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@KensingtonRoyalRead more about the highlights of this week’s Royal activities, events and engagements
Sunday 29 January
Ahead of the launch of The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood’s new campaign, The Princess of Wales wrote an open letter on the importance of the issue.
Monday 30 January
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended a pre-campaign launch event, hosted by The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, at BAFTA in London.
Shaping Us is a new long-term campaign from The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood which aims to transform the issue from one of scientific interest to one of the most strategically important topics of our time.
The Earl of Wessex was in Lancashire, where met participants of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, who showcased some of the volunteering and skills-based activities they are currently working on.
Tuesday 31 January
The King hosted an Investiture Ceremony at Windsor Castle, with 99-year-old Holocaust survivor, Lily Ebert among those who were honoured.
Lily, who has written a book about her experiences as well sharing them on social media, previously had her portrait commissioned by His Majesty and are now in the Royal Collection. These portraits stand as a powerful testament to the extraordinary resilience and courage of those who survived.
The Queen Consort undertook her engagement since becoming Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. At Lille Barracks, Her Majesty met members of the Battalion and their families, as well as presenting medals.
The Princess of Wales visited Leeds as part of the Shaping Us launch, where she met members of the public to discuss early childhood.
At the University of Leeds, Her Royal Highness joined students on the Childhood Studies degree programme, where she discussed the Shaping Us campaign, how it overlaps with the degree they are undertaking.
The Countess of Wessex, as Patron of the Addington Fund, visited Smerrill Dairy to see how the charity supports farmers through a range of initiatives, including retirement and affordable homes, farmworker grants, and disaster relief.
Her Royal Highness also visited two homelessness charities in Cirencester; Cirencester Housing for Young People (CHYP) and Cirencester Signpost, to see the work they do to support the local community.
Wednesday 1 February
The King and The Queen Consort, accompanied by other Members of The Royal Family, hosted a Reception to celebrate British East and South-East Asian communities at Buckingham Palace.
The guests included representatives of the Armed Forces, the Arts, Media, Fashion, Business, Government, Finance, Healthcare, Faith organisations, charities and more.
Their Majesties were joined by The Earl of Wessex, The Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra for the reception.
Earlier in the day, The Queen Consort welcomed members of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (QORC) to Buckingham Palace, where Her Majesty was presented with the Canadian Forces’ Decoration by Brigadier-General Dwayne Parsons.
The medal recognises Her Majesty’s twelve years of service as Colonel-in-Chief to the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.
The Prince of Wales hosted an Investiture Ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Thursday 2 February
The King held two Credential Ceremonies, where His Excellency Mr. Yeocheol Yoon was received in audience and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador from the Republic of Korea to the Court of St. James's.
His Excellency Mr. Douangmany Gnotsyoudom was also received in audience by The King and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador from the Lao People's Democratic Republic to the Court of St. James's.
His Majesty sent a message to those affected by the flooding in New Zealand:
I have long admired the strength and resourcefulness of New Zealanders, and I send my thoughts and prayers to all those who are supporting response and recovery efforts.
The King also sent a message of condolence to the President of Pakistan following the bomb attack in Peshawar.
Such acts of incomprehensible brutality, wherever they occur, are a barbaric assault on our shared humanity.
The Queen Consort visited Book Aid International’s warehouse in London, where books of all kinds are prepared to be shipped to communities across the globe.
Book Aid is a charity that provides over one million brand new books each year to the thousands of communities that need them most, all over the world.
Her Majesty then celebrated the 50th anniversary of Coram Beanstalk, by joining staff, volunteers and young readers for a special event.
Coram Beanstalk is a national children's reading charity that supports children to become confident, independent readers, and has so far helped over 250,000 children to develop their reading abilities,
The Prince of Wales held a call with eight participants of the Arctic Winter Games, the participants represented the regions of the USA, Canada, Greenland and Sápmi (an area covering Norway, Sweden and Finland).
The Countess of Wessex has visited The Hague this week, focusing on international support for survivors of conflict related sexual violence (CRSV).
Accompanied by His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, The Countess first visited the International Criminal Court, which seeks to support national courts to bring perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, to justice. Her Royal Highness heard about the work of the ICC’s Trust Fund for Victims, which advocates for and assists the most vulnerable victims of the crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction.
The Countess then attended an event in support of the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) where Her Royal Highness joined Princess Mabel van Oranje and the Dutch Director General for International Cooperation, and Special Envoy for Gender Equality.
The Princess Royal hosted a reception to celebrate the centenary of the British Cardiovascular Society.
Friday 3 February
On Friday, The Princess Royal visited Southampton to officially present the city with its Letters Patent, recognising the city’s new Lord Mayor status. Southampton was the only city in England and Wales to be awarded Lord Mayor status as part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition in 2022.
The Princess then visited Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton, which Her Royal Highness officially opened over forty years ago. The Princess is Patron of the Royal College of Midwives, and spoke to hospital staff about the care they give families throughout pregnancy and beyond, before meeting some brand new parents.
The Countess of Wessex visited the International Commission on Missing Persons, which identifies missing persons and supports the families of the missing. Her Royal Highness saw how their state of the art DNA laboratory supports their vital work.
The Countess then met young people from across the Netherlands who have completed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and presented them with their certificates.
