Focus
A look back at 2006
22nd December 2006
2006 has been a year with many special occasions including Her Majesty The Queen’s 80th Birthday, the 30th anniversary of The Prince’s Trust, the 20th anniversary of the National Osteoporosis Society and the first wedding anniversary of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.
Here are just some of the highlights of the working year of The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Prince Harry:
January 2006
Prince William enters the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Camberley, Surrey, to begin 44 weeks of gruelling training as an Army Cadet. Click here to read the news story.
February 2006
The Prince of Wales launched the Mutton Renaissance Club for chefs and restaurateurs as part of his ongoing campaign to re-popularise the meat, taken from a two-year-old sheep, to help struggling sheep farmers. Click here to read the news story.
The Duchess spent a day in Hull and met local fundraisers, visited a branch of Age Concern and opened an award-winning goat dairy. Click here to read the news story.
Together Their Royal Highnesses presented awards to inspiring young people at the star-studded Prince’s Trust Celebrate Success awards ceremony at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The event marked the start of the Trust’s 30th anniversary year. Click here to read the news story.
March 2006
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall accompanied The Queen to the opening of the Senedd, the Welsh Assembly debating chamber on St David’s Day and spent the whole day in Wales, visiting the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and attending an opera starring Bryn Terfel at the Millennium Centre. Click here to read the news story.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India on overseas tour to promote inter-faith dialogue and religious tolerance, especially between the three great Abrahamic faiths of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The Prince becomes the first Western man to speak to 800 Islamic scholars at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt and was presented with a prestigious honorary doctorate. Click here to read the news story.
April 2006
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall celebrated their first wedding anniversary on 9th April 2006. A photograph of Their Royal Highnesses taken in the gardens of Clarence House by Mario Testino was released to mark the occasion. Click here to read the news story.
Prince Harry was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and joined the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals) as a Second Lieutenant. Her Majesty The Queen presided over the Sovereign’s Parade. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall also attended. Click here to read the news story.
The Duke of Rothesay, as The Prince of Wales is known in Scotland, and Prince Harry met young people who have been helped by The Prince's Trust in the Govanhill area of Glasgow. Prince Harry accepted a birthday cake on behalf of The Queen who was 80-years-old that day. Click here to read the news story.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess hosted a dinner at the newly restored Kew Palace for members of the Royal Family to celebrate The Queen’s 80th Birthday. Fireworks set to music were enjoyed by the family and by members of the public who had been invited to Kew to enjoy the display. Click here to read the news story.
Prince Harry launched Sentebale, his charity to help children orphaned by Aids and other vulnerable young people in Lesotho, Southern Africa with Prince Seeiso. He gave an interview at the Mants’ase Children’s Home in Lesotho, one of the organisations to benefit from the charity. Click here to read the news story.
May 2006
The Prince was interviewed by Sir Trevor MacDonald for a television documentary about 30 years of The Prince’s Trust. The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Prince Harry attended The Prince's Trust 30th birthday party at the Tower of London.
Among the many stars performing at the concert was Ozzy Osborne, Pink, Lionel Richie, the Sugababes and McFly. The event raised £3 million for the Prince’s Trust, which was founded by The Prince in 1976 to help young people overcome barriers and achieve their potential. Click here to read the news story.
The Duchess of Cornwall visited Ditchling, where she attended school as a child, during a day of engagements in East Sussex. She saw a school photo of herself in a display at Ditchling Museum, made biscuits with local schoolchildren, and opened a restored art deco pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea. Click here to read the news story.
Their Royal Highnesses toured Scotland for three days and visited Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright, Edinburgh, and the Isle of Rum where they visited Kinloch Castle. The castle will be restored with the help of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust. Click here to read the news story.
June 2006
Prince William attended England’s opening World Cup match against Paraguay in Frankfurt in his role as President of the Football Association. He delivered a “good luck” message to the team from Her Majesty The Queen. Click here to read the news story.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall commemorated the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. They joined thousands of people in Thiepval, France to honour the 20,000 British soldiers who were killed on the battlefields of the Somme 90 years ago. Click here to read the news story.
July 2006
The Duchess of Cornwall celebrated 20 years of the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) in July with a visit to the organisation’s headquarters in Camerton, near Bath. She buried a time capsule containing a wish for a decrease in the “devastating disease” osteoporosis. Click here to read the news story.
The Duke of Rothesay, as The Prince of Wales is known in Scotland, launched the new Pleasure in the Extreme tourism initiative as the second phase of his North Highland Initiative (NHI) to help support and develop the economy of the North Highlands of Scotland. Click here to read the news story.
August 2006
Their Royal Highnesses attended the Mey Highland Games and unveiled a carved plaque dedicated to The Queen Mother at Canisbay Church in Caithness near Her Late Majesty’s former home the Castle of Mey. Click here to read the news story.
September 2006
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall met veterans of the Battle of Britain at a service to remember the decisive Second World War air victory. Click here to read the news story.
The Duchess led a group of fundraisers on a walk around Loch Muick on the Balmoral Estate to launch a week of Big Bone Walks for the National Osteoporosis Society, of which The Duchess is President. The walk raised £200,000, most of it by The Duchess herself, and helped to increase awareness of the importance of exercise in preventing osteoporosis. Click here to read the news story.
Prince William visited St Mary’s Hospital in London to open a special care unit for premature babies today. The Winnicott Centre cares for some of the most critically ill babies in the UK and treats more than 300 from across the country each year. Both Prince William and his brother Prince Harry were born at the hospital. Click here to read the news story.
October 2006
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall met British service personnel injured in action in Afghanistan and Iraq at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM), based at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where most servicemen and women injured overseas are flown for treatment. The Prince last visited the RCDM in 2005. Click here to read the news story.
The Prince and The Duchess toured Pakistan for the first time and visited Islamabad, Lahore, and villages in the Himalayas which were devastated by the Pakistan earthquake. Click here to read the news story.
November 2006
Their Royal Highnesses spend two days in the North East and visit the home of Newcastle United, St James’s Park, to see a Prince’s Trust Football Initiative in action. They also launched a new report from the Trust about the long term health problems of being unemployed. Click here to read the news story.
The official website www.princeofwales.gov.uk was relaunched with an exclusive ‘day in the life’ video showing Their Royal Highnesses on a day of engagements in Birmingham. Click here to watch the video.
TRH visited 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment at Hyderabad Barracks, Colchester, Essex to pay tribute to the bravery of soldiers who have just returned from Afghanistan. The Prince is Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment. Click here to read the news story.
December 2006
The Prince of Wales hosted a summit to tackle the problem of re-offending prison leavers with Home Secretary Dr John Reid, prison governors, probation officers and 25 former young offenders.
As President and Founder of The Prince’s Trust, The Prince hosted the event, called Breaking the Cycle, to enable 25 young offenders to come face to face with senior members of the criminal justice system to explore ways in which repeat offending can be reduced. Click here to read the news story.
In the run up to Christmas, Their Royal Highnesses visited organisations who were helping the homeless over the festive period. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited FareShare which distributes food from companies to the homeless, and The Duchess visited Emmaus in Bristol, of which she is Patron, to meet homeless people rebuilding their lives within a supportive community environment. Click here to read the story.
Prince William visited Centrepoint, of which he is Patron, to help prepare breakfast for residents and meet young homeless people being helped by the charity over festive period. Click here to read the news story.