The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit The Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria

31st October – 8th November 2018

Their Royal Highnesses' visit, which is at the request and on behalf of the British Government, will celebrate the U.K.'s dynamic, forward-looking partnerships with these Commonwealth Nations on a range of shared priorities.

The visits will highlight key themes in these relationships, including the importance of our Commonwealth ties

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will begin their tour in The Gambia on 31st October. This visit will celebrate The Gambia's return into the Commonwealth in February this year. Their Royal Highnesses will be welcomed to the country by the President of The Gambia, His Excellency Mr. Adama Barrow, at a ceremony in McCarthy Square in the Capital City of Banjul.

Key events in the programme will include a visit to the Medical Research Council, which is a faculty of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The centre has undertaken pioneering research into malaria and other diseases which affect millions of people across Africa. The visit by The Prince of Wales will highlight the key role the centre plays in the global fight to eliminate malaria.  The Prince of Wales will also visit the Gambian Armed Forces Training Centre, where troops are trained for their role with the United Nations - African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur.

The Duchess of Cornwall’s programme will include a visit to a school to meet young people aspiring to enter The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition, which is the world’s oldest schools’ international writing competition, managed by The Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883. For the past few years The Duchess of Cornwall has presented certificates to winners and runners up of the Commonwealth Essay Prize, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, at a formal Awards Ceremony, which takes place at Buckingham Palace in November.

On 2nd November, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will start their visit to Ghana, which in 1957 became the first majority-ruled African country to join the Commonwealth, and today is a vital and valued partner for the U.K.  Their Royal Highnesses' visit will highlight the U.K.’s warm and enduring relationship with Ghana and the breadth of our dynamic contemporary partnership.

On arrival in the capital city of Accra, Their Royal Highnesses will be welcomed at Jubilee House by President Nana Akufo-Addo and the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo. Other key events in the programme in Accra will include a State Banquet celebrating the ties between the UK and Ghana, attended by senior dignitaries in Ghana and prominent members of the British Ghanaian Diaspora as well as key figures from business, arts, culture and media. The Prince will attend a meeting with Ghanaian and International business leaders to discuss sustainable practice in Ghana’s cocoa industry and key environmental issues. His Royal Highness will also visit Christiansborg Castle, once a Danish, and then British, slave fort, which was - until a few years ago - the seat of Ghana’s Government after independence, to discuss the future restoration and reuse of the area, as part of a major redevelopment of Accra's waterfront, conceived by the Ghanaian Government with the Architect Sir David Adjaye.

Their Royal Highnesses will visit Ghana's Second City of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. On arrival in Kumasi, The Prince and The Duchess will visit Manhiya Palace to meet The Asantehene (King of the Ashantis), His Majesty Osei Tutu II. The Prince and The Duchess will attend a traditional durbar or procession at the Palace with The Asantehene and local chiefs.

The Duchess who is President of the Women of the World Festival will also attend an event for a range of Ghanaian women of influence. The Women of the World festival (WOW) is a global festival movement founded by Jude Kelly CBE in London in 2010 celebrating women and girls, and looking at the obstacles that stop them from achieving their potential.

On 6th November, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will arrive in Abuja, Nigeria where they will be welcomed by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa. During their visit to Nigeria, Their Royal Highnesses will undertake a series of engagements in Abuja and Lagos where they will have the opportunity to interact with a cross-section of Nigerians from Traditional Leaders to those in business, the arts, fashion, the armed forces and the charitable sector.  One central event will be an arts festival at the British Council in Lagos to celebrate Nigeria’s thriving art scene and to mark the 75th anniversary of the British Council in Nigeria.

In all three nations, Their Royal Highnesses will take part in commemorative events to acknowledge the sacrifice made by Gambian, Ghanaian and Nigerian soldiers during the First and Second World Wars, and in more recent times during international peacekeeping missions.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS     

• This is The Prince of Wales’s first visit to Commonwealth Nations after the Commonwealth Heads of Government unanimously decided in April this year that he should succeed Her Majesty The Queen as the Head of the Commonwealth.
• The Prince of Wales has visited 44 out of 53 Commonwealth nations. The Duchess has visited 18 Commonwealth nations with The Prince of Wales.
• This will be The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall's first visit to The Gambia.
• The Prince of Wales's last official visit to Ghana was in March 1977. This will be The Duchess of Cornwall's first visit to Ghana.
• The Prince of Wales has made three previous official visits to Nigeria (March 1990, May 1999 and November 2006). This will be The Duchess of Cornwall’s first visit to Nigeria.