Today, the newly-married Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall for a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate Prince Charles’s 70th birthday.
The event was held in honour of the heir-to-the-throne’s many patronages, charities and his military affiliations. The garden party also marked Harry and Meghan’s first engagement as a married couple, following their fairytale ceremony on Saturday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend Prince Charles’s 70th birthday garden party (Kensington Royal)
The royal quartet were joined by 6,500 guests from 386 of The Prince of Wales’s various patronages; The Prince recently carried out a shake-up of his charities to help streamline his involvement to ensure each organisation benefits equally from his time and resources.
Guests at today’s event included representatives from the charitites which Prince Charles supports, members from all 18 of The Prince’s military affiliations and emergency service personnel; members of the Police, Ambulance and Fire services, as well as Mountain Rescue and Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Prince Charles speaks to guests in attendance at a garden party held to mark his 70th birthday party (Clarence House)
As well as chatting to their royal hosts, those who were lucky enough to receive invitations were also treated to a performance by the Band of the Welsh Guards and the Borough Welsh Choir. There were also 100 cadets from Youth United, which is a network made up of the UK’s leading uniformed youth organisations.
During today’s garden party, Prince Harry (now known as The Duke of Sussex) made in speech in his father’s honour, praising the work which Charles has done throughout his royal career. The Duke said:
“You have inspired William and I, and looking out here today, it is clear to see that we are not alone. You have created an incredible body of work that has, and will continue to make such a huge difference to so many people’s lives both here & around the world.”
You can read The Duke of Sussex’s full speech here.
As well as praising his father, The Duke of Sussex also commented on the anniversary of the Manchester bombing, saying: “I would like us to take a moment to remember all those affected by the tragic events at the Manchester Arena a year ago. We are fortunate to have over 250 representatives from the Emergency Services here today.”
During the garden party, The Prince of Wales met Harry, who is a Trafford Volunteer Police Cadet; Harry was one of the volunteers who assisted during the Manchester arena attack.
The new Duchess of Sussex (née Meghan Markle) looked very comfortable in the company of her in-laws, chatting animatedly with The Duchess of Cornwall and sharing a laugh with Charles and Camilla during her husband’s speech.
1 comment
What a wonderful garden party !