining from other sectors.

Marking the official opening of the innovative facility, His Royal Highness met with a number of Tarmac’s young apprentices to learn more about their roles and career ambitions. The Duke got first-hand experience of Tarmac’s 100 year-long expertise in road building at the helm of a cutting edge paving machine, as well as being introduced to apprentices in the training centre’s maintenance workshop and trying his hand on one of the company’s quarrying excavator simulators.

Martin Riley, Tarmac’s senior vice president who started his own career in construction as an apprentice, commented: “It was an honour to welcome His Royal Highness to our new facility which is already helping people beginning a career in construction and those already established in the sector to develop new skills.

“Major infrastructure programmes are the foundations on which the construction industry and its supply chain are built, providing exciting and rewarding career opportunities for people from all walks of life across the UK who can help shape the built environment of the future.

“We’re extremely proud to launch this new facility.”

The Duke also joined a meeting with Chairs, CEOs and MDs of leading UK businesses meeting at Tarmac’s National Skills and Safety Park to discuss joint opportunities for UK companies to support social mobility and to improve the options available to young people in all parts of British society. The discussions were hosted by former MP Justine Greening, co-founder of The Social Mobility Pledge and John Whelan MBE.

The opening of the new facility forms part of Tarmac’s ongoing commitment to upskilling young people – with over 300 of the company’s existing staff currently undertaking its apprenticeship programmes.  The business is proud to be a member of the 5% Club, an organisation committed to ensuring that in the next five years 5% of its memberships UK workforce are young people on training schemes.

For more information, please visit: http://innovation.tarmac.com/the-park/

THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL WILL VISIT THE LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM TO CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF TRANSPORT FOR LONDON

Wednesday 4th March

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will travel in a new electric double decker bus to the London Transport Museum to take part in celebrations to mark 20 years of Transport for London.

Their Royal Highnesses will travel from Clarence House to the London Transport Museum in one of London’s new environmentally friendly electric double decker buses with TfL Commissioner Mike Brown MVO and local schoolchildren participating in TfL STARS scheme.

On arrival at the London Transport Museum, Their Royal Highnesses will be welcomed by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and proceed on a tour of the museum.

During the tour their Royal Highnesses will meet TfL apprentices and staff who have pioneered environmental and mental health schemes in the workplace and crisis response staff.

Finally, His Royal Highness will unveil a commemorative plaque to mark the visit.

20 years of TfL:

Set-up in 2000 to bring London’s transport network together under one integrated body, TfL has grown and improved London’s transport network to help support jobs, homes, opportunities and economic growth across the capital. Over the past 20 years TfL has:

• modernised huge swathes of the London Underground network, transforming the world’s first metro system with rebuilt stations and new trains and signalling systems;
• transformed some formerly under-utilised and shabby orbital rail lines into the popular and reliable London Overground network;
• improved the ease with which people pay to travel – first with the Oyster card and more recently with contactless payment;
• helped London become a 24-hour city and boosted its economy after introducing Night Tube and Night Overground services;
• improved air quality for Londoners by introducing the world’s first 24-hour Ultra Low Emission Zone;
• established the largest, most accessible and greenest bus fleet in Europe;
• led London’s cycling revolution, with London’s cycle hire scheme and a network of safe cycle lanes and new safer junctions having been created across the city
• boosted accessibility across the transport network, from increasing step-free access to the introduction of the now instantly recognisable Baby on Board and Please Offer Me A Seat badges.

London Transport Museum:

London Transport Museum is the world’s leading museum of urban transport, welcoming more than 400,000 visitors through its doors each year. Historic vehicles, world-famous posters and objects from the Museum’s renowned collections tell the story of London’s development and the vital part transport plays in defining the unique identity of the city. Each year the Museum promotes safe, active and sustainable travel to more than 100,000 school pupils through the TfL STARS scheme. It also works with 65,000 children, young people, parents and teachers through its learning programmes, inspiring curiosity about science, technology, engineering, art and design.

