The Royal Week 14th-20th January 2023

Saturday 14 January

It was announced that Selima Hill has been awarded The King’s Gold Medal for Poetry 2022.

Monday 16 January

The President of the Republic of Cyprus and Mrs. Anastasiades visited The King and The Queen Consort at Balmoral Castle.

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Tuesday 17th January

In Slough, The Prince of Wales visited Together As One (Aik Saath), a local charity that is working with young people to create positive social change in the community. This February, the charity is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Aik Saath, which means ‘Together As One’ in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu, was founded in response to incidents of gang violence between young people from Asian backgrounds in Slough in the late 1990s. Young people were empowered to help efforts to resolve community tensions and they have been leading the charity’s work ever since.

During the visit, His Royal Highness learnt more about the breadth of work that Together as One undertakes in Slough, meeting some of the current staff - some of whom are former volunteers - who help to deliver the charity’s work. The Prince then took part in a lesson with the charity’s Global Grub cooking programme. The programme teaches young people how to cook healthy, nutritious food while coping with the current challenges posed by the increasing cost of living.

Meanwhile, The Earl of Wessex visited Gordon's School in Woking, where His Royal Highness met students and staff before officially opening the new Sports Hub.

In Scotland, The Princess Royal carried out a number of engagements. As President of the UK Textiles and Fashion Association, Her Royal Highness opened Kalopsia Collective's new Textiles Facility in Dunfermline.

Later, Her Royal Highness visited FastBlade Structural Testing Facility at the University of Edinburgh, of which she is Chancellor.

Wednesday 18th January

At Dumfries House in Ayrshire, The King attended a Reception for British Muslim Faith Leaders participating in the Mosaic Leadership Programme. The initiative was created at the request of young faith leaders to The former Prince of Wales and The Prince's Trust in the aftermath of the Finsbury Park terror attack of June 2017, to provide training and guidance on community leadership and skills.

The Queen Consort was also working in Scotland, where she opened the new Science Teaching Hub at the University of Aberdeen. The University of Aberdeen is renowned for world-leading research in health, energy, food and nutrition and environmental and biological sciences.

Addressing students and staff, Her Majesty said:

You have a great past: 5 Nobel Laureates and 525 years of academic excellence. Your future, I know, will be greater still and, as your very proud Chancellor, I will be cheering you on every step of the way.

In London, The Princess of Wales visited Foxcubs Nursery to meet early childhood educators and parents as part of her ongoing work to elevate the importance of early childhood to lifelong outcomes. Foxcubs Nursery is an early years’ service run by the Early Years Alliance which offers 70 places for local children aged between two and five years old. With a focus on learning through play, the nursery offers places to families eligible for free childcare and early education, and encourages parents to be involved in the life of the nursery.

Meanwhile, The Princess Royal carried out two Investitures, on behalf of His Majesty The King, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Thursday 19th January

The Prince of Wales visited Depaul UK in London to highlight the work they do to help young people experiencing homelessness or insecure housing. 

Depaul UK offers tailored, long-term support to help individual clients address the issues that have led to their homelessness and ultimately live and work independently. By delivering workshops with schools they arm young people with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate life’s challenges and prevent youth homelessness, and using research they have commissioned and feedback from clients, they work with government, local authorities, religious groups and other NGOs to develop new ways of responding to homelessness and to help chart a path towards ending it entirely.

In the afternoon, The Princess of Wales, as Patron of the Rugby Football League, joined the England Wheelchair Rugby Football League team to celebrate their World Cup win. At the Reception held at Hampton Court Palace, The Princess congratulated members of the team and their families.

The Earl of Wessex visited the MAMA Youth Project at Sky Studios, which trains and supports young people from under-represented backgrounds to succeed in the media industry. Mama Youth is one of four organisations shortlisted for the inaugural Earl of Wessex Award, a new award in HRH's name that recognises the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the UK film and TV industry.

Meanwhile, The Countess of Wessex joined early celebrations for her birthday with the students at Connaught Junior School in Bagshot. During the visit, Her Royal Highness met students and staff and toured the new STEAM Lab, a dedicated space for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths Lab and heard how it will help the children. 

The next stop was the pottery room where The Countess joined the Year 5 class to make some clay tiles to celebrate the school’s 60th birthday. The visit finished with The Countess meeting the school dog, Toffee, who demonstrated some of his tricks.

Her Royal Highness afterwards officially opened Heatherwood Hospital, Frimley Health’s new centre of excellence for non-emergency care. The Countess was able to tour new centre, which included visiting the the hospital’s state of the art theatre area, the day case ‘pods’, the ophthalmology department and an inpatient ward.  

The Princess Royal officially re-opened Lady Haig Poppy Factory in Edinburgh, following its refurbishment. The team showing Her Royal Highness the poppy-making process and new exhibition space, as well as their micro-museum.

Her Royal Highness, as Royal Patron of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, later visited WildGenes Laboratory, Edinburgh Zoo, to mark its 10th anniversary.

Friday 20th January

Having arrived on the Royal Train for the first time as Sovereign, The King began a day of engagements in Manchester at GCHQ's Northwest hub. GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) is an intelligence cyber and security agency with a mission to help keep the UK safe. They use cutting-edge technology, technical ingenuity and worldwide partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats in an increasingly complex world.

Later, His Majesty visit Kellogg’s HQ, the largest cereal factory in Europe and biggest cornflake factory in the world, to mark 100 years of Kellogg’s in the UK. Kellogg’s has been a holder of the Royal Warrant since the reign of King George VI and cereal from the business was historically delivered to Buckingham Palace in a small van called Genevieve. Kellogg’s is currently undertaking pioneering work in the areas of sustainable packaging and energy use. This includes initiatives to ensure all packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025. Kellogg’s is also working with UK farmers to improve biodiversity and engage in environmentally positive farming practices.

At Bolton Town Hall, The King was joined by The Queen Consort meet representatives from the community. Bolton Town Hall was officially opened in 1873 by The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra, with over 150,000 Boltonians turning out to see the Royal couple and witness the opening.

Their Majesties ended the day at Norbrook Community Centre, where they toured the newly refurbished sports facilities. The multi-purpose youth facility has been established in the community for over 60 years and offers weekly sessions for young people from the age of 6 to 18. During the visit, The King and The Queen Consort were introduced to Gareth Southgate, England Football Manager and Prince’s Trust Ambassador, to watch young people doing sport activities in the hall and meet a group of young people who are regular users of the centre.

Her Majesty also joined author Alex Falase-Koya and children from St Peter’s Primary School in a writing session where they will share highlights of the story they have been creating together with Alex. The Queen Consort unveiled the Marcus Rashford Book Bookshelves, which are being gifted to the Youth Centre in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust.

The Prince of Wales held a video call with residents of Australia who have been affected by flooding.

The Princess Royal, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Logistic Corps, visited 9 Regiment at Buckley Barracks.