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OtherQueen Elizabeth IIThe Yorks

The Queen and Prince Andrew conduct a rare joint engagement in London

The Queen, the Duke of York

The Queen was joined by the Duke of York in London this morning for a rare joint mother-son engagement.

The monarch and Prince Andrew visited The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn to officially open the new Ashworth Centre, and re-open the recently renovated Great Hall.

Lincoln’s Inn is a Society for lawyers which houses a number of barristers’ chambers and solicitors’ offices. Lincoln’s Inn itself has a long history and holds the earliest records of any of the four Inns of Court dating from 1422.

The Duke of York has been a Royal Bencher of the Inn since December 2012. Also, a Royal Bencher is the Duke of Kent who was elected after the death of the previous incumbent Princess Margaret.

The Queen and Andrew firstly arrived at the Ashworth Centre, a new teaching facility for students and newly qualified barristers attached to the Inn. Her Majesty and His Royal Highness met people involved in the building’s construction as well as students, scholars and staff from the Education Department.

To mark her visit, the 92-year-old monarch unveiled an inscription to mark the facility’s official opening.

The royals then moved to the top of the Ceremonial Steps to mark the reopening of the Great Hall before moving inside to view a painting of Queen Victoria opening the Great Hall in 1845 and a portrait of Princess Margaret.

In the Great Hall, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness will meet tutors, Education Committee members, Past Treasurers, Senior Benchers and key members of the Inn’s staff.

Built in 1845, the Great Hall is the physical and symbolic centrepiece of the Inn and was opened by Queen Victoria on 30th October 1845.