Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by The Prince of Wales, will open The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey next Friday.
Upon arrival at the abbey, Her Majesty will be greeted by the Dean of Westminster Abbey, The Very Reverend Dr John Hall.
The Queen and her son will then proceed to the Diamond Jubilee Galleries where they will meet a group of people who have been involved in the restoration project, including the Clerk of the Works and Surveyor of the Fabric.
The Dean of Westminster Abbey will conduct a short service prior to The Queen and Prince Charles taking a tour of the galleries.
Some of the artefacts they will view include a restored Sir Christopher Wren model, an original 13th-century altarpiece from King Henry III’s church and King Henry VII’s funeral effigy.
The Queen and The Prince will attend a brief reception for construction workers, supporters and Abbey staff involved in the project.
Before departing the abbey, the 92-year-old monarch will unveil a plaque to commemorate the galleries opening.
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries will open to the public the following week on 11th June.
The new galleries are set more than 16 metres above Westminster Abbey’s floor in the medieval Triforium, an area that has never been open to the public before.
Visitors will reach the Galleries through a newly constructed tower which houses a staircase and a lift. The new tower, which has been named the Weston Tower, is the first major addition to the Abbey church since 1745.
The Galleries tell the story of Westminster Abbey in four themes: Building Westminster Abbey; Worship and Daily Life; Westminster Abbey and the Monarchy; and The Abbey and National memory.
Over 300 treasures from the Abbey’s Collection will be on display, many of them for the first time.
The Prince of Wales previously visited The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries in 2016 to see the restoration work in progress. During this visit, he unveiled the foundation stone in the Weston Tower.
