King Charles and Queen Camilla made a visit to Colchester in Essex this week to celebrate its newly acquired city status, which they gained during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
Their Majesties arrived in the city approximately an hour late because of weather issues. The weather certainly did not dampen the spirits however, with hundreds of well-wishers lining the streets to get a glimpse of the royals.
Their first stop was the Colchester Castle Museum, where they met some residents, school children and staff from community groups, before heading inside and revealing the name of the Colchester Zoo’s newest addition, a baby white rhino that will be called Dara – a name that in Swahili means ‘beautiful’.
Their second stop was Colchester Library, where they were greeted by cheers from the crowds gathered there to celebrate the Royal visit – cheers that grew louder in an attempt to drown the boos from a small group of anti-monarchy protesters.
Their Majesties were greeted by TV presenter Dermot O’Leary, children writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce, and a group of actors from a local production of Alice in Wonderland.
While King Charles went in the library’s upstairs room, Queen Camilla talked with the actors and two school girls. One, named Fatima Jallow, was helping the actors with a reading offered to pupils from Braiswick Primary School; the other, Maddie Earl, is the winner of the Essex Year of Reading writing competition.
The latter read her composition to the Queen who praised her, before entering the Library herself and receiving her own library card, for which she thanked the staff and said that she would have to come back to check their offerings.
She then made her way upstairs, where she joined the King in a talk with clients of the library who are receiving help from wither Age UK or The Silver Line, two charities that offer help to the elderly. The King has been patron of the first since 2010, while the Queen became patron of the second in 2017.
The King was heard praising the work of volunteers of the two charities as ‘inspirational’, saying: “What you do is marvellous. Thank you so much for everything you do. It is fantastic”.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were then treated to a traditional English tea with the rest of the staff operating in the library through the two charities – they were offered scones with jam and clotted cream, and the King decided not to intervene in the age-old debate on the correct way of eating them.
Conservation is one of the King’s life-long passions, while literature has been one of the biggest focuses of Queen Camilla.
