The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit France and Greece from 7th until the of 11th May. The tour, undertaken at the request of The British Government, will highlight the UK’s strong bilateral ties with both countries.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will begin the visit in Nice, where they will commemorate the attack which took place on Le Promenade des Anglais in July 2016. The Prince and The Duchess will also attend a reception to celebrate the longstanding links between Nice and the UK, including the fact that Her Majesty Queen Victoria regularly visited the city throughout her lifetime.
They will then travel to Lyon where Their Royal Highnesses will jointly attend a VE Commemoration to mark 73 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe. The Prince of Wales will visit The International Police Organization (INTERPOL) to highlight the UK and France’s role in international police cooperation. Their Royal Highnesses will also attend an event to celebrate the city’s rich culinary history. Lyon has France’s second-largest student population, and His Royal Highness will visit the ISARA University specialising in agronomy (the science of using plants for food, fuel and fibre), food and environmental studies. The Duchess of Cornwall, a longstanding supporter of charities helping survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, will visit a local charity providing assistance to women.
Their Royal Highnesses will start their first official joint visit to Greece with a wreath-laying ceremony at The Monument to the Unknown Soldier, before receiving an official welcome at The Presidential Mansion and Prime Minister’s Residence. Later that evening The Prince and The Duchess will attend an Official Dinner hosted by The President of The Hellenic Republic and Mrs Vlasia Pavlopoulou. The Prince of Wales will be received by The Archbishop of Athens the next day.
During their second day in Greece, Their Royal Highnesses will visit the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Phaleron where His Royal Highness will lay a wreath. The Prince of Wales will then visit Piraeus for a series of engagements to celebrate the UK and Greece’s longstanding maritime relationship. This will include a visit to HMC Valiant, a border-force ‘cutter’ currently deployed in the Aegean Sea, and working with The Hellenic Coastguard to provide security and search and rescue support.
The Prince of Wales will also visit the Averoff, a Greek armoured cruiser which forms part of The Hellenic Navy and which played a key part during the First and Second World Wars. His Royal Highness will also be able to see the HNS Olympias, a full-scale replica of an ancient Greek ‘Trireme’.
The wife of the Greek Prime Minister has invited Her Royal Highness to join her on a visit to the Benaki Museum, which showcases Greek civilisation and tradition. The Duchess will then visit the scenic Kaisariani Monastery located on Mount Hymettus overlooking Athens, where school children will be undertaking educational reading activities to mark Athens UNESCO World Book Capital 2018. The Duchess will then visit a local shelter in Athens which provides assistance for survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Their Royal Highnesses will end their visit to Greece on Friday 11th May with a visit to Crete where The Prince and The Duchess will visit the Knossos archaeological site. Their Royal Highnesses will also visit a local charity which helps to find accommodation for migrant families in Crete, helping them to integrate with the local community.
This is The Prince of Wales’s thirty-third official visit to France, and The Duchess of Cornwall’s seventh. This is The Prince of Wales’s second official visit to Greece and The Duchess of Cornwall’s first.
