Click to see the article at the BBC website

In the past week the last two surviving World War One veterans living in Britain have both passed away. Henry Allingham (image) died aged 113 on 18th July and a week later the last veteran Harry Patch also passed away. Earlier this year Bill Stone another WW1 veteran died. To mark the passing of the last of the Great War veterans a memorial service is planned for later in the year to be held at Westminster Abbey with the Queen as a possible guest. It will be a chance for the British public to openly thank all veterans in WW1 who gave so much to their country.

Henry Allingham was probably the most recognised of the three veterans and frequently attended events relating to the Great War. Not only was he the world’s oldest man but he was also the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland and a founder member of the RAF. Born in 1896 during Queen Victoria’s regin he lived through events of the past century that most of us only read about. He lived during the reigns of five British monarchs and witnessed the abdication of Edward VIII.

The Queen paid tribute to Mr Allingham saying he was “one of the generation who sacrificed so much for us all”. image – meeting the Queen prior to attending at garden party at Buckingham Palace. Whilst Prince Charles also remarked that about the sacrifice of WW1 veterans as “belonging to that incredible generation who did so much for their country”. image – Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall marking the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. Henry Allingham had meet with a number of Royals on various occasions. The Duchess of Gloucester in her role as President of World War One Veterans Association was the closest to Allingham. On number of occasions, such as the opening of a Battle of Jutland exhibition in 2006 at the HMS Belfast (image) and at veteran association events, the Duchess meet with Henry. She also was the only Royal to attend the 90th anniversary memorial event on 11th November 2008 at the Cenotaph which saw all three veterans lay wreaths. image , image It was therefore fitting that it was the Duchess who on Thursday attended Henry’s funeral in Brighton.

Click here for an article about Henry Allingham’s funeral.

PrincessofEurope British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Gloucester, Elizabeth II, Funeral, Henry Allingham, World War I

Click to see the photo at the BBC

 Today is the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in London on 7 July 2005, and the day when the memorial to the victims was unveiled  in Hyde Park. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were present at the dedication ceremony, along with government officials and family members of the victims. The Prime Minister, the leaders of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, and the Mayor of London were among those present, along with Tessa Jowell, Minister for London.

The memorial was designed by the architecture firm Carmody Groarke. It consists of 52 11-foot-tall steel pillars, one for each of the victims killed by the terrorist bombs . The pillars stand in four groups, each group representing one of the attacks on a bus and three Underground trains. Each pillar is inscribed with the date and location of the attack; the names of the victims are inscribed on a plaque standing near the memorial.

In his speech, Prince Charles recalled the terrorist attack in 1979 which had taken the life of his great-uncle and honourary grandfather Lord Mountbatten.  He said, “I never fail to be amazed by the fortitude of the British people and it was this indomitable spirit, together with the commitment, compassion and doggedness of the emergency services, which got us through that day and the weeks to come.” In these sentiments, he echoed the words of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who said on the day after the bombings, “I want to express my admiration for the people of our capital city who in the aftermath of yesterday’s bombings are calmly determined to resume their normal lives.”

 The Prince and the Duchess both laid wreaths at the foot of the plaque bearing the names of the victims, and the family members each placed a red rose and a white rose, symbolising love and peace, in urns next to the plaque.

For further discussion, see this thread. For more details about Prince Charles’s speech, please see this article at the Prince of Wales official website.

Lucia-mia British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Memorial, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Terrorism

Click for the image at the BBC website

 Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall begin their annual tour of Wales today, their base being their new official Welsh residence Llwynywermod (pronounced Clan-wormwood. Don’t blame me, I don’t make the rules). The programme is likely to be a packed one and already there are scheduled visits to Brecon Cathedral and the Prime Cymru organisation, as well as the eco-friendly Ty-Mawr Lime building-materials company. Tuesday will see the Royal couple visit Llandovery Hospital and the Tŷ Hafan Children’s Hospice at Llwynywermod with Wednesday seeing the Prince in his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Welsh Guards carry out his bi-annual inspection of an army-run school for children of servicemen and women. On Friday, the Duchess will take part in the “Family Feast of British Food” which is part of “British Food Fortnight”. Keep your eyes peeled for that familiar salmon-pink coat and a trip or two on the Royal Train.

BeatrixFan British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Official Visit, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Wales

 Earlier this month on a on a visit to Scotland the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay conducted two very different engagements in one day with projects dear to their hearts. At the launch of an eco-friendly education centre Charles took the opportunity to share the difficulties of being an unwitting trailblazing eco-warrior. Long before most of us ‘Boomers’ had given a passing thought to the ramifications of oodles of chemical “improving” our veggies . . . we were just happy to cut down on the slugs and weeds and chopping down any old tree for no other reason than it was in the way. 

Meanwhile Charles, the budding environmentalist, was taking a hiding to nothing with the abuse heaped on his unsuspecting head.  That he finds it in him to share about “the enormous degree of   abuse” this engendered with any degree of equanimity and come out the other side with wit and humour to encourage his fellow gardeners and budding environmentalists says a lot about the man he has become.  That he and the Duchess then proceeded to “get down and dirty” planting trees is just the cherry on top of the icing on the cake!

 Their other engagement that day was what is fast becoming their best double act, a morale-boosting visit to the troops.  In this case at the Black Watch’s Barracks at Fort George to greet the families of Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (of which Charles is Royal Colonel), who left in March for a six-month tour. Read more…

MARG British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Duke of Rothesay, Environment, Military, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Scotland

Click to see the gallery at Getty Images

 Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the Royal Ballet School at White Lodge in Richmond Park on Wednesday to attend the school’s Royal Gala Performance. In the spirit of the occasion, Camilla was dressed in a long pale-blue dress and coat with a ballet-dancer brooch.

Click to see the photo at the Royal Ballet School website

The Lower School (teaching pupils aged 11 to 16) is based at White Lodge, an 18th-century house originally built as a hunting lodge for George II. In the mid-19th century the house was occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Teck and their three sons and daughter, Princess May, who later became Queen Mary (consort of George V). More recently, it was the first marital home of Charles’s grandparents the Duke and Duchess of York (later George VI and Queen Elizabeth), who set up home there in 1923. The house is undergoing major renovations at present, and Charles is the  patron of the Royal Ballet School White Lodge Restoration and Development project.

The royal couple met with some of the pupils inside the building, and then walked down the stairs  to see the performance in the Margot Fonteyn theatre. Also present were some of the most celebrated graduates of the school including Darcy Bussell, Sir Anthony Dowell, and Dame Antoinette Sibley.

For more information about Charles and Camilla, see this thread.

Esmeralda British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Royal Ballet

 I’m fairly used to the sight of white-clad golden oldies showing their ball skills on a perfectly mowed lawn (I live near a Bowls club you see) but never did it cross my mind that bowls would become the sport of Kings. Or rather future Queens. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall showed her flair for the game today on a visit to the village of Box in Wiltshire where she apparently scored a “jack-high.” Dear readers this means nothing to me but the admiration for the Duchess’s bowling skills was as effusive as it was unanimous. Dressed in a familiar but elegant blue two-piece, HRH chatted with locals and engaged in the local pastime with enthusiasm, even going bare footed as she bowled her best before officially opening the new clubhouse. It’s hard to imagine the Queen showing her tights, but it certainly endeared Camilla to the people of Box.

For a play-by-play account, see this article.

BeatrixFan British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Sport

 Charles and Camilla have increased the size of their racing string. The couple now have a yearling and a foal to add to their original filly, Royal Superlative.

Joe Grimwade, the manager of the Royal Studs, was recently interviewed. He said that the foal is unnamed and was the result of the royals breeding their mare, Supereva, with a stallion called Dansili. The royals had not seen their new foal, which was born in late January.

The Waleses’ yearling, a filly called Carousel, shares the same mare, Supereva, with the newcomer. The sire was the stallion Pivotal. Carousel is planned to begin her racing career next year. Supereva is a wedding present from the Queen, who currently has about 30 horses in training. She was probably one of their favorite gifts since Camilla is a well-known enthusiast and Wales was interested in steeple chase in the 1970s and 1980s. Royal Superlative, now three years old, is expected to have her first run of the season (only her second run ever) this spring. Unfortunately, she did not fare well in her previous race.

It would be interesting to know what arrangements the royal couple have made for the end of their horses’ racing careers.

For more information, please see this article in The Daily Telegraph.

iowabelle British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Horse Racing, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales

 Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall met with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Monday. The Prince and the Duchess had a 15-minute audience with the Pope, followed by a meeting with the secretary of state for the Prince and a tour of the Vatican buildings for Camilla. Unusually, the Duchess was present throughout the entire meeting with the Pope; wives of visiting dignitaries are generally admitted only at the end of the audience. It is reported that the conversation included environmental concerns and global warming, an issue where the Prince and the Vatican are in agreement.

As is usual during official visits, gifts were exchanged; the Prince presented the Pope with a set of ceramic plates decorated with watercolour paintings of flowers from the Highgrove gardens and a signed photograph of himself and his wife, while the Pope gave the Prince a 500-year-old drawing of St Peter’s Basilica. It had been rumoured that the Pope’s gift would be a copy of the letter requesting an annulment of the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon; however, wiser heads prevailed.

The Prince and Duchess are also visiting Italy and Germany before returning to England on Thursday. For more information about their trip, see this thread.

Lucia-mia British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Official Visit, Pope Benedict XVI, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales

 It’s been announced that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are to meet with Pope Benedict on a visit to the Vatican this April. Before their audience, they’ll pay an official visit to Italy. It’s believed that Their Royal Highnesses will carry with them an invitation to the Pope to visit Great Britain though such an invitation was apparantly offered by Gordon Brown when he visited the Vatican earlier in the year, something the Vatican denies. Either way, this visit will be an interesting one and there’s bound to be sarky comments on two divorcees visiting the Head of the Catholic Church (comments which will make very little sense to those with half a brain but still they’ll come from the usual sources) but if the Pope does visit Great Britain he’s more than likely to be met with protests as LGBT organisations have already begun to prepare demonstrations against the Pontiff’s visit (according to the Gay Times that is). For those not concerned with such matters, it could prove to be a tiara outing for Her Royal Highness.

BeatrixFan British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Italy, Official Visit, Pope Benedict XVI, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Vatican City

 The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, who are currently in the midst of a ten day tour of South America, paid a visit to an organic farm in rural Chile today. TRH visited the Emiliana vineyard outside the Chilean capital of Santiago. The vineyard, owned and operated by Rafael and Jose Guilisasti, focuses on the development of organic wine production in Chile. For more information, on the vineyard please visit Welcome to Emiliana Vineyards!.

Prince Charles is a outspoken supporter of organic farming. The Prince’s private residence, Highgrove in Gloucestershire, was converted to organic farming in 1996.
In 1990, the Prince of Wales launched Duchy Originals, which sells over 200 produced products, from food to garden furniture. The profits are donated to The Prince’s Charities.

The South American tour continues with scheduled visits to Brazil, Ecuador, and the Galapogos Islands. Read about the trip in this thread.

Zonk British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Organic Farming, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales