Feature
The Queen will undertake engagements in Windsor in the week of her 90th birthday.
The Queen will undertake engagements in Windsor in the week of her 90th birthday.
The first engagement is a visit to the Royal Mail Windsor delivery office on William St, Windsor. This visit marks the 500th Anniversary of the Postal Service. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will meet Mrs Moya Greene, the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Mail, and Mr Peter Long, the Chairman of the Royal Mail Group and will see the operation of the Caller's Office. This is where customers collect items that are not delivered to their home or business. Staff on duty will explain how the system works and there will be an opportunity to see how modern technology enables customers to track items.
The Queen and The Duke will then have an opportunity to see how postmen and women sort mail ahead of delivery, and meet staff, including some who have given many years of service. Before they leave, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will view an exhibition highlighting some of the key events, people and developments in the history of Royal Mail over the last half millennium and unveil a plaque marking the visit. While the visit takes place, The Royal Mail choir made up of frontline staff from Bristol will sing. They were formed as part of a BBC television series "The Choir: Sing While You Work". They regularly perform around the UK, raising funds for good causes.
The second engagement is a visit to Alexandra Gardens for a ceremony to officially open the new Bandstand. The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, will arrive at the Barry Avenue entrance where they will be received by Mr James Puxley, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. They will view an exhibition about the Bandstand and the school’s workshops which informed the design of the six commemorative plaques fixed to its railings. They will then meet school children from the six schools involved in the bandstand's decoration: Alexander First, Braywood, Dedworth Green First, Dedworth Middle, Queen Anne, Royal School as well as the designers and builders of the bandstand. A children’s choir will perform four short songs followed by a performance of Shakespeare as part of the School's Shakespeare Festival. Prior to departure The Queen will ascend the bandstand to unveil a plaque marking the day.
The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh will undertake a walkabout in Windsor.
Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will walk from the Henry VIII Gate of Windsor Castle towards the Statute of Queen Victoria at the foot of Castle Hill. Here Her Majesty will unveil a plaque marking The Queen's Walkway.
The Queen’s Walkway is a 6.3km self-guided walking trail connecting 63 points of significance in the town of Windsor. The Walkway was designed by The Outdoor Trust to symbolically recognise the moment that Her Majesty became Britain’s longest reigning monarch after more than 63 years on 9 September 2015. It builds on the success of the Jubilee Walkway in London, the first urban walking trail in the world, opened by The Queen in 1977 in celebration of her Silver Jubilee. Excitingly, the bronze EIIR crested markers, embossed panel and promotional app have now also inspired a parallel network of Walkways throughout all 71 Nations and Territories of The Commonwealth in recognition of The Queen’s service as Head of
The Commonwealth for more than 63 years. A dozen Walkways are already in development in various countries and Her Majesty launched the first complete route in Malta as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2015. By 2018 it is hoped that there will be 100 Commonwealth Walkways, connecting 5,000 rich and diverse points of significance, uniting the Commonwealth.
In the evening, The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, will light a beacon and view two further beacons being lit along Long Walk and at Copper Horse.
The Queen will light the principal beacon which will set in train a series of over 900 beacons across the country and worldwide. Beacons large and small, either specially built gas-fuelled structures or simple bonfires, will be lit across the country to mark The Queen's 90th Birthday, and individuals have been asked to attend a beacon-lighting event in their area, hosted by their local authority.
Events are also taking place in June to mark Her Majesty's official birthday. Find out more
I pay tribute to the commitment, selfless devotion and generosity-of-spirit shown by the hundreds of charities and voluntary organisations represented here today.
On this shared occasion, I send my warm congratulations to you all