The Duke of Gloucester had a busy two days of engagements, visiting various organisations and presenting The Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
The Duke spent Monday in West Sussex, carrying out three engagements. The Queen’s cousin started off the day at Downlands Community School in Hassocks, opening their new building.
The Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex, Susan Pyper, greeted the Duke upon his arrival, where he unveiled a plaque to formally mark the opening of the new ‘Rose Hetherton’ Building, alongside the school’s former headteacher, after whom the building is named. This is the first time that the school has received a royal visitor in their 67 year history.
Prince Richard opens the Rose Hetherton building (Downlands Community school )
Prince Richard was taken on a tour of the new teaching facility and also visited some of the students’ lessons, including a Samba band class.
The Duke then travelled to Burgess Hill to unveil the Art Trail Project. The project was created by the Burgess Hill Town Council, and is designed to enhance the Green Circle Network, a combination of footpaths, cycle lanes and bridleways which link the town’s green spaces. Along the network, visitors can admire five original pieces of art, which illustrate some of the town’s history and noteworthy residents.
After viewing the trail, the Duke was then invited to a reception in the Burgess Hill Town Council.
The Duke of Gloucester opens the art trail (Burgess Town Council)
For his final engagement on Monday, the Duke visited Servecorp Aviation Security to present the company with The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade and Innovation. Servecorp is one of the country’s leading companies in aircraft cabin security, and has been in operation for almost 30 years.
The Duke of Gloucester then carried out more engagements on Tuesday; he visited one of his patronages to formally open the Guild Shop at the Royal Hospital of St Bartholomew.
The Guild’s chairman, Patrick Jennings, said: “It is a great honour for all of us at Barts Guild to receive our Patron, HRH The Duke of Gloucester formally to open the redeveloped Guild Shop. We are most grateful to Barts Health for allocating the shop space to the Guild and for all their help and support for our work, as well as to The Barts Charity, which helps us in very many ways, to our donors and sponsors who funded the Shop redevelopment and most importantly to our fantastic Volunteers who make all our work possible.”
‘A Royal visit for St Bartholomew’s’ | Find out about our special visit from HRH The Duke of Gloucester: https://t.co/rWPoq63CYN pic.twitter.com/BixvGop7Bw
— Barts Health (@NHSBartsHealth) 3 October 2017
In addition to opening the shop, the Duke spoke to some of the volunteers who help to run the shop, as well as providing companionship and comfort to the hospital’s patients. Before leaving the hospital, the Duke also spent some time in one of the hospital’s gardens, which is dedicated to his late mother, Princess Alice.
HRH The Duke of Gloucester opens @BartsGuild shop today hosted by Chairman Patrick Jennings pic.twitter.com/v7tPARSGaH
— Keith Bottomley CC (@Keithbottomley) October 3, 2017
The Duke of Gloucester attended a reception in London held by the Construction Youth Trust, where the organisation launched a new Strategy. The Construction Youth Trust is another of the Duke’s patronages and it even runs a youth scheme named after him. ‘The Duke of Gloucester’s Young Achievers Scheme’ celebrates young people who work in the construction industry and other built environment careers. Architecture and construction feature prominently among the Duke’s charitable links and patronages, as he has a keen interest in these industries, having been an architect before inheriting the Dukedom.
HRH Duke of Gloucester speaking on the importance of getting school children interested in #construction@ConstructionYT event tonight pic.twitter.com/SBzdpKavxa
— UCEM (@StudyUCEM) 3 October 2017
At the reception, the Royal gave a speech, highlighting the importance of encouraging children and young people to follow careers in construction and the built environment.
