Category: Official Announcements

Photos & Roundup: October 17 – Royal Tour Pakistan – Day 4

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by Kierra
on Nov 05, 2019
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The Duke and Duchess traveled to Lahore for another jammed packed day of engagements.

BIRTHDAY PARTY: William and Catherine were greeted at the Lahore Airport by Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and their families, before heading to the SOS Children’s Villages where they helped celebrate the birthdays of three of the children.

The SOS Children’s Village serves as a home for orphan and underprivileged children. Each Village consists of 15 house units, and each house unit can accommodate up to 10 children. The house is run by a ‘mother’ who looks after the children. The organization provides children with loving care, security, higher education and job-training.

The Duchess gave her first speech during the tour at the party, speaking in Urdu in her opening, the Duchess said: “Assalam O Alaikum,” she said. “Iman, Ibrahim aur Daniyal apni salgirah pur bulanay ka bohat shukria.” (Translation: “Hello. Peace be upon you. Iman, Ibrahim and Daniyal, thank you for inviting us to your birthday celebration.)

Being here in Pakistan this week, William and I have seen on several occasions how family is at the heart of your culture. Parents, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents all play important roles – you have reminded us exactly what family means. You have shown us too that it is not simply a term that describes the relationship between blood relatives.

Instead it describes those special bonds we share with those who make us feel safe and supported. It is the quality of those relationships that matters. Earlier this year I talked about the fact that it takes a village to raise a child. The village we have seen here today is the best representation of that ideal that I could have possibly imagined. Together as a village you are transforming children’s lives and providing them with strong foundations to support all their families.

You have created a home, where children are given the love, protection, and support that will enable them to have a fairer chance in life. Here, women who were once vulnerable, now play the most vital of roles as mothers and it is most heartening to see that you are not doing this alone.”

NATIONAL CRICKET ACADEMY: Next, William and Catherine visited the National Cricket Academy where they both joined in on a match with children who are participating in the British Council’s DOSTI program. The DOSTI aims to create a difference by breaking social barriers and promoting community cohesion by making sports an integral part of the social life of youth in Karachi.

The Project facilitates youth development in select locations in Karachi by working through schools, local sports clubs, civil society partners and other stakeholders to engage both in-school and out of school youth in activities that promote intergroup understanding and interaction. The programme uses national and local resources as well as UK expertise to build capacity of partners and participants.

BADSHAHI MOSQUE: Then, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Badshahi Mosque, the most iconic Islamic site in Lahore, set in the heart of the Walled City. The couple toured the mosque and courtyard, before joining a discussion with faith leaders to learn how they are promoting interfaith harmony within their communities.

TEA PARTY: William and Catherine’s last engagement today had a little extra meaning as they visited the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, a state-of-the-art cancer facility located in the centre of Lahore. The couple visited the children’s ward of the hospital to spend time with patients undergoing treatment, and to speak to their families. In 1996 and 1997 William’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales the facility. In the cutest moment of the tour The Duke and Duchess joined seven-year-old Wafia Rehmani for a tea party. Catherine donned a tiara and William “drank” from her little pink cup.

GALLERY LINK
Engagements & Tour Photos > 2019 > Pakistan Tour > Pakistan Tour – Day 4 – Set 1
Engagements & Tour Photos > 2019 > Pakistan Tour > Pakistan Tour – Day 4 – Set 2

Appearances Gallery Addition Royal Tour: Pakistan Royal Visit

October 02 – Visiting The Aga Khan Centre

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by Kierra
on Oct 09, 2019
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On October 02, 2019 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited The Aga Khan Centre.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined His Highness The Aga Khan for the special event ahead of their official visit to Pakistan later this month.

Organised in co-operation with the High Commission of Pakistan, the event showcased modern Pakistani culture, and saw The Duke and Duchess meet a range of people from Pakistan, including community leaders, those involved in British and Pakistani business, and key figures within the Diaspora community, including musicians, chefs and artists.