The Royal Family and the London Transport Network:

• Her Majesty The Queen became the first reigning monarch to travel on the London Underground when she opened the Victoria line in 1969. She subsequently visited London Underground on its 150th birthday in 2013.
• In 1977, the Jubilee line was officially opened by HRH The Prince of Wales and was named to mark 25 years since Her Majesty’s accession to the throne. In the same year, Her Majesty opened Heathrow Central station (Terminals 1 2 3) on the Piccadilly line.
• In 2013, the celebrations of London Underground’s 150th anniversary saw Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall take a trip on the Underground, and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge visit Baker Street station.
• London Transport Museum was opened by HRH The Princess Royal in Covent Garden’s historic flower market building in 1980.

THE PRINCE OF WALES WILL VISIT BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL WILL JOINTLY VISIT THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS AND THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN

• In the year of the 25th anniversary of the genocide, The Prince of Wales will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina where he will highlight reforms to improve citizens’ lives.

• Their Royal Highnesses will make their first official visit to The Republic of Cyprus to recognise the work of the UN Peacekeeping Force and celebrate traditional Cypriot culture.

• Their Royal Highnesses will visit The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to learn what the country is doing to support refugees and showcase its rich cultural history.

At the request of Her Majesty’s Government, The Prince of Wales will undertake an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their Royal Highnesses will then jointly visit The Republic of Cyprus and The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
TUESDAY 17TH MARCH TO WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH

The visit of The Prince of Wales to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) demonstrates the UK’s increased commitment to BiH and the Western Balkans region, its support for reforms to improve citizens’ lives and create a brighter future; as well as His Royal Highness’s own long-standing commitment to post-conflict reconciliation in the Western Balkans.

His Royal Highness will undertake engagements in Sarajevo and Srebrenica. A key element will be a visit to the memorial at Srebrenica to mark the 25th anniversary of the genocide. His Royal Highness will pay his respects to the victims, accompanied by a number of survivors, including mothers who are still looking for their missing family members. His Royal Highness has previously met families of the missing from BiH, and across the region at Clarence House in 2017 and again in 2018. In both Srebrenica and Sarajevo, The Prince will have the opportunity to hear about the progress that has been made in finding the remaining people from across the region, who are still missing.

In Sarajevo, The Prince will call on the tripartite BiH Presidency, and meet local leaders from business, politics, culture, civil society, and the Armed Forces. His Royal Highness will also meet religious leaders in BiH, in recognition of their work on reconciliation and building understanding across communities. His Royal Highness will also learn about how the UK has been supporting survivors of wartime sexual violence, helping them overcome the stigma that they and their families face.

His Royal Highness will also visit local artisans and historic sites within the old town. He will meet those helping to build a better future for their country including social entrepreneurs, activists, food producers, and other champions of sustainable growth. Young students from across the country will present their projects developed under the 21st Century Schools programme, implemented by the British Council in all primary schools in the Western Balkans. Against a backdrop of high emigration, this gives young people an opportunity to learn new IT skills, develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and offers a greater incentive for them to stay and shape their country’s future.

His Royal Highness will meet UK military personnel involved in securing a safe and secure environment in BiH, and bolstering the BiH-UK defence relationship.

His Royal Highness last visited BiH in 2007 and visited other Western Balkans countries in 2016.

THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS
WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH TO SATURDAY 21ST MARCH

Their Royal Highnesses’ visit to The Republic of Cyprus will be the first Royal visit since Her Majesty The Queen visited in 1993. The programme will celebrate the historic ties between the United Kingdom and Cyprus, our shared membership of the Commonwealth, and our dynamic forward-looking relationship in areas such as education and science. This visit will also recognise the UK’s role as the largest troop contributor to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.

Their Royal Highnesses’ visit will focus on the capital, Nicosia, and will also include rural visits to the nearby Troodos mountains, and to Larnaca district, where Their Royal Highnesses will celebrate traditional Cypriot culture, food, and crafts, and Cyprus’ unique heritage. The Prince and The Duchess are also expected to engage with UK military personnel based in country, including British UN peacekeepers and members of the Mercian Regiment of which His Royal Highness is Colonel-in-Chief.

