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

 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