The King and Queen will travel to Wales next week to attend the ceremonial opening of the seventh Senedd in Cardiff.
Their Majesties will travel to the Senedd on Thursday, 15 October 2026, for a major constitutional and ceremonial occasion marking the opening of the newly elected Welsh Parliament.
This will be the first opening of the Senedd attended by The King and Queen since His Majesty became King.
The King and Queen will be formally welcomed to the Senedd on Pierhead Street by two guard formations provided by the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh, and 157 (Welsh) Regiment Royal Logistics Corps.
A Royal Navy Guard of Honour will also be present and will give a Royal Salute as Their Majesties arrive.
The King and Queen will then be greeted by a civic line-up before being presented to the Llywydd, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, and the First Minister of Wales, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS.
Inside the Senedd, a fanfare will mark the ceremonial opening before Their Majesties meet party leaders, the Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd, and the Deputy Presiding Officer.
As The King and Queen enter the Siambr, The King’s Harpist, Mared Pugh-Evans, will perform.
The Llywydd will deliver opening remarks, followed by a short speech from The King and remarks from the First Minister.
The National Poet of Wales, Hanan Issa, will then read a poem written especially for the occasion.
The Merched Plastaf Choir will also perform O Gymru, composed by Welsh musician Rhys Jones.
Following the ceremony, Their Majesties will move to the Cwrt, where they will meet members of the Welsh Youth Parliament, Senedd Commissioners and Members of the Senedd, alongside representatives from community and youth organisations.
Before departing, The King and Queen will be presented with a posy by Noah Jones.
Mr Jones is the great-grandson of the caretaker of Pantglas Junior School in Aberfan who helped save the lives of many children during the Aberfan disaster in 1966.
Next week’s visit will mark another significant occasion in the relationship between The King and Queen and the Senedd.
Their Majesties previously visited the Senedd in July 2024 to mark its 25th anniversary.
The previous opening of the Senedd, in October 2021, was attended by Queen Elizabeth II.
At that ceremony, The King and Queen were present in their former roles as The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
The upcoming ceremony will therefore be the first time the couple have attended a Senedd opening as King and Queen.
The institution now known as the Senedd was established in 1999 as the National Assembly for Wales, following the transfer of a number of powers from the UK Government to Wales.
It has since developed into a fully-fledged parliament with powers to make laws in areas devolved to Wales, as well as scrutinising the Welsh Government.
The 2026 Senedd election brought a major change to the institution, with the number of Members increasing from 60 to 96.
The expansion was intended to provide the Senedd with sufficient capacity to fulfil its legislative, policy and scrutiny responsibilities.
The King and Queen’s visit on 15 October will formally mark the opening of the seventh Senedd following that election.
