King and Queen to visit Senedd to mark its 25th anniversary

The King and Queen are set to visit the Senedd to mark its 25th anniversary.

The Royal Welsh will form a Guard of Honour when Charles and Camilla arrive on Thursday – which will be the first time the King will have seen them since he was appointed their Colonel-in-Chief on St David’s Day.

They will be greeted by primary school children representing schools from across Wales, a civic line-up, the Llywydd, presiding officer, Elin Jones and Vaughan Gething, the First Minister of Wales.

Once inside the Senedd, Charles and Camilla will meet party and parliamentary leaders.

As they enter the Siambr, Mared Pugh-Evans, who has been appointed the King’s harpist, will play – this will be her first performance in her new position.

The Llywydd will make opening remarks, followed by Mr Gething and the party leaders.

Two poems written by Aron Pritchard will then be performed, one written when he was a school pupil to mark the first official opening of the then National Assembly in 1999 and a new one written for this event – Mr Pritchard is now a member of staff at the Senedd.

A choir from a local primary school, Ysgol Treganna, will also perform.

The King will then give a speech, marking the 25th anniversary of the Senedd, after which the Llywydd will close the session.

Entering the Cwrt, Charles and Camilla will be introduced to members of Senedd staff who have worked at the parliament for 25 years, or who are 25 years old.

They will also meet members of the Senedd.

Before leaving, the King and Queen will have the opportunity to meet members of the community who have contributed to key moments in the Senedd’s history, including the petitioner who successfully started a campaign for carrier bag charges, and Welsh Youth Parliament representatives.

The Any Body Can Choir will perform in the background, which is made up of children who would not ordinarily get the opportunity to try musical activities.

Charles and Camilla last visited the Senedd in September 2022, receiving a motion of condolence following the death of the late Queen.

They also visited the Senedd in October 2021 with the late Queen. The visit marked the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Senedd.

Throughout this year, the Senedd will be celebrating and reflecting on its 25 years and looking to the future.

Planned activities include an exhibition, in partnership with the National Library of Wales Political Archives, displaying items from key milestones in the past 25 years, and an exhibition featuring members of the community who have contributed to the Senedd’s story so far.