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The Queen visits Haig Housing in Morden

Published 11 October 2019

The Court Circular

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Pakistan

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex undertake a Royal visit to Pakistan

State Opening of Parliament

Each Parliamentary year begins in May when The Queen officially opens Parliament...

The Queen and The Duchess of Cornwall mark the 750th anniversary of Westminster Abbey

Published 15 October 2019

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The Earl of Wessex

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Today is #NationalPoetryDay.
The honorary Royal title of Poet Laureate is awarded to a poet whose work is of national significance. The appointment is approved by Her Majesty The Queen on the advice of the UK government.

The current Poet Laureate is Simon Armitage, who holds the post for a fixed term of ten years.

A Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds, Simon has published 28 collections of poetry. His work has been studied by millions of children as part of the national curriculum and in 2010 he received a CBE for services to poetry.

He is the 21st UK Poet Laureate.

The UK’s first Poet Laureate by Royal appointment was John Dryden who was given the title by King Charles II in 1668.
Previous Poet Laureates have included William Wordsworth, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, John Betjeman and Ted Hughes. UK Poet Laureates initially served until their death until the rules were changed in 1999 to give more poets the opportunity to hold the position.

Simon Armitage is also the winner of The Gold Medal for Poetry 2018.

The award was instituted by King George V in 1933 at the suggestion of the then Poet Laureate, John Masefield. The Medal is awarded for excellence in poetry, on the basis either of a body of work over several years, or for an outstanding poetry collection issued during the year of the award.
Swipe ⬅️ to listen to a special recording of poet Simon Armitage reading his poem ‘Evening’. The reading was recorded at Buckingham Palace shortly after his appointment as Poet Laureate, and after winning The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry for 2018.

🌊 On Saturday, The Earl of Wessex met young people working to achieve their #DofE @international_award with @slsaustralia, Australia’s major water safety, drowning prevention and rescue authority.

The International Award is celebrating its 60th anniversary in Australia this year 🎉🇦🇺 Since its inception in 1959, over 775,000 young Australians have completed the Award.

Follow the link in our bio for more on #RoyalVisitAustralia!

This afternoon, The Duchess attended a performance and tea party for the @poetry_together initiative.

Launched by @gylesbrandreth, the scheme encourages schools to link with care homes - bringing people of all ages together to learn a poem by heart. 200 schools and elderly groups, from all over the UK, have got involved with the initiative and today, 5 groups had the opportunity to perform for HRH. The Duchess even had a go at reciting a poem by heart herself! 🎭

Following the performance, the participants were invited to have tea and cake together. ☕️🍰 #poetrytogether2019
📷 Clarence House

Arch meets Archie!

This morning The Duke and Duchess were honoured to introduce their son Archie, to Archbishop, Desmond Tutu and his daughter, Thandeka.

The Archbishop, a globally respected figure in anti-apartheid movement, is one of the world’s great champions of equality, and has spent his life tirelessly battling injustice.

Their Royal Highnesses have joined The Archbishop and Thandeka to learn more about the work of The Tutu and Leah Legacy Foundation, and see first-hand how they are focussing on global awareness of the critical issues affecting the world.

#RoyalVisitSouthAfrica
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Photo ©️ Reuters

The Duke and Duchess of York are delighted to announce the engagement of Princess Beatrice to Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Her Royal Highness and Mr Mapelli Mozzi became engaged in Italy earlier this month. The wedding will take place in 2020. This photograph was taken by Princess Eugenie in Italy.

Princess Beatrice and Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi said; “We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement. We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can’t wait to be married.” For more click the link in our bio.
📷 © Princess Eugenie

🎥 @SoccerAM — a fantastic performance from Aston Villa @AVFCofficial at Norwich today! 👏⚽

🎧 On #NationalPoetryDay, listen to The Prince of Wales read one of his favourite compositions – ‘Quoting Shakespeare’ by Bernard Levin. 📝
The piece explores the everyday use of Shakespeare's phrases.
The recording was broadcast this morning on the @bbcradio2 Breakfast Show.
Swipe ⬅️ to keep listening.

It was a special anniversary for two of Blackpool’s iconic attractions this week. 💃🕺 The Countess of Wessex visited both The Grand Theatre and Blackpool Tower, to celebrate their 125th anniversaries!

At the Grand Theatre, The Countess watched performances by local children, and learnt about the restoration of the historic landmarks.

Later on, The Countess put on her dancing shoes! HRH was invited to dance the waltz alongside local performers at Blackpool’s iconic Tower Ballroom.

Her Royal Highness made a visit to the Tower Eye, and unveiled a plaque marking the building’s historic anniversary.

Finally, The Countess visited local charity, N-Vision which creates talking news for visually impaired listeners. Her Royal Highness recorded a short extract of news and spoke to listeners.

In the Liwonde National Park The Duke of Sussex has unveiled a dedication of the Park and the adjoining Mangochi Forest to The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy.

The QCC initiative was set up aim of creating a global network of protected woodland in Her Majesty’s name, in order to conserve forestry projects for future generations.

In a speech The Duke said: “The QCC was launched by my grandmother in 2015, and already almost 50 countries have taken part – dedicating indigenous forests for conservation, or committing to planting millions of trees. “It is so inspiring that the Commonwealth family has joined forces to save one of the world’s most important natural habitats. “As The Queen’s Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, I am particularly proud of how this programme will create a physical legacy of Her Majesty’s leadership of the Commonwealth - not just for our generation, but for our children, and their children too.

Today, @sussexroyal has joined forces with National Geographic (@natgeo), with The Duke taking this photo for a special #LookingUp campaign. The new campaign encourages people to share photos of trees from around the world.

Many members of The Royal Family have supported the QCC over the past few years, including Her Majesty The Queen during a documentary with Sir David Attenborough, and in planting many trees over the course of her reign.
Follow @sussexroyal @queenscanopy & @natgeo for more.

Press Releases

17 October 2019

Her Majesty The Queen has sent a message to the Governors and people of New South Wales and Queensland

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4 October 2019

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to visit Pakistan

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30 September 2019

The Queen has sent the following message to The President of France

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26 September 2019

Princess Beatrice of York and Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi engaged to be married

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3 September 2019

A message from The Queen to the people of the Bahamas

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24 July 2019

The Queen received in audience The Right Honourable Boris Johnson MP

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In these archive images Princess Margaret is photographed with one of four pagodas which will go on public display at Brighton Pavilion from Saturday 21 Sept 2019. The pictures were taken by Cecil Beaton in 1949.
The pagodas are ten-tiered Chinese decorative objects, which will be part of ‘A Prince’s Treasure’ exhibition - a collection of over 120 items from Buckingham Palace on loan from @royalcollectiontrust
They have been at Buckingham Palace since the 1840s but were originally commissioned for the Pavilion by George IV in 1817.
See our Instagram stories for more about the exhibition and how the pieces of art were transferred from the Palace ready to be taken to Brighton.

More than 17,500 photographs, prints and papers related to #PrinceAlbert have been published online today.
The @royalcollectiontrust digitisation project gives new insight into Albert’s achievements and his impact on Victorian society. From his family life, to his love of photography - explore the site via the link in our bio!
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were married for twenty-one years and had nine children together. 📷 Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019

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