The Queen, Prince Philip and members of The Royal Family will be in Runnymede for Magna Carta commemoration event.
The Queen will be in Runnymede on Monday 15th June to attend a commemoration event marking the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. Her Majesty will be accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of Cambridge as well as The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence.
The commemoration event on June 15th will be the conclusion of a series of events happening in Runnymede across that weekend and will be held at Runnymede Meadows, the exact place where the historical charter was sealed eight centuries ago. The three days worth of events are being organised by Surrey County Council and the National Trust and will include speeches and music as well as a re-dedication of the American Bar Association’s Magna Carta Memorial.
Councillor Helyn Clack, cabinet member of Surrey County Council, spoke of the upcoming extravaganza, “This anniversary will an occasion of immense local, national and international importance, so it is fitting that The Queen and other members of The Royal Family will help to celebrate it in the county that gave Magna Carta to the world. It will be a delight and an honour to welcome them all to the site where history was made 800 years ago, and I have no doubt that they will ensure the Runnymede event will be the jewel in the crown of the celebrations here and across the globe.”
It wont just be the three day celebrations at Runnymede commemorating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta as a vast amount of events have been planned across the country this year. In June a major exhibition, “Magna Carta and the Changing Face of Revolt“, opens in Durham whist in July there will be a mock trial of the Barons at Westminster Hall. They are just a small selection of some of the events taking place throughout the country to mark Magna Carta 800 up until November 2015.
The Queen is in fact Patron of the Magna Carta Trust, set up to mark the 800th anniversary of King John’s sealing of the historic document. Her Majesty kindly agreed to become Patron of the trust in October 2011, nearly four years before the Runnymede events were due to take place. At the time of the announcement of The Queen’s new patronage, Chairman of the Magna Carta Trust, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, commented, “On behalf of the Trustees, I am very proud that The Queen has graciously agreed to be our Patron as we approach the 800th anniversary of this momentous day in British history, the sealing of Magna Carta.”
The June 13th-15th period of events wont just be in Runnymede as a River Thames pageant will also be taking place on the 14th and 15th June and the Great Charter Festival at Royal Holloway University on Sunday 14th too.
In regards to events at Runnymede it was recently revealed that a statue of Her Majesty The Queen will be unveiled at the site on Sunday 14th June prior to her visit the following day. The statue is currently being cast in bronze and is based on the 1954 and 1969 portraits of The Queen by Pietro Annigoni, showing Her Majesty in full Garter robes.
There has also recently been speculation that President Barack Obama could join The Queen and The Royal Family at the Runnymede celebrations, though this has not as of yet been confirmed.
Photo Credit: Simon Greig
Featured Photo Credit: KEVIN T
My Queen i love all the work you have done and many the good lord give you more power to work.