The Aga Khan Development Network has been working in Pakistan for over a century to improve the quality of life, promote pluralism, and enhance civil society.

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Engagements & Tour Photos > 2019 > October 02 | Visiting The Aga Khan Centre

Appearances Gallery Addition Royal Visit

September 19 | The Duchess of Cambridge Visits The Family Nurse Partnership

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by Kierra
on Sep 19, 2019
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Today, September 19, 2019 The Duchess of Cambridge visited Evelina London’s Sunshine House for Children and Young People’s Health and Development Centre in South London.

The embargoed visit was to further her research and engagement with the Early Years sector. During her visit The Duchess met with the Southwark Family Nurse Partnership team who support first time parents, aged 24 and under and their children. Parents are partnered with a trained family nurse who visits them regularly from early pregnancy until the child is two.

The Duchess met with parents who have been supported by Evelina London’s Family Nurse Partnetship team and heard their stories of success.

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engagements & tour photos > 2019 > September 19 | Visiting The Family Nurse Partnership

Appearances Charities & Patronages Evelina London Children’s Hospital Gallery Addition Royal Visit

The Duke and Duchess Will Visit Pakistan This Autumn

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by Kierra
on Jun 30, 2019
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Kensington Palace announced on their Twitter today that The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit Pakistan.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will undertake an official visit to Pakistan this autumn, at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Further details will be advised in due course.

The High Commissioner for Pakistan to the United Kingdom also tweeted:

Government & the people of Pakistan warmly welcome the announcement of the Royal visit by TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Pakistan this year.

People of Pakistan cherish & fondly recall visits of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II to Pakistan during 1961 and 1997. Upcoming Royal visit reflects the importance UK attaches to Pakistan. Both countries enjoy historical links & wish to strengthen further.

Official Announcements Royal Visit Upcoming Engagements

The Duke & Duchess of Sussex Will Split From The Royal Foundation

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by Kierra
on Jun 20, 2019
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Later this year The Royal Foundation will become the principal charitable and philanthropic vehicle for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will establish their own new charitable foundation with transitional operating support from The Royal Foundation. In addition both couples will continue to work together on projects in the future, including on The Foundation’s mental health programme, Heads Together.

These changes are designed to best complement the work and responsibilities of Their Royal Highnesses as they prepare for their future roles, and to better align their charitable activity with their new households.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are incredibly proud of what they have achieved together through The Royal Foundation. They are especially proud to have established a charity that has had, and will continue to have, significant long-lasting impact, changing lives for the better.

Whether through the establishment of The Invictus Games, changing the national conversation on mental health through Heads Together, or setting up Shout, the UK’s first text-based crisis support service, The Foundation’s innovative ethos, ability to convene, and its incubator style has proven to be incredibly powerful and successful.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wish to build on The Foundation’s past successes, continuing programmes such as ‘Heads Up’, the new mental health campaign delivered in partnership with the FA, ‘United for Wildlife’ which runs a global taskforce tackling the illegal wildlife trade, and ‘Mentally Healthy Schools’ which supports teachers and staff improve child mental health. They are also developing new initiatives on the environment and support for children and families which The Foundation expects to announce in the coming year.

Source: The Royal Foundation

Official Announcements The Royal Foundation

June 11 – The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Visit Cumbria

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by Kierra
on Jun 13, 2019
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On June 11, 2019 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Cumbria.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are celebrating the work of local heroes, farmers, volunteers and those supporting the rural community in Cumbria.

William and Catherine started their visit in Keswick visiting members of the public from a range of services, including community first responders, young people trained as mental health first aiders and the local mountain rescue service. In the photos you’ll see Catherine greeting English Springer Spaniel’s Max, Paddy and Prince Harry of Winterfell. Their Royal Highnesses met therapy dog Max last month at The Queen’s Garden Party. The Duke and Duchess also stopped at the Market Square where Catherine sampled cheese and the couple met with well-wishers.

