The Royal Week 10-16 June 2023

Saturday 10 June

The Prince of Wales, as Colonel of the Welsh Guards, took the salute at the Colonel's Review of The King's Birthday Parade on Horse Guards Parade.

The service, which saw His Royal Highness inspect the Welsh Guards while on horseback, is effectively a final rehearsal for Trooping The Colour, taking place next Saturday to mark The King’s first official birthday.

The Duchess of Edinburgh this morning opened the Royal Windsor Rose and Horticultural Society Show in Windsor Great Park.

Sunday 11 June

Joined by The King, The Queen attended a Reception for The Queen's Reading Room Literary Festival at Hampton Court Palace.

Her Majesty afterwards watched a performance at the Festival, during which Dame Judi Dench spoke about her life-long passion for Shakespeare alongside Dame Joanna Lumley and host Gyles Brandreth.

The Queen's Reading Room began during the national lockdown as an Instagram book club to share Her Majesty's love of reading and literacy. Since then, the platform has become a charity and has now hosted its first one-day festival.

The Duchess of Edinburgh, Honorary President, this morning attended the Linking Environment And Farming Open Farm Sunday at Hampton Estate Farms, Myrtles Courtyard, Littleworth Road, Seale, and was received by Mr. William Biddell (Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey).

Monday 12 June

Marking the Centenary of the Flying Scotsman and the 50th anniversary of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, The King arrived by Royal Train pulled by the Flying Scotsman into Pickering Railway Station to begin a day of engagements in Yorkshire.

His Majesty viewed the footplate of the Flying Scotsman and met volunteers, apprentices and members of staff at the station.

The King later visited Market Place in Pickering, where he met local shopkeepers and saw medieval frescoes in St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.

The Princess Royal, Patron of The British Nutrition Foundation, visited Washingborough Academy, and saw how pupils learned about growing preparing and enjoying healthy, sustainable food.

As President of Carers Trust, Her Royal Highness later visited the new Facilities for Carers at the Carers' Support Service in Grimsby.

The Duke of Gloucester, in his role of President of the Britain-Nepal Society, attended a Dinner at the Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Ascent of Mount Everest.

Tuesday 13 June

As Patron of Centrepoint, The Prince of Wales this morning opened Reuben House, a new housing development which forms a key part of the organisation’s Independent Living Programme to combat youth homelessness.

The 33 new flats at Reuben House will allow young people aged between 18 and 24 to live in affordable housing, with rent capped at a third of their take-home pay. Each resident has to have a job or be in a full-time apprenticeship, and a wide range of sectors are already represented among residents – from hospitality and construction to social services.

In the evening, The Prince of Wales, in his role as President of United for Wildlife, was joined by The Duchess of Edinburgh at a screening of "Rhino Man" at Battersea Power Station. The feature-length documentary tells the story of courageous field rangers who risk their lives every day to protect South Africa’s rhinos from being poached to extinction. 

The Princess Royal, on behalf of The King, held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace.

In the morning, The Duke of Gloucester officially opened Amble Bord Waalk Trail. Later, His Royal Highness visited Barter Books and Aln Valley Railway Trust in Alnwick. The Duke also visited the Bamburgh Bones project at St. Aidan's Church in Bamburgh.

Wednesday 14 June

At Buckingham Palace, The King welcomed Ms. Sue Leyden (daughter of Lord Hunt), Mr. Peter Hillary (son of Sir Edmund Hillary) and Mr. Jamling Norgay (son of Mr. Tenzing Norgay) to mark the 70th anniversary of the ascent of Mount Everest.

In the afternoon, The King and Queen held a Reception to celebrate "Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation", a new commission by The King (when he was Prince of Wales) of ten Windrush portraits, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Landing of HMT Empire Windrush at the Port of Tilbury. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester also attended.

Read more about the ‘Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation’ exhibition.

In the afternoon, The Queen named the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment's new Drum Horse, "Juno", at Clarence House.

After completing 2 years of training, Juno will be the first mare to take on this iconic role for the Regiment. She is set to formally pass out of training at The King’s Birthday Parade this weekend, where she will carry the rank of Major and will be front and centre as she helps lead the mounted parade down The Mall to Horse Guards.

Later, The Queen attended a Garden Party at Marlborough House to mark the 30th anniversary of Bees for Development, of which she is President.

The charity helps people, particularly with women and girls, people with disabilities, and minority, indigenous people around the world, to become self-sufficient through beekeeping – working to alleviate poverty and protect bees.

The Princess Royal, on behalf of The King, held two Investitures at Windsor Castle.

In the evening, The Duke of Gloucester visited the Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank.

Thursday 15 June

To begin Portugal-650 commemorations, The King welcomed The President of The Portuguese Republic to Buckingham Palace, where together they reviewed a combined Guard of Honour. The celebrations mark 650 years of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world still in force.

His Majesty and The President afterwards attended a Service of Thanksgiving at The Queen's Chapel in St James’s Palace. The Queen’s Chapel was the Chapel of the Portuguese-born Queen Catherine of Braganza, wife of King Charles II. Her coat of arms, combining the arms of Portugal and the United Kingdom, features above the altar and in the Gallery.

Accompanied by The Princess Royal, The King, as Colonel-in-Chief, later presented the new Sovereign's Standard to The Blues and Royals in the Quadrangle of Buckingham Palace.

His Majesty and Her Royal Highness were received on Parade with a Royal Salute.

As your Colonel-in-Chief, I know that your Colonel, The Princess Royal, joins me in thanking you all for your unlimited commitment and service.

His Majesty The King

The new Standard will be used on public parade for the first time at Trooping the Colour this weekend, as the Regiment provides a mounted Sovereign’s escort for His Majesty from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade.

In the morning, The Princess of Wales visited Riversley Park Children's Centre, where Her Royal Highness met with health visitors, who have been taking part in the trial to evaluate the use of the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB) in the UK. 

In the evening, The Princess Royal, as President of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, attended the Fellows' Reception.

The Duchess of Edinburgh, in her role as Global Ambassador of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, joined and supporters of The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to officially open their new London office.

The move is part of charity’s continued work to ensure its support and services are robust, future-facing and consistently meeting the needs of people with sight loss.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attended a Reception at Apsley House to mark the 650th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance.

The Duke of Gloucester, Grand Prior, later invested The Duchess of Edinburgh as Dame Grand Cross in the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem at Buckingham Palace.

The Duchess of Gloucester, as President, later attended a Musical Theatre Company performance of "Jane Eyre" at the Royal Academy of Music.

Friday 16 June

It was announced that The King has been graciously pleased to appoint The Queen to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle represents the highest honour in Scotland. Read about The Queen's work in Scotland.

The King and Queen, The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, and The Duke of Kent this evening entertained the Colonels of the Regiments of the Household Division to Dinner at Clarence House.