Royal Visit to Wells Cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace and Gardens
As part of a joint visit by The Earl and Countess of Wessex to Wells on Monday to coincide with the re-opening of hospitality and tourism and to meet members of the Wells Coronavirus Network Team, Their Royal Highnesses visited the Bishop’s Palace and Gardens and Wells Cathedral individually.
HRH The Earl of Wessex visited Wells Cathedral to hear about some of the Cathedral’s fabric projects before moving on to the Bishop’s Palace and Gardens. There he met Palace representatives in their anniversary year, and spent time with Wells Lower Sixth pupil Blossom Hammerton and Upper Sixth pupil Harry Chantrey as well as pupils from The Blue School, to discuss the benefits of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, of which HRH The Earl is now Patron.
HRH The Earl then planted an acer tree with the pupils in the Gardens, to launch The Queen’s Green Canopy – a national initiative to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, which focuses on enhancing our environment now, and for generations to come.
HRH The Countess of Wessex, Royal Patron of the Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust (WCCT), visited Wells Cathedral to meet members of the WCCT and donors who support chorister bursaries. She enjoyed a brief recital given by the choristers, including a demonstration of their vocal warm ups and performances of ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ by Howard Goodall and an arrangement of ‘The Lord of the Dance’.
HRH The Countess spent time chatting to the choristers following their recital, thanking them for their work, asking about the impact of the lockdowns, and telling them how wonderful and emotional it was to hear them sing live – the first time she had heard choristers since before the first lockdown. She then joined some clergy, WCCT members and the senior choristers for tea in the Education Room at the Cathedral before Their Royal Highnesses departed together on the Royal Flight helicopter from the School rugby fields.
HRH The Earl of Wessex visited Wells Cathedral to hear about some of the Cathedral’s fabric projects before moving on to the Bishop’s Palace and Gardens. There he met Palace representatives in their anniversary year, and spent time with Wells Lower Sixth pupil Blossom Hammerton and Upper Sixth pupil Harry Chantrey as well as pupils from The Blue School, to discuss the benefits of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, of which HRH The Earl is now Patron.
HRH The Earl then planted an acer tree with the pupils in the Gardens, to launch The Queen’s Green Canopy – a national initiative to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, which focuses on enhancing our environment now, and for generations to come.
HRH The Countess of Wessex, Royal Patron of the Wells Cathedral Chorister Trust (WCCT), visited Wells Cathedral to meet members of the WCCT and donors who support chorister bursaries. She enjoyed a brief recital given by the choristers, including a demonstration of their vocal warm ups and performances of ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ by Howard Goodall and an arrangement of ‘The Lord of the Dance’.
HRH The Countess spent time chatting to the choristers following their recital, thanking them for their work, asking about the impact of the lockdowns, and telling them how wonderful and emotional it was to hear them sing live – the first time she had heard choristers since before the first lockdown. She then joined some clergy, WCCT members and the senior choristers for tea in the Education Room at the Cathedral before Their Royal Highnesses departed together on the Royal Flight helicopter from the School rugby fields.
