The Prince of Wales Marks Barbados’s Transition to a Republic within the Commonwealth
Barbados
Tuesday, 30th November
ENGAGEMENT 3
The Prince of Wales will attend a reception hosted by the President of the Republic at State House
The Prince of Wales will arrive at State House and will be met by Dame Sandra Mason, President of Barbados. He will attend a Toast to the Nation reception, hosted outside by the President, in honour of the first day of the Republic. Other regional Heads of Government will also be in attendance.
Upon becoming a Republic, Government House will be renamed State House. It is the official residence of the President of Barbados.
Dame Sandra Mason was appointed as the eighth, and current, Governor-General of Barbados in 2018. In October 2021, she was nominated by the Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, and the Opposition Leader, Joseph Atherley, to become the first President of Barbados. She was unanimously elected by both the House of Assembly and the Senate later that month. Before becoming Governor-General, she was a practising attorney and served as a High Court judge in Saint Lucia and a Court of Appeal judge in Barbados. She was the first woman to be admitted to the bar in Barbados.
The 30th November is the 55th anniversary of the independence of Barbados.
ENGAGEMENT 4
The Prince of Wales will visit The National Archives of Barbados
The Prince of Wales will be greeted on arrival by John King, Minister of the Creative Economy, Culture and Sports, and Ingrid Thompson, Chief Archivist. His Royal Highness will view some of the collection, and will then visit the digitisation workshops and meet staff members.
The National Archives, built in 1908, are situated close to the University of West Indies campus. The Archives’ collection is expansive and includes manuscripts, letters, reports, books, maps, charts and photographs. It also contains parish documents, certificates, deeds and wills, some of which date back to the early settlement days of the 1600s and serve as a source of information for genealogical research. These documents provide a vital resource for individuals today, particularly from the British Caribbean diaspora, in trying to establish and trace their heritage. Work has recently begun to digitise the collection.
ENGAGEMENT 5
The Prince of Wales will attend a Prince’s Trust International (PTI) engagement at Ilaro Court
His Royal Highness will be greeted by Dame Martina Milburn, Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust Group, and Rosanna Wakefield, Deputy Director of Global Delivery at PTI. Accompanied by Ms Wakefield, His Royal Highness will meet Prince’s Trust delivery partners and young people, including fifteen donors and supporters of PTI in Barbados and the Caribbean. His Royal Highness will take a group photograph.
PTI has been working in Barbados since 2016 in conjunction with delivery partners, the Barbados Youth Business Trust. Barbados is the only country outside of the UK which runs all of the PTI’s programmes.
The University of West Indies was founded in 1948 and operates five campuses across the Caribbean.
ENGAGEMENT 6
The Prince of Wales will depart Grantley Adams International Airport to return to the UK
The Prince of Wales will be met by a Guard of Honour, the British and Bajan anthems will be played, and there will be a twenty-one gun salute. His Royal Highness will be bid farewell by Scott Furssedonn-Wood, British High Commissioner to Barbados.
