Their Royal Highnesses host reception ahead of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda

On 9th June, Their Royal Highnesses hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Commonwealth Diaspora of the UK, ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda later this month. 

CHOGM was due to have been held in Kigali in June 2020 but has been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the 500 guests were High Commissioners, celebrities and members of society representing business, the arts, education, the NHS and many of the charities associated with Their Royal Highnesses.

Providing music for the reception was The Chineke Orchestra String Quartet, which was made up of black and ethnically diverse classical musicians from the UK and Europe.

The Prince has attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on five previous occasions: Edinburgh in 1997, Uganda in 2007, Sri Lanka in 2013 (representing The Queen), Malta in 2015 and the UK in 2018. It was during the UK CHOGM that it was formally announced that The Prince would succeed The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth.

Since 1969, The Prince has visited 46 of the 54 Commonwealth countries, many on several occasions and The Duchess has joined The Prince on many of those visits, herself travelling to 24 different Commonwealth countries.

In March 2021, to mark Commonwealth Day, The Prince of Wales released a special video message, in which he spoke of the importance of the Commonwealth and the 2.5 billion people who live within it.