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Prince Edward Visits the Island 2006
Monday
26th June saw HRH Prince Edward fly across to the Island by Royal helicopter
for a special visit in which he attended a wide variety of engagements.
These included a trip to both St Thomas’ Church and the Earl Mountbatten
Hospice in Newport, Haseley Manor near Arreton and Brading Roman Villa.
The Earl of Wessex makes a 'flying visit'
The Prince’s helicopter landed at Seaclose Park at 12:45pm where Christopher
Bland Esq, the HM Lord Lieutenant, greeted his Royal Highness. The party
then proceeded by car to Lugleys Restaurant in Lugley Street, Newport for
a drinks reception with business leaders of St Thomas’ Church. The
Earl of Wessex is patron of the Newport Church and his visit was therefore
closely affiliated with the launch of a restoration programme for which
the prince was keen to show his support.
Upon arriving at Lugleys Restaurant, his royal highness was introduced to Leader of the Council, Councillor Andy Sutton, Clerk to the Lieutenancy and newly appointed Chief Executive, Mr Joe Duckworth along with the Chairman of the Council, Councillor Charles Chapman amongst others. A working lunch was then held for the prince alongside committee members of St Thomas’ Church during which time improvements to the restoration programme were outlined.
A warm welcome awaited HRH at the Earl Mountbatten Hospice
Unfortunately for the prince, the business lunch
over-ran somewhat and he was
obliged to forego his dessert in order to ensure arrival at his next engagement
on time! The Dean of the Cathedral, The Very Reverend David Brindley who
was representing the Bishop of Portsmouth, joined his Royal Highness at
the Earl Mountbatten Hospice. Upon arriving at the entrance to the hospice,
the prince was greeted by Chief Executive Alan Horwell who then escorted
him into the building to meet several senior members of the medical and
nursing staff who accompanied him into the new ward and introduced
him to delighted patients and relatives.
The main purpose of Prince Edward’s visit to the Earl Mountbatten Hospice was to unveil a plaque to commemorate the total redevelopment of the new in-patient ward and day-hospice. iwight.com accompanied his Royal Highness throughout his tour of this most invaluable Island resource and you can see how he got on by visiting our photo gallery via the tab at the top of this page. A large percentage of the funds that were needed to pay for the new ward were generated by events such as Walk the Wight, which you can read more about within this, our Events of the Year 2006 section.
"I do hope that my being here hasn't put you out"
The
Earl of Wessex charmed patients and volunteers alike during his visit
to the hospice as he casually chatted to each of them in turn amidst a