The Royal Week 12-18 November 2022

Saturday 12 November

Members of the Royal Family attended the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Festival was attended by The King and The Queen Consort, The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

This year’s theme reflected on the value of ‘service’ and included a special tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, who was the Royal British Legion’s Patron for 70 years.

Sunday 13 November

The King and The Queen Consort and Members of the Royal Family attended the annual Remembrance Day Service at The Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.

The King laid a new wreath, the design of which pays tribute to the wreath of His Majesty’s grandfather, King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth II. 

The Queen Consort viewed the Service from the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building. For the first time, a wreath was laid on Her Majesty’s behalf, by an Equerry from the Royal Household. 

The Service at the Cenotaph was also attended by The Princess of Wales, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and The Duke of Kent.

Following the Service, The Earl of Wessex took the Salute at the March Past of Veteran Organisations on Horse Guards Parade.

Monday 14 November

The King celebrated his 74th birthday.

To mark the occasion Gun Salutes were fired in Green Park and the Band of the Household Cavalry played Happy Birthday during Changing the Guard.

It was also announced that His Majesty has officially become The Ranger of Windsor Great Park, seventy years after his father, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was appointed to the post.

The Ranger of The Great Park offers oversight and guidance to the Deputy Ranger and his team in the day-to-day stewardship of one of the country’s oldest landed estates.

The role at Windsor can trace its roots back to 1559 when Sir Henry Neville was appointed Ranger in the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I.

Ahead of the Football World Cup, The Prince of Wales, President of The FA, made a surprise visit to St. George’s Park to join manager England Gareth Southgate in revealing each number in front of the players and the Three Lions support team. 

Tuesday 15 November

His Majesty The King held an Audience with the President of Ghana at Windsor Castle.

The Countess of Wessex was in Staffordshire, where she visited JCB in recognition of their NSPCC Platinum Jubilee Appeal, which was set up to honour of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth's 70 year reign. Her Royal Highness became Patron of the NSPCC in 2016, a role that was previously held by Queen Elizabeth for more than 60 years.

Next, Her Royal Highness visited the Newcastle-Under-Lyme Council’s Safe Space initiative, to see the work being carried out by staff and volunteers on the local refugee programme.

The day finished at the Salvation Army, where Her Royal Highness had the chance to see the work being carried out by staff on the Rough Sleepers Initiative, by supporting those who are homeless or sleeping rough and helping move them into safety and accommodation.

The Princess Royal, President for the Riding for the Disabled Association, visited the Maisemore Group at Hartpury College to mark their fiftieth anniversary.

The Duke of Gloucester was in Aberdeen officially opened the new Service Centre extension at Specialist Valve Services.

His Royal Highness then attended a Civic Reception at Fraserburgh Lighthouse Museum and later visited Fraserburgh Town Centre Regeneration and Conservation Project.

Wednesday 16 November

The King hosted the first Investiture Ceremony since his Accession at Windsor Castle.

His Majesty, joined by The Earl of Wessex, The Duke of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent, later gave a reception at Buckingham Palace to recognise the contribution of small businesses to the economy.

At Buckingham Palace, The Queen Consort presented the Royal Academy of Dance’s (RAD) highest honour, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award during a special ceremony.

The Award was presented to legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov in recognition of his immense contribution to ballet and the wider world of dance.

The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award, the RAD’s highest accolade, was instituted in 1953, to celebrate the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. 1953 also marked the year Queen Elizabeth II became Patron of the RAD, succeeding her grandmother Queen Mary.

The Prince of Wales visited the Welsh Senedd, and met representatives of the Welsh Parliament in order to deepen his understanding of the issues and opportunities of greatest importance to the Welsh people.

Following a brief tour of the building and the debating chamber led by the Llywydd (Presiding Officer), Rt. Hon. Elin Jones MS, His Royal Highness met representatives from the political parties represented in the Senedd, providing an opportunity for discussion about the topics that matter most to Wales.

The Princess Royal, Patron, St. Margaret's Chapel Guild attended the Annual Service in the Chapel, Edinburgh Castle, followed by the Annual General Meeting and a Reception in the Castle.

Continuing his visit in Aberdeen, The Duke of Gloucester visited Peterhead Port Authority, Peterhead RNLI Lifeboat Station and the Lunar Fishing Company.

The Duke of Kent visited the Battle of Britain Memorial in Capel-le-Ferne.

Thursday 17 November

At Buckingham Palace, The Queen Consort hosted a reception for winners of The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2022, where Her Majesty recognised young and talented writers from across the Commonwealth and paid tribute to the power of literacy and language in bringing people together in a speech to the assembled guests.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools. It was founded in 1883 by the Royal Commonwealth Society to promote literacy, expression, and creativity among young people throughout the Commonwealth.

Each year, entrants write on a theme that explores the Commonwealth’s values, fostering an empathetic and open-minded world view in the next generation of leaders and encouraging young people to consider new perspectives and challenges that the world faces. Themes have included the environment, community, inclusion, the role of youth leadership, and gender equality.

The Princess of Wales visited the Reading Ukrainian Community Centre to meet displaced Ukrainian families and hear about the support the Centre is providing to those arriving in the UK as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.

The Countess of Wessex visited Open Sight Hampshire to celebrate their Centenary, and later visited a Brendoncare Club at Romsey Comrades Club in Romsey.

Her Royal Highness is Patron of Brendoncare, a charity that is dedicated to improving the quality of life for older people.

The Princess Royal, accompanied by Sir Tim Laurence, arrived in the Falkland Islands, where they were welcomed by the Governor of Falkland Islands (Her Excellency Mrs. Alison Blake).

Friday 18 November

It was revealed that the Paddington and Teddy Bears that have been looked after at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House will be delivered to Barnardos by The Queen Consort next week.

During the visit, Her Majesty will personally deliver the cuddly toys that were left as tributes to Queen Elizabeth at Royal Residences in September to children supported by the charity.

The Prince of Wales, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Coningsby, visited the base to learn about future technological innovations.

During the visit, His Royal Highness spent time in the Air Traffic Control Centre to hear about ‘Project Marshall’, a multi-billion-pound equipment upgrade programme of air traffic control radar services across Lincolnshire.

In the Falkland Islands, The Princess Royal met Members of the Legislative Assembly, before laying a wreath at the 1982 Liberation Monument Port Stanley.

Her Royal Highness also visited the Falkland Islands and MOD Demining teams to receive a brief on how the Islands were successfully demined following 1982, before visiting a Magellanic Penguin colony under the care of the Falkland Conservation to see the work that has been possible due to the successful demining.