The Royal Week 7-13 May 2022

Sunday 8 May

The Earl of Wessex, Royal Honorary Colonel, The Royal Wessex Yeomanry, attended the Cavalry Memorial Parade in Hyde Park.

His Royal Highness, accompanied by The Countess of Wessex, later travelled to Jersey at the start of their visit to the Channel Islands to mark the 77th anniversary of their liberation and to celebrate The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

At Government House in St Saviour, The Earl and Countess met members of the community and those who are connected to charities and organisations associated with them – including the Commonwealth Games Association Jersey, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Jersey and Jersey Mencap.

Their Royal Highnesses then attended a dinner given by the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society, where they met a cross-section of the Island's community and were shown items related to the German Occupation, including improvised occupation recipes created during the times of strict rationing and food shortages.

Monday 9 May

Continuing the visit in Jersey, The Earl and Countess of Wessex unveiled a plaque on Jersey’s new official saluting gun battery to commemorate The Duke of Edinburgh, before attending the Island's Liberation Day celebrations in St Helier, where His Royal Highness delivered a message from The Queen.

Their Royal Highnesses then were able to meet members of the ‘occupation generation’ who shared their accounts of living through the Occupation.

The Earl and Countess then headed to Guernsey for their celebrations, starting with a Tea Dance, which saw the island’s Occupation Generation celebrating together.

After spending time meeting islanders at the event, Their Royal Highnesses travelled to Castle Cornet for an Ecumenical Service, and delivered a message from The Queen.

Tuesday 10 May

The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duchess of Cornwall all attended the State Opening of Parliament.

The Prince of Wales read The Queen’s speech at the State Opening of Parliament for the first time. The speech sets out the Government’s priorities for the new session.

His Royal Highness later received Princess Astrid of Belgium at Clarence House.

Princess Astid also was received by The Princess Royal as they laid wreaths at the Edith Cavell Monument in London.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge this attended the opening of the Glade of Light Memorial in Manchester.

The memorial commemorates the victims of the 22nd May 2017 terrorist attack at Manchester Arena. It honours the 22 people whose lives were taken, as well as remembering everyone who was left injured or affected.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex continued their visit to the Channel Islands, starting the day at Forest Primary School in Guernsey, to see how they are preparing to celebrate The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, including meeting the winner of the local Platinum Jubilee for Guernsey flag competition.

Their Royal Highnesses then travelled to Alderney where they visited the Alderney Wildlife Trust, presented the Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, delivered a message from The Queen and visited the Roman Fort heritage site.

The final stop was in Sark, where they presented the island’s emergency service personnel with a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal, and also met Sark’s Occupation Generation in the Island Hall.

You can read more about their visit here.

Wednesday 11 May

The Queen held a Privy Council meeting via video link.

As Founder and President of The Princes Trust, The Prince of Wales met a group of young people who have been supported by the Kickstart scheme in Walworth, London.

Since the Kickstart scheme was announced in 2020, The Prince’s Trust has supported over 4,220 young people into job placements with many securing permanent roles upon completion. 

His Royal Highness, accompanied by The Duchess of Cornwall, The Princess Royal, The Duke of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, hosted the first 2022 Buckingham Palace Garden Party.

It was the first Garden Party since the pandemic, with over 8,000 guests invited as a thanks for the work they do in their communities.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in Scotland, starting the day at St John’s Primary School in Port Glasgow where they joined a Roots of Empathy session.

Their Royal Highnesses later visited Wheatley Housing to see first-hand how they are transforming the lives of disadvantaged or vulnerable people, including those at risk of homelessness.

At the University of Glasgow, The Duke and Duchess had the chance to talk with students about mental health and wellbeing, and hear how researchers and students at the University’s School of Psychology and Neuroscience are focusing on mental wellbeing and how this can be influenced, both positively and negatively.

The Princess Royal and The Duchess of Gloucester, were both received by the The Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia, and viewed the 'Tenun Pahang: Weaving Hope' Exhibition at the Malaysian High Commission in London.

Princess Alexandra, Patron of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, attended the annual Florence Nightingale Servive at Westminster Abbey, which celebrates nursing and midwifery and all staff working in those professions.

Thursday 12 May

Ahead of next week's Royal Visit to Canada, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Canada House in London.

The Prince later travelled to Oxford to open Trinity College's new Levine Building, which set in the heart of Trinity's historic site in central Oxford. This is the first major upgrade of the college’s academic facilities in more than 50 years, featuring world-class facilities for teaching, public outreach and residential accommodation.

His Royal Highness also joined a discussion with Baroness Amos and students from the Amos Bursary about the Opportunity Oxford programme.

Launched in 2019, Opportunity Oxford is an ambitious programme that helps to prepare talented UK offer-holders from under-represented backgrounds for successful undergraduate careers at Oxford University.

At Heart of Midlothian Football Club, The Duke of Cambridge visited a programme called ‘The Changing Room’ launched by SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) in 2018.

The programme – a joint initiative between SAMH, SPFL Trust, the Movember Foundation, Scottish Government and football club charities and trusts across Scotland – is designed to bring together men aged 30-64 to increase their social connections and look after their mental health and wellbeing.

The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, hosted the Not Forgotten Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.

Her Royal Highness is Patron of the Charity, which provides leisure and recreation for wounded, injured or sick service and ex-service men and women.

The winner of the Platinum Pudding Competition was also revealed!

Created by Jemma Melvin, the pudding is a Lemon and Swiss Roll and Amaretti Trifle, which will be the official pudding for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, beating over 5,000 other desserts to the top. The full recipe can be found here.

Friday 13 May

The Duchess of Cornwall was announced as Patron of Book Aid International. Her Royal Highness is very well known for her personal love of reading, for championing the importance of books and for supporting causes promoting reading and literacy for all. 

The charity’s former Patron, from 1966 until his death in April 2021, was The Duke of Edinburgh. 

At the end of Mental Health Awareness Week, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took part in the Mental Health Minute, which was played to 20 million people on over 500 UK radio stations.

You can see a full list of engagements undertaken by The Royal Family in the Court Circular.