The couple then visited Deepdale Hall Farm in Patterdale where The Duke and Duchess met the Brown family, who have been farming near Lake Ullswater since the 1950s. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent time on Deepdale Hall Farm with the Brown family tending to their flock of Herdwick and Swaledale sheep, joining them for sheep shearing, herding and dry stone walling. They also joined the Brown family, local farmers, and members of the Farmer Network to discuss some of the key challenges farmers are facing — including rural isolation, Brexit and support payments. Although The Royal Family tends to stay out of politics it’s vital that Prince William stay connected with the issues that are affecting people as he will one day take the throne.

Their Royal Highnesses ended their visit with Cumbria Wildlife Charity, the only voluntary organisation devoted solely to the conservation of the wildlife and wildplaces of Cumbria, and children from Patterdale School for an environmental educational session on the Ullswater Way.

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Engagements & Tour Photos > 2019 > June 11 | The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Visit Cumbria

Appearances Gallery Addition Royal Visit

Official Portraits – ‘Back To Nature Garden’ with RHS Chelsea

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by Kierra
on May 25, 2019
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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge revealed photos from a private visit to Catherine’s ‘Back To Nature’ Garden with George, Charlotte, and Louis. The Palace also revealed that over the past months, the children have helped The Duchess gather moss, leaves and twigs to help decorate the garden. Hazel sticks collected by the family were also used to make the garden’s den.

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May 19, 2019 | ‘Back To Nature Garden’ with RHS Chelsea

Official Portraits Prince George Prince Louis Princess Charlotte

Official Portraits – ‘Back To Nature Garden’ with RHS Chelsea

Published
by Kierra
on May 25, 2019
with No comments
The Duchess of Cambridge offered a sneak peek of her Chelsea Flower Show Back to Nature’ Garden! Kensington Palace revealed details of the garden on Twitter saying: “The garden includes a swing seat, hanging below the garden’s centrepiece, a high platform tree house. The high platform tree house is inspired by a bird or animal nest and provides a wonderful place to retreat and look out through the trees. The treehouse is made from chestnut, with hazel, stag horn oak and larch nest cladding. The ‘Back to Nature’ Garden is aiming to inspire interaction with the natural environment through its multi-sensory, green and blue plant scheme. The garden is also filled with incredible edibles, plants for craft activities, forest scents and a diverse range of plants, shrubs and trees of different heights and textures.”

GALLERY LINK:
May 18, 2019 | ‘Back To Nature Garden’ with RHS Chelsea

Gallery Addition Official Portraits

May 14 – The Duchess Of Cambridge Visits Bletchley Park D-Day Exhibition

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by Kierra
on May 15, 2019
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On May 14, 2019 The Duchess of Cambridge visited Bletchley Park to view a special D-Day Exhibition in the newly restored Teleprinter Building. The exhibition marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the new exhibition ‘D-Day: Interception, Intelligence, Invasion’, is based on newly declassified material, showing how the intelligence efforts coordinated at Bletchley Park helped specifically in the success of the D-Day landings at Normandy. Visiting Bletchley Park holds extra meaning to Catherine as her Grandmother and Great Aunt, Valerie and Mary Glassborow, worked at Bletchley Park as “code-beakers” during the Second World War. She was surprised to find that her grandmother and great aunt’s names were the latest additions to Bletchley’s Codebreakers’ Wall. Once inside Catherine joined students taking part in interactive activities using a real Enigma machine. The Duchess also met with veterans Elizabeth Diacon, Georgina Rose, Audrey Mather and Rena Stewart — who all worked to feed crucial information to Allied forces in the critical months, weeks and days leading up to D-Day.

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May 14 | The Duchess Of Cambridge Visits Bletchley Park D-Day Exhibition

Appearances Gallery Addition Royal Visit

The Cambridges & Sussexes Launch Mental Health Texting Service ‘Shout’

Published
by Kierra
on May 10, 2019
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It’s been a busy week for the royals, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcoming their first child, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge traveling to Wales for a day of engagements, and Prince Harry visiting the Hague to launch an Invictus Games 2020 countdown. And now, both royal couples are coming together to launch an initiative that speaks to an issue they’ve long championed: mental health awareness.

