The Duke of Sussex to visit Sheffield
Thursday, 25th July 2019
The Duke of Sussex will visit Sheffield on Thursday 25th July for three separate engagements. The Duke will visit organisations with a focus on supporting children, higher education, and the rehabilitation of wounded, injured and sick Servicemen and women.
His Royal Highness will first visit Sheffield Children’s Hospital to officially open the new wing. On arrival, The Duke will sign the Visitors Book, previously signed by Diana, Princess of Wales on a visit in November 1989. HRH will meet patients and their families on one of the Hospital’s four new wards, as well as children enjoying the new Play Room. Next The Duke will visit the Plaster Room where children can choose their cast colour, add glitter and choose different characters to make the experience more fun. On departure, The Duke will unveil a plaque to commemorate the opening of the hospital’s new wing.
Next HRH will visit Sheffield Hallam University to learn about their commitment to applied learning in teaching and research. The Duke will meet academics and students demonstrating a Virtual Reality rehabilitation project, which uses technology to make it easier for amputees to train themselves to use prosthetic limbs. HRH will meet academics and students working with the World Health Organisation and the United Nations, who have developed innovative new technology to provide alerts and assistance to field staff working in inhospitable and dangerous parts of the world. Finally, The Duke will meet engineering students who will present a racing car they built, and raced at Silverstone the previous week.
Later that afternoon, as Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, HRH will visit the Invictus UK Trials, which are hosted and managed by Help for Heroes, Royal British Legion, and the Ministry of Defence. The trials form part of the selection process for the team representing the UK at the forthcoming Invictus Games The Hague 2020 and will see over 350 competitors over five days take part in up to nine sports. At the English Institute of Sport Sheffield, The Duke will meet Wheelchair Basketball competitors, cheer on Powerlifting competitors from the stands with friends and family, before meeting the competitors and taking part in the medal presentation. Afterwards, HRH will join the Swimming medal presentation ceremony, before meeting family and friends of the competitors.
Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is one of only three dedicated children’s hospital trusts in the UK and provides integrated healthcare for children and young people, including community and mental health care as well as acute and specialist services. The last Royal visit was on 29 November 1989 when Diana, Princess of Wales opened an extension of the Hospital. The award-winning new £40 million wing being opened by The Duke includes four new wards, therapy rooms, a patient dining room, a parent relaxation room, a teenager hangout room and has a Play Tower right at its heart. All 72 new children’s beds have a fold-out bed next to them, giving parents a comfortable place to stay with their child.
Sheffield Hallam University has over 30,000 students and is committed to providing applied learning in order to address the health, cultural, economic and social challenges facing society today. The University has had a number of Royal visits, with Her Majesty The Queen opening City Campus in on 25 March 1994, and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh visiting on 5 March 1999, and again on 4 December 2007.
This Invictus UK Trials will be held in Sheffield from 22 to 26 July 2019. The trials form part of the selection process for the team representing the UK at the forthcoming Invictus Games The Hague 2020 and will see over 350 competitors take part in traditional Invictus Games sports, including Archery, Athletics, Cycling, Indoor Rowing, Powerlifting, Sitting Volleyball, Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby. The UK Trials will hold sporting and family events, as well as recovery and employment symposiums, a veterans’ festival of the Arts, youth and community outreach and more.
Invictus UK, a partnership made up of Help for Heroes, The Royal British Legion and the Ministry of Defence, is the organisation that is responsible for the identification, training and delivery of the UK team to an Invictus Games.
His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex is the Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation. The Invictus Games Foundation is the international charity that oversees the development of the Invictus Games, an international adaptive multi-sport event in which wounded, injured and sick armed services personnel and veterans participate. It celebrates the power of sport in recovery and how it can help, physically or psychologically, those suffering from injuries or illness.
The Invictus Games use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who serve their country. They recognise the significant contribution made by family and friends in the physical and psychological recovery process and seek to motivate and inspire the competitors – and all who strive to triumph over adversity.
