Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to visit Cardiff for Platinum Jubilee concert preparations
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will travel to Cardiff on Saturday to “help with some of the final preparations” for the Platinum Jubilee concert, the palace has announced.
The Cambridges will take a short day trip to Wales during the bank holiday weekend to meet acts performing in the concert celebrating the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
They include Bonnie Tyler, Owain Wynn Evans, the weather presenter who rose to fame after drumming along with the BBC News theme tune, and the Wales Youth Choir for Good.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed the couple will “learn more about the technical production underpinning the show, including lighting, sound and visual effects, before helping with some of the final preparations for the concert”.
Arts and crafts
The visit is part of a short programme of Jubilee events for members of the Royal family, with the Earl and Countess of Wessex travelling to Northern Ireland to take part in Jubilee-themed arts and crafts, meet children taking part in multicultural street performances, and speak to members of the public who recall meeting the Queen.
The Princess Royal, accompanied by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, will visit Edinburgh on Friday, June 3, joining schoolchildren for an animal handling session and visiting the penguin enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo.
While she is there, Princess Anne will also inspect a Guard of Honour and board HMS Albion, where she will meet the ship’s company and members of her mother’s patronages in Scotland before cutting a commemorative cake.
Meet many people
The programme is a nod to the Queen’s jubilees in previous years, when she and Prince Philip would undertake tours around the country to meet as many people as possible.
This year the Queen is unable to travel, with working members of her family instead representing her over the weekend.
For their part, William and Kate will visit Cardiff Castle where the finishing touches and rehearsals for the Platinum Jubilee Celebration Concert that afternoon will be underway.
The live performances, accompanied by Welsh choirs, bands and orchestras, will finish at 7pm, at which point screens in the castle ground will broadcast the official Platinum Party at the Palace taking place outside Buckingham Palace.
The London concert will be attended by members of the Royal family including the Cambridges, with the Prince of Wales giving a speech in honour of his mother.
