The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to Visit Europe to Celebrate Links between the UK and Romania, Italy, The Holy See and Austria
29th March – 6th April 2017
The Tour will highlight the UK’s relationship with European partners in areas including social cohesion, military ties and combatting human trafficking.
The British Government has asked The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to visit Europe between 29th March and 6th April 2017. The Tour will begin in Romania – The Prince will visit Bucharest and the surrounding area from 29th-31st March. The Prince and Duchess will then undertake engagements in Italy and the Holy See from 31st March – 5th April and in Vienna from 5th-6th April.
The Prince of Wales has visited Romania officially once before. His Royal Highness has visited Italy officially 19 times, and The Duchess of Cornwall has visited once. The Prince has undertaken two previous visits to the Vatican, and The Duchess of Cornwall one. His Royal Highness has visited Austria officially 3 times and this will be The Duchess’s first official visit.
Engagement highlights include:
– A visit to The Holy See, where The Prince and Duchess will meet His Holiness Pope Francis, and will tour the Vatican.
– A trip to Amatrice in central Italy where The Prince will meet some of those affected by the earthquake which hit the region in August 2016. His Royal Highness will talk to local families, emergency service personnel and some of those co-ordinating the reconstruction effort.
– In Florence, TRHs will visit the British Institute of Florence and attend a dinner to celebrate the centenary of the Institute. During the dinner, His Royal Highness will be presented with a ‘Renaissance Man of the Year’ Award, which is an annual award given by the Palazzo Strozzi Foundation.
– On the theme of social cohesion, The Duchess of Cornwall will visit ‘La Gloriette’, a villa in Naples which has been confiscated from the mafia and now houses a project to help young people socialize and integrate into their community.
– His Royal Highness will meet the President of Romania, and Their Royal Highnesses will meet the Presidents of Italy and Austria.
– His Royal Highness will pay his respects at the national war memorial in Romania and in North East Italy, he will mark the centenary of the deployment of British Forces to the Austrian Front.
– During their visit to Austria, The Royal couple will celebrate the city’s unique cultural heritage, including a visit to the Musikverein and the Spanish Riding School.
– At several points during the tour, Their Royal Highnesses will learn about the work taking place to tackle human trafficking. In Bucharest and Vienna, The Prince will learn of the co-operation between the UK and other European countries in this area. In Florence, The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Associazione Progetto Arcobaleno, a project which helps immigrants and the impoverished, as well as the female victims of human trafficking, by providing language classes and career advice.
Additional engagements of the tour will include:
Romania
The Prince will visit the National Theatre in Bucharest to see the best of Romanian acting, music, dance and set design.
As Patron of The FARA Foundation, His Royal Highness will visit an orphanage run by the charity which transforms the lives of vulnerable and traumatised children and young people.
The Prince will also visit projects preserving traditional skills and vernacular architecture which complement the work of his own Foundation in Romania.
Italy
In Naples, The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Herculaneum, where she will hear how international partnerships and Italian expertise are transforming the archaeological site and surrounding communities.
In Florence, Their Royal Highnesses will sample some of the best ‘Slow Food’ that the region has to offer.
TRHs will also attend an event to recognise the work of The Prince’s ‘Campaign for Wool’, which raises awareness amongst consumers about the unique, natural, renewable and biodegradable benefits offered by the fibre.
In Rome, His Royal Highness will visit the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation to hear about their work to address the developing famine in the Horn of Africa and the contribution which has been made by UK aid.
Austria
In Vienna, the Royal couple will tour the world famous Wiener Musikverein, where they will see the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra rehearse and will view a number of original manuscripts by composers such as Mozart and Brahms from the Musikverein’s archives.
The Prince and Duchess will also visit an organic Heuriger and learn about the production of Austrian wine.
His Royal Highness will also visit the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and will join discussions which are taking place on modern slavery and freedom of religion and belief.
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