Their Royal Highnesses’ programme will include a visit to the UN Buffer Zone to acknowledge the peacekeeping work being undertaken by the UN and highlight initiatives which are building links between the communities of Cyprus, meeting both Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot community members.

The Prince of Wales will attend a meeting of the Commonwealth Blue Charter Champions from across the Commonwealth. His Royal Highness will also meet religious leaders from Cyprus’s diverse religious communities. The Duchess of Cornwall, as Patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, will visit a partner organisation which has recently participated in the charity’s Battersea Academy to see how the organisation is implementing its learning in Cyprus. Her Royal Highness will also continue her work to highlight the issue of domestic violence and rape around the world and engage with organisations working to support survivors.

THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN
SATURDAY 21ST MARCH TO WEDNESDAY 25TH MARCH

Their Royal Highness’s return to Jordan underlines the importance Her Majesty’s Government places on its close ties with Jordan, which is underpinned by the long-standing, warm relationship between the two Royal Families.

The visit will centre on the historic capital city, Amman, and also take in a number of other sites of cultural, religious and environmental significance across the country. The programme will see Their Royal Highnesses tour a unique hillside town, once part of the Greek and Roman Decapolis. The Prince of Wales will also visit an ecologically rich National Park. In the City of Salt – Jordan’s first historical capital – Their Royal Highnesses will meet the Jordanian winner of the Global Prince’s Trust International Award 2019, who has worked to develop sustainable tourism and opportunities for the local community. Their Royal Highnesses will learn about The Prince’s Trust International’s work in the country and meet some of those who have benefitted from it.

The Prince and The Duchess’s visit will highlight how Jordan continues to host over a million refugees fleeing from conflict, and how they have integrated into the community. Their Royal Highnesses will visit organisations, including 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.

Their Royal Highnesses will be accompanied at various points of the tour by members of the Jordanian Royal Family and will see Jordan’s renewed focus on increasing job opportunities for young people, particularly in the engineering and tourism sectors. His Royal Highness will visit a youth training and apprenticeship scheme, which is supported by Jaguar Land Rover and Crown Prince Hussein’s Technical University. Their Royal Highnesses will visit organisations helping to preserve traditional crafts and tailor them to today’s market, including the Turquoise Mountain Foundation which was founded by The Prince of Wales. They will see how young Jordanians are being trained in modern vocational skills to enable them to compete in the global market.

Their Royal Highnesses will also visit sites of religious importance and The Prince will participate in an interfaith discussion to emphasise the diverse, tolerant and integrated nature of Jordanian society, highlighting the importance placed on religious freedom, led by His Majesty King Abdallah II, the Custodian of the Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem. 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 a UNICEF-supported school offering educational programmes for teenagers and young women no longer in formal schooling, and a Women of the World (WOW) event that promotes the empowerment of women from all walks of life.

The Household Division Beating Retreat 2020

Horse Guards Parade

10th & 11th June, 2020

With more than six hundred world-renowned musicians and one hundred horses, performing in London’s finest setting, the 2020 Household Division Beating Retreat is a spectacle not to be missed. Stirring music, precision drill, horsemanship, dramatic lighting and fireworks, will all combine in an unforgettable, thrilling evening of music and pageantry.

This year the theme will be ‘THE SWORD AND THE CROWN”, paying tribute to Her Majesty the Queen, recognizing the service of the Foot Guards and the British Army in defence of the Nation at home and abroad, marking the 75 years of peace in Europe since the end of World War II.

Beating Retreat takes place over two nights only and is the perfect prelude to the public celebrations by these same soldiers for Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday, the pinnacle of Britain’s ceremonial pomp and display.

Join us for The Household Division Beating Retreat and enjoy an evening that showcases the very best of British: our very finest military music, ceremonial and pageantry, right in the heart of London.

For ticket information, visit www.householddivision.org.uk/beating-retreat

Princess meets WW2 veterans and Invictus Games athlete at Royal Star & Garter’s High Wycombe official opening

20th February, 2020

Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra has met veterans at the official opening of Royal Star & Garter’s care home in High Wycombe.

Her Royal Highness was taken on a tour of the state-of-the-art Home during the visit on Thursday, 20 February, and also watched as residents took part in cookery and art activities.

Royal Star & Garter provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia, and welcomed the first residents to its £25 million Home in High Wycombe last April. The Princess has been the charity’s President since 1964.

Her Royal Highness was welcomed by the Queen’s Colour Squadron with music from the Central Band of The Royal Air Force. Princess Alexandra was received by the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher and introduced to Royal Star & Garter Chairman Major General Tim Tyler. The Princess was then presented to other dignitaries, including High Sheriff Mrs Julia Upton, Buckinghamshire County Council Chairman Councillor Brian Roberts, Wycombe District Council Chairman Councillor Paul Turner, the Earl and Countess Howe, Wycombe MP Steve Baker, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, the representative of First Sea Lord Commodore Matt Clark, and the representative of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Commodore Alan Opie.

Sir Henry joined the charity’s Chief Executive Andy Cole, Chairman Major General Tyler and Home Manager Chelle Daly in escorting the Princess around the 74-bedroom building, which includes specialist dementia care, library, activities room and in-house physiotherapy.

During the tour Princess Alexandra dropped into a pizza-making session in the Home’s specialist dementia care area, and later visited the activities room, where a group of residents were sketching still-life.

Princess Alexandra met 101-year-old Geoff Smith, who fought in Burma during the Second World War, and John Walmsley, a former Grenadier Guard who took part in The Queen’s coronation in 1953. Her Royal Highness also spoke to other residents, relatives, nurses, carers and physiotherapy staff, and received a posy from 101-year-old Ena Mitchell, whose husband Bill was killed in action in Belgium in 1944.

Speaking at the official opening, Princess Alexandra paid tribute to all those who have created the Home. She said: “It is an extremely impressive new addition to the charity. May I offer my congratulations to all those involved in its conception, construction and opening, which has been a huge task over many years. I’m sure that the residents will enjoy all the excellent facilities available in what is most importantly, their home. I wish all the staff and volunteers well in this wonderful new building and look forward to the charity opening more homes and services for the veterans in the future.”

Major General Tyler said: “It is a great honour to have Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra officially open our new High Wycombe Home. This Home means that we can provide our specialist care to even more veterans in their time of need.”

Chelle Daly said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Princess and to introduce her to our wonderful residents and staff here. We’re immensely proud of the Home and the care we provide, and we’re already looking forward to welcoming her back again!”

Throughout its 104-year history, Royal Star & Garter has been at the forefront of innovations in care to help its residents, and also has strong links to Buckinghamshire. It worked with pioneering spinal injuries expert Dr Ludwig Guttmann from Stoke Mandeville Hospital and its residents took part in a wheelchair archery competition he arranged between the hospital and the charity in 1948 and 1949. This was the forerunner to the Paralympic Games.

Among the guests at the Home in Hughenden Avenue was Invictus Games athlete Luke Delahunty. RAF veteran Mr Delahunty, from nearby Aylesbury, represented the UK twice at the Games in hand cycling and rowing. He also toured the Home and met residents, including Gary Ward, a younger veteran who takes respite care at the High Wycombe Home. Mr Delahunty said: “It’s been a really special day. The facilities here are great and the Home is really impressive. It’s great to meet so many veterans. The military connection we all share never goes.”

THE DUKE OF SUSSEX WILL VISIT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

Friday 28th February 2020

The Duke of Sussex will visit Abbey Road Studios to meet Jon Bon Jovi and members of the Invictus Games Choir, who are recording a special single in aid of the Invictus Games Foundation. The song will be recorded in Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios, which was made famous by The Beatles who recorded 11 out of their 13 albums there.

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE WILL ATTEND A CHARITY PERFORMANCE OF ‘DEAR EVAN HANSEN’

Noël Coward Theatre, London

Tuesday 25th February, 2020