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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Tony Jones

King and Queen Consort to visit Dunfermline to mark its city status

PA Wire

The King and his Queen Consort are to hold their first joint public engagements since royal mourning ended by visiting Dunfermline to mark the former town becoming a city.

Charles and Camilla will attend an official council meeting at the City Chambers next Monday and visit Dunfermline Abbey in celebration of the metropolis’ new status.

During the day the King and his wife will also host a reception at Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse to celebrate British South Asian communities.

Eight places were made cities, as part of celebrations marking the 70-year reign of the late monarch, after successfully bidding for the honour under the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Competition.

The settlements were asked to highlight their royal associations, as well as showcase their communities and local identity.

Royal Mourning ended on Tuesday and has seen the Prince and Princess of Wales visiting Wales for the first time since taking up their titles.

The late Queen during a visit to Dunfermline which she granted city status in the last months of her reign (Andrew Parsons/PA) (PA Archive)

During his visit to Dunfermline the King will formally mark the conferral of City status and make a short speech in the chamber room.

After the ceremony Charles and Camilla will take a short walk to Dunfermline Abbey, to mark its 950th anniversary and be introduced to representatives from Historic Scotland to learn about the heritage of the local area and conservation of the site.

King Charles III and the Queen Consort with Edinburgh Lord Provost Robert Aldridge inspect the guard of honour at the Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh (Callum Moffat/Daily Record/PA) (PA Wire)

At Holyroodhouse the King and Queen Consort will host a reception in the great gallery where they will meet between 200-300 guests of British Indian, Pakistani, Bangladesh, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Bhutanese and Maldivian heritage from across the UK.

The event aims to recognise the contribution many from these communities have made to UK life, from the National Health Service to the arts, media, education, business, and the Armed Forces.

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