Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, arrived in the Helmand province of Afghanistan last Tuesday. On Wednesday, he met with soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, the Rifles, according to an article from Monsters and Critics.com. The prince is the Royal Colonel of the battalion.

The 2nd Battalion has been in Afghanistan for five months. They are working closely with the Afghan police force and army, and are expected to be there for a few more weeks, of which Prince Edward said that he hoped were “painless and productive”. The prince spent time with the battalion, talking with them and dining with them.

Major Marc Briggs told Sky News, “It’s an honor to have our Royal Colonel come to see the battalion when we’re so far forward in the fight”, and “The visit of His Royal Highness only reinforces the level of public support we’ve experienced”.

After spending two days in Afghanistan, Prince Edward travelled to Bahrain to visit with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

To read about, and to discuss Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Afghanistan, Earl of Wessex, Military

Click here to see the photo from Kent News

 Despite the threat of rains, the annual Kent County Show opened today. The event was even more exciting this year, due to the visit from royalty. The Earl and Countess of Wessex arrived at the showgrounds at 10:00 this morning, where they were greeted by farmers and royal fans. The Wessexes were welcomed by George Jessel, the Deputy Lieutenant and Chair of the Kent County Agricultural Society.

According to a report from Kent Online, Mr. Jessel gave the royal visitors a tour of the Kent Showgrounds. They also met with farmers and handed out awards for long-time service in farming to Hazel Spicer, Adrian Smith, John Roberts, and Gil Applin. The Wessexes were then treated to a Young Farmers club livestock show, and the Why Kent Farming Matters display area, according to Kent News. The Young Farmers club show at Kent is the largest Young Farmers show in all of Europe.

The Kent County show runs from July 17-19. For more information about the show, please visit this website.

To read about, and to discuss, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, please visit this this thread.

sgl British Royals Agriculture, Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex

Click here to see the photos at the Guernsey Press

 During day 2 of their visit to Guernsey, the Earl and Countess of Wessex spent time meeting and greeting the locals. They arrived to Sark by boat, and were taken to the top of the Harbour Hill where many residents and tourists eagerly awaited their arrival.

Franny Currie, a 14 year-old visitor from Oxford, had the chance to speak with Edward. “I was very excited. I’ve never met a member of the royal family before. I didn’t expect him to speak to me”, she told the Guernsey Press.

After their visit to Harbour Hill, the Earl and Countess of Wessex visited with year 6 pupils from St. Andrew’s School, who were practicing a camping exercise. Claire Corbet, a teacher at the school, told the Guernsey Press that, “We abandoned our orienteering exercise to come here and see them”. The Earl charmingly asked the group, “Did you lose anyone?”.

The Countess was given flowers by six year-old Eden Latter. She was also treated to a performance of “Romeo and Juliet” by 5 and 6 year-old children who acted out the play by using puppets and sets they constructed out of shoe boxes.

To read about, and to discuss the Earl and Countess of Wessex, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex, Education, Guernsey, Official Visit

Click here to see the photos from the Guernsey Press.

 Le Viaer Marchi, which translates as “the old market”, is an annual event on the island of Guernsey. It has been held for the past 30 years, but this year was a special year, as the event welcomed royal visitors, the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

The Earl and Countess spent an evening at the fair, where they learned about traditional arts and crafts, and enjoyed the local cuisine. Earlier in the day, the Wessexes kicked off their Guernsey visit by participating in the official opening of Le Murier and St. Sampson’s High schools, according to an article in the Guernsey Press.

The educational complex was completed in 2008, and is quite unique. Le Murier is a school for special-needs children aged 11-16. It can accommodate 130 students, and is able to serve the needs of students with learning disabilities. This school shares the complex and many facilities with St. Sampson’s High School, which is a traditional high school. The goals of the complex’s educators are to break down stereotypes regarding disability, and to be able to share ideas among teachers and students.

When the Wessexes arrived, they were greeted by the students and teachers. The Earl of Wessex joked with the crowd, encouraging them to “cheer as if this was the most exciting thing they have ever seen”. The head of Le Murier, Alan Brown said that the Countess, “…was good at engaging with the children, so she put them at ease”.

After visiting the educational complex, the Earl and Countess visited the Priaulx Library, and Candie Gardens, where they greeted many of the island’s residents.

For more information about Guernsey, please visit this website.

For more information about Le Murier and St. Sampson’s, please visit this website.

To read about, and to discuss the Earl and Countess of Wessex, please visit this thread.

sgl British Royals Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex, Education, Guernsey, Official Visit, Prince Edward

 On the 6th January 1999 the long awaited engagement between Prince Edward and Miss Sophie Rhys Jones was finally announced. image The couple were presented to the press at St. James’s Palace gardens that day. Sophie’s diamond ring was one of the most expensive engagements rings ever in the British royal family. image

The wedding took place at 5pm on Saturday 19th June 1999 in St George’s Chapel Windsor followed by a reception in the State Apartments at Windsor Castle. Due to the lateness of the wedding, the couple asked the guests to wear long dresses without hats. The Queen who is rarely seen without a hat at a function chose a lilac feather headpiece and some other senior figure such as the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Kent also added a small headdress. image The Queen Mother was the only royal to break the dress code by wearing a hat but considering her age it was appropriate. image The couple had wanted a more private family wedding compared to those of Edward’s siblings. There was a very limited number of foriegn royals invited and only a short carriage ride through Windsor without any balcony appearance that become the norm. This was what the couple wanted and reflected their more relaxed and private lifestyle.

Sophie Rhys-Jones chose the little known designer Samantha Shaw to create her wedding dress. Coincidently Samantha was married only a few weeks before and Sophie had attended the nuptials. Press examined in detail Shaw’s own wedding dress to gather hints about Sophie’s dress and there were a few similarities in the style. Sophie wore a simple medieval style dress-coat made of ivory silk and organza. image The coat had a deep v-neckline, bell shaped sleeves and a long train. image There was heavy detailing of rows of pearls and crystal bead around the neckline and sleeves of the coat as well as trimming the edge. Spotted over the dress were small pearls. An estimated 325,000 cut-glass and pearl beads were sewn onto the coat. image Although there are no pictures, there was a simple plain dress under the coat for the evening party. She wore court shoes by Gina and carried a bouquet of blown ivory garden roses, scented stephanotis, lily of the valley and freesia. image The bride had lost a lot of weight between her final dress fitting and the actual day which did result in a lot of gapping around the neckline. Read more…

PrincessofEurope British Royals Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex, Fashion, Prince Edward, Wedding Anniversary

After their visit to British Columbia last week, the Earl and Countess of Wessex spent the weekend in Alberta, where Prince Edward continued his activities on behalf of the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme while the Countess undertook other engagements (see this blog).

On Saturday Prince Edward visited Simon Fraser Junior High School in Calgary to meet students involved in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and other leadership schemes.

On Sunday morning the Prince handed out awards to 100 Gold Award recipients at the Palliser Hotel in Calgary. He told the students that they could walk taller, knowing what they have achieved.  He also held a breakfast meeting with business leaders and RCMP officials with a view to increasing the number of young people taking part in the Award scheme, especially those in the north of the country, including Nunavut, where presently the high school drop-out rate is very high.

On Sunday afternoon the Prince took part in a ceremony at the Mewata Armoury to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cadet Instructor branch of the Canadian Forces Reserve. As Colonel in Chief of the Saskatchewan Dragoons, he was wearing the uniform of a Canadian colonel. He watched a march past, inspected the troops, and chatted informally to some of the cadets.

On Sunday evening the Prince attended an event in Banff, and on Monday he was back in Calgary to present the RCMP with a new mascot, a yellow labrador called Suzanna, from the kennels at Sandringham. This comes shortly after the RCMP presented the Queen with a horse, named George, trained in the RCMP Musical Ride programme (see this blog).

For more details about the trip, see this thread.