The Cambridges and Sussexes have teamed up to debut Shout, a text messaging service available 24/7 to those struggling with mental health in the U.K. The program pairs users with trained volunteers to help those in need “move from a moment of crisis to a calm state and form a plan for next steps to find longer-term support,” according to a Kensington Palace announcement.

Shout is a part of the Royal Foundation’s Heads Together initiative, a campaign established in 2016 that works with a variety of charities to break the stigma around conversations surrounding mental health issues.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a joint statement about Shout:

“We are incredibly excited to be launching this service, knowing it has the potential to reach thousands of vulnerable people every day. Over the last few months Shout has started working quietly behind the scenes. We have all been able to see the service working up close and are so excited for its future. At the heart of this service will be an incredible national volunteer community, one which needs to grow to allow us to support more people in crisis. We hope that many more of you will join us and be part of something very special.”

Prince William also appears in a launch video for the service, discussing the work that went into the launching the program. “Over the past few months, Shout has started working quietly behind the scenes,” he says. “Harry, Meghan, Catherine and I have been able to see the service working up close, and are very excited for its future.”

Shout already has a volunteer base of 1,000, but the organization hopes to increase that to 4,000 by the end of 2019. Prince William closes his message with a final call to action: “This will make a huge difference to people’s lives, and I really hope you will come and join our team.”

Source: Harpers Bazaar

Heads Together Official Announcements The Royal Foundation

May 08 – The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Visit North Wales

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by Kierra
on May 08, 2019
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Today, May 08, 2019 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge traveled to North Wales to meet individuals and organisations in the region who are encouraging people to look after their communities and protect the natural environment. Their fist stop was to Caernarfon Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopter Base where Prince William had the pleasure of catching up with two individuals whom he worked alongside during his time as a Search and Rescue Pilot. They also got the chance to view Caernarfon Coastguard Search and Rescue’s new Sikorsky S92 helicopter, before sitting down with individuals from Maritime and Coastguard Agency to talk about mental health.

There next stop was to Halen Mon Anglesey Sea Salt, a local business which has been operating for over two decades which harvests culinary salts by taking sea water from the Menai Strait, passing it through a series of carbon filters, which concentrate it into stronger brine and allows it to flow into crystallization tanks. The water is then further concentrated using heaters which causes salt crystals to form on the surface, and as these become heavier they drop. Then each morning the harvesters scoop the crystals out of the tanks and rinse them in more brine to reach the desired taste and appearance. The salt is then packaged and sent out for people around the world to enjoy. During their visit The Duke and Duchess got to witness the salt making process from hand harvesting to packaging.

After a change of clothes William and Catherine headed to Newborough Beach where they joined pupils from local primary schools on a beach clean-up organised by the Isle of Anglesey County Council and marine conservation group Surfers Against Sewage. In April, Anglesey became the first county in the UK to be awarded Plastic Free Communities status by the group, in recognition of its work to reduce the impact of single-use plastic on the environment through its the ‘Plastic Free Anglesey’ campaign. Their Royal Highnesses’ then joined the 1st Menai Bridge Scout Group to explore the beach’s wildlife habitat, and hear more about the importance of the nesting bird colonies on neighbouring Llanddwyn Island.

GALLERY LINK
May 08 | The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Visit North Wales, Part 1
May 08 | The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Visit North Wales, Part 2

Appearances Gallery Addition Royal Visit

Official Portraits: Princess Charlotte’s 4th Birthday

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by Kierra
on May 07, 2019
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I have added photos released in honor of Princess Charlotte’s 4th birthday to the gallery. The photos were taken by The Duchess of Cambridge in April at Anmer Hall and Kensington Palace.

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May 2019 | Princess Charlotte’s 4th Birthday

Gallery Addition Official Portraits Princess Charlotte