In the year of the 25th anniversary of the genocide, The Prince of Wales will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina where he will highlight reforms to improve citizens’ lives.
Their Royal Highnesses will make their first official visit to The Republic of Cyprus to recognise the work of the UN Peacekeeping Force and celebrate traditional Cypriot culture.
Their Royal Highnesses will visit The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to learn what the country is doing to support refugees and showcase its rich cultural history.
At the request of Her Majesty's Government, The Prince of Wales will undertake an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their Royal Highnesses will then jointly visit The Republic of Cyprus and The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Tuesday 17th March to Wednesday 18th March
The visit of The Prince of Wales to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) demonstrates the UK’s increased commitment to BiH and the Western Balkans region, its support for reforms to improve citizens’ lives and create a brighter future; as well as His Royal Highness’s own long-standing commitment to post-conflict reconciliation in the Western Balkans.
His Royal Highness will undertake engagements in Sarajevo and Srebrenica. A key element will be a visit to the memorial at Srebrenica to mark the 25th anniversary of the genocide. His Royal Highness will pay his respects to the victims, accompanied by a number of survivors, including mothers who are still looking for their missing family members. His Royal Highness has previously met families of the missing from BiH, and across the region at Clarence House in 2017 and again in 2018. In both Srebrenica and Sarajevo, The Prince will have the opportunity to hear about the progress that has been made in finding the remaining people from across the region, who are still missing.
In Sarajevo, The Prince will call on the tripartite BiH Presidency, and meet local leaders from business, politics, culture, civil society, and the Armed Forces. His Royal Highness will also meet religious leaders in BiH, in recognition of their work on reconciliation and building understanding across communities. His Royal Highness will also learn about how the UK has been supporting survivors of wartime sexual violence, helping them overcome the stigma that they and their families face.
His Royal Highness will also visit local artisans and historic sites within the old town. He will meet those helping to build a better future for their country including social entrepreneurs, activists, food producers, and other champions of sustainable growth. Young students from across the country will present their projects developed under the 21st Century Schools programme, implemented by the British Council in all primary schools in the Western Balkans. Against a backdrop of high emigration, this gives young people an opportunity to learn new IT skills, develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and offers a greater incentive for them to stay and shape their country’s future.
His Royal Highness will meet UK military personnel involved in securing a safe and secure environment in BiH, and bolstering the BiH-UK defence relationship.
His Royal Highness last visited BiH in 2007 and visited other Western Balkans countries in 2016.
The Republic of Cyprus – Wednesday 18th March to Saturday 21st March
Their Royal Highnesses’ visit to The Republic of Cyprus will be the first Royal visit since Her Majesty The Queen visited in 1993. The programme will celebrate the historic ties between the United Kingdom and Cyprus, our shared membership of the Commonwealth, and our dynamic forward-looking relationship in areas such as education and science. This visit will also recognise the UK’s role as the largest troop contributor to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
Their Royal Highnesses’ visit will focus on the capital, Nicosia, and will also include rural visits to the nearby Troodos mountains, and to Larnaca district, where Their Royal Highnesses will celebrate traditional Cypriot culture, food, and crafts, and Cyprus’ unique heritage. The Prince and The Duchess are also expected to engage with UK military personnel based in country, including British UN peacekeepers and members of the Mercian Regiment of which His Royal Highness is Colonel-in-Chief.
Their Royal Highnesses’ programme will include a visit to the UN Buffer Zone to acknowledge the peacekeeping work being undertaken by the UN and highlight initiatives which are building links between the communities of Cyprus, meeting both Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot community members.
The Prince of Wales will attend a meeting of the Commonwealth Blue Charter Champions from across the Commonwealth. His Royal Highness will also meet religious leaders from Cyprus’s diverse religious communities. The Duchess of Cornwall, as Patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, will visit a partner organisation which has recently participated in the charity’s Battersea Academy to see how the organisation is implementing its learning in Cyprus. Her Royal Highness will also continue her work to highlight the issue of domestic violence and rape around the world and engage with organisations working to support survivors.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan – Saturday 21st March to Wednesday 25th March
Their Royal Highness’s return to Jordan underlines the importance Her Majesty’s Government places on its close ties with Jordan, which is underpinned by the long-standing, warm relationship between the two Royal Families.
The visit will centre on the historic capital city, Amman, and also take in a number of other sites of cultural, religious and environmental significance across the country. The programme will see Their Royal Highnesses tour a unique hillside town, once part of the Greek and Roman Decapolis. The Prince of Wales will also visit an ecologically rich National Park. In the City of Salt – Jordan’s first historical capital – Their Royal Highnesses will meet the Jordanian winner of the Global Prince’s Trust International Award 2019, who has worked to develop sustainable tourism and opportunities for the local community. Their Royal Highnesses will learn about The Prince’s Trust International’s work in the country and meet some of those who have benefitted from it.
The Prince and The Duchess’s visit will highlight how Jordan continues to host over a million refugees fleeing from conflict, and how they have integrated into the community. Their Royal Highnesses will visit organisations, including the International Rescue Committee, of which The Prince has recently become Patron. The International Rescue Committee supports refugees in transitioning from camps to local communities and assists them in finding employment.
Their Royal Highnesses will be accompanied at various points of the tour by members of the Jordanian Royal Family and will see Jordan’s renewed focus on increasing job opportunities for young people, particularly in the engineering and tourism sectors. His Royal Highness will visit a youth training and apprenticeship scheme, which is supported by Jaguar Land Rover and Crown Prince Hussein’s Technical University. Their Royal Highnesses will visit organisations helping to preserve traditional crafts and tailor them to today’s market, including the Turquoise Mountain Foundation which was founded by The Prince of Wales. They will see how young Jordanians are being trained in modern vocational skills to enable them to compete in the global market.
Their Royal Highnesses will also visit sites of religious importance and The Prince will participate in an interfaith discussion to emphasise the diverse, tolerant and integrated nature of Jordanian society, highlighting the importance placed on religious freedom, led by His Majesty King Abdallah II, the Custodian of the Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem. The Duchess will see the work undertaken by Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan to protect vulnerable children and mothers, as well as educate parents about child protection and safeguarding. Her Royal Highness will also visit a UNICEF-supported school offering educational programmes for teenagers and young women no longer in formal schooling, and a Women of the World (WOW) event that promotes the empowerment of women from all walks of life.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall most recently visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2007. His Royal Highness also previously visited in 1996 and 2004.
- On the 10th July 2018, The Prince of Wales hosted a reception to mark the end of the Western Balkans Summit. The summit brought together the six Western Balkans countries and partners in London to work together to support security, stability and prosperity in the region. The summit was hosted by Prime Minister Theresa May. His Royal Highness’s speech is available here
- This will be Their Royal Highnesses’ first official visit to The Republic of Cyprus. Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited RAF Akrotiri in the Western Sovereign Base area in December 2018.
- On 4th March 2019, during a visit by The President of Cyprus to the UK, The Prince of Wales hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace in celebration of the UK Cypriot community and the close ties between the UK and Cyprus. His Royal Highness’s speech is available here.
- His Royal Highness last visited Jordan in February 2015 and Her Royal Highness last visited in 2013.