Esmeralda British Royals Canada, Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Prince Edward is in Canada this week, paying a brief visit with the primary purpose of handing out Duke of Edinburgh awards. The Prince attended a private dinner on Wednesday night at the Vancouver Art Gallery, before heading to the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel on Thursday for the first award ceremony. Here he presented 76 DoE awards, and spent nearly an hour talking with the recipients and their families. Edward also visited University of British Columbia’s Thunderbird Hockey Arena, which is the official venue for hockey and sledge hockey for the 2010 Paralympics. The prince stated while there that he would like to attend the Paralympic Games, but that nothing is yet confirmed. That afternoon the Prince visited Vancouver Technical Secondary School, where a stunningly large number of students (36) received gold awards (the DoE awards come in gold, silver and bronze).

Friday saw Edward presenting 68 more gold DoE awards at Government House in Victoria, where he laughed and joked with the recipients and their familes. He had no public engagements in Victoria, as the ceremony was private and Edward had no other scheduled events. That afternoon the Prince was in Stanley Park, back in Vancouver, for the Navy’s 100th anniversary celebrations – more specifically, a “a naval mast dedication ceremony” or the unveiling of the Navy flag.

For more details about the trip, see this thread.

marmi British Royals Canada, Earl of Wessex, Paralympics, Prince Edward, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Click for the Zimbio gallery

 Windsor Castle has been hosting the Royal Windsor Horse Show and the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo this week. The Royal Windsor Horse Show has been held annually since 1943 and is a favourite of the Queen’s, who regularly puts in an appearance. This year was no exception, and the Queen braved the weather to attend several times. Prince Philip helped out with judging and with presentation of prizes.

On Saturday evening the Queen was presented for the fourth time in her reign with a horse by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The horse, named George, is a product of the RCMP Musical Ride programme. For more details, see this blog entry.

Click for the gallery at Getty Images

However, the most noteworthy event of the week from the point of view of royal watchers came earlier on Saturday, when the Earl and Countess of Wessex appeared at the show with their two children, Lady Louise and James (Viscount Severn). The two Wessex children are very rarely seen in public, their parents preferring to shield them from press attention. Not only did Edward and Sophie bring the children to the event, but also the family posed for photographers. This is the first time James has been seen in public since he was a baby, and the first time that photographers have managed to get good photos of Louise. The photos show that Lady Louise bears an uncanny resemblance to the Queen at the same age. After the recent unfavourable publicity surrounding the York princesses and the subsequent questioning of the need for royal protection officers for the offspring of the Queen’s younger children, it was pleasant to see the Wessex family in a familiarly royal environment.

Lucia-mia British Royals Countess of Wessex, Earl of Wessex, Elizabeth II, Horses, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, RCMP, Royal Windsor Horse Show, Viscount Severn, Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo

 Yesterday I had the pleasant task of helping at Gold Award Presentations in St. James’s Palace in London.

The Morning Presentation was attended by His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness presented over 350 young people with their Gold Awards and spoke to them about their wonderful achievement. The Duke of Edinburgh was assisted in presenting the Awards by television and sporting world personalities and other noteworthy individuals including the High Sheriff of West Sussex.

The 320 young people invited to the Afternoon Presentation had the honour of meeting His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex. Prince Edward chatted to all of the Gold Award recipients and to many of their parents and other specially invited guests. The Earl also had some assistance from celebrities including Mr. Bill Turnbull from BBC Breakfast.

I was assigned some of these special guests and took them on a tour of the State Apartments before the Presentation began. We toured The Throne Room, Entrée Room, Queen Anne Room, Banqueting Room and The Picture Gallery. We also visited The Guard Room from which The Duke of Windsor and Mrs. Simpson had watched as Garter King of Arms proclaimed him Edward VIII, King of Great Britain, Ireland, The British Dominions beyond the seas and Emperor of India at the start of his short reign. Read more…

RoyalProtocol British Royals Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

 Next Thursday I am attending a Presentation of Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards in St. James’s Palace, London as a member of Staff, I recently received my invitation card for the event so I decided to write the following blog on Royal invitations.

Invitations from Buckingham Palace are an exciting item of post which often the leaves the recipient confused and bewildered. It requires a precise form of reply and will led you on your way to wonderful experience with Her Majesty The Queen or one of the members of The Royal Family.

Read more…

RoyalProtocol British Royals Ceremonial, Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, Protocol