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When The Earl and Countess of Wessex pay a visit to Barbados later this month, they will have a busy round of engagements.

On Thursday, February 23, the first day of their visit, the Royal Couple will attend a Joint Sitting of both Houses of Parliament at 10:00 a.m., where MPs will receive a message from Her Majesty, the Queen. There will also be addresses from the Lower House and the Senate. Immediately following, The Earl and Countess will tour the Museum of Parliament and the National Heroes Gallery.

Later that morning, at 11:30 a.m., Their Royal Highnesses will attend a special exhibition being coordinated by the University of the West Indies, (UWI) Cave Hill Campus. This will be at The Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination. The exhibition’s theme is Looking back…looking forward: Sixty years of progress and achievements through Education. On arrival, they will be welcomed by Minister of Education and Human Resource Development, The Honourable Ronald Jones, M.P. and Principal and Pro Vice Chancellor of the UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles.

A State Dinner and Reception at Government House will follow later that evening. On Friday, February 24, their Royal Highnesses will have a number of engagements. During the morning, at 10:25 a.m., the Countess, who is associated with several organisations that deal with sensory, learning and communication disabilities, will pay a visit to the Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre at Ladymeade Gardens, in Jemmotts Lane. She will be met on arrival by Minister of Health, The Honourable Donville Inniss M.P., and other senior officials. While there, the Countess will be taken on a tour of the facility.

Meanwhile, at 10:40 a.m., The Earl will present eight young Barbadians with Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards during a special ceremony at Government House.

Immediately following, at 11:40 a.m., Their Royal Highnesses will officiate at a ceremony in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee at the historic Kensington Oval, where the Earl will unveil a plaque. National Hero, the Rt. Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers, OCC, will also be in attendance. The Royal Couple will also meet and be entertained by students from selected schools.

??At 12:13 p.m., the Prime Minister will host Their Royal Highnesses at a lunch at Ilaro Court. Later that afternoon at 2:17, the Earl and Countess will visit the Nidhe Israel Synagogue and Museum and the Mikvah (spiritual bath) in Bridgetown. The Synagogue, forms part of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, which was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List last year.

Following this, at 2:50 p.m., the Royal Party will tour the Prince Cave Hall, home of the renowned Royal Barbados Police Force Band.

The final engagement for the Royals will see the Earl and Countess hosting a reception later that evening before departing Barbados for St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex will also visit Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Grenada and Montserrat as part of official events to mark Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.??

cathy.lashley@barbados.gov.bb

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