Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

King and Queen to visit Senedd to mark its 25th anniversary

Charles and Camilla will also meet party and parliamentary leaders.

Jordan Reynolds
Monday 08 July 2024 09:00 BST
The King and Queen will visit the Senedd to mark its 25th anniversary (Jane Barlow/PA)
The King and Queen will visit the Senedd to mark its 25th anniversary (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The King and Queen are set to visit the Senedd to mark its 25th anniversary.

The Royal Welsh will form a Guard of Honour when Charles and Camilla arrive on Thursday – which will be the first time the King will have seen them since he was appointed their Colonel-in-Chief on St David’s Day.

They will be greeted by primary school children representing schools from across Wales, a civic line-up, the Llywydd, presiding officer, Elin Jones and Vaughan Gething, the First Minister of Wales.

Once inside the Senedd, Charles and Camilla will meet party and parliamentary leaders.

As they enter the Siambr, Mared Pugh-Evans, who has been appointed the King’s harpist, will play – this will be her first performance in her new position.

The Llywydd will make opening remarks, followed by Mr Gething and the party leaders.

Two poems written by Aron Pritchard will then be performed, one written when he was a school pupil to mark the first official opening of the then National Assembly in 1999 and a new one written for this event – Mr Pritchard is now a member of staff at the Senedd.

A choir from a local primary school, Ysgol Treganna, will also perform.

The King will then give a speech, marking the 25th anniversary of the Senedd, after which the Llywydd will close the session.

Entering the Cwrt, Charles and Camilla will be introduced to members of Senedd staff who have worked at the parliament for 25 years, or who are 25 years old.

They will also meet members of the Senedd.

Before leaving, the King and Queen will have the opportunity to meet members of the community who have contributed to key moments in the Senedd’s history, including the petitioner who successfully started a campaign for carrier bag charges, and Welsh Youth Parliament representatives.

The Any Body Can Choir will perform in the background, which is made up of children who would not ordinarily get the opportunity to try musical activities.

Charles and Camilla last visited the Senedd in September 2022, receiving a motion of condolence following the death of the late Queen.

They also visited the Senedd in October 2021 with the late Queen. The visit marked the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Senedd.

Throughout this year, the Senedd will be celebrating and reflecting on its 25 years and looking to the future.

Planned activities include an exhibition, in partnership with the National Library of Wales Political Archives, displaying items from key milestones in the past 25 years, and an exhibition featuring members of the community who have contributed to the Senedd’s story so far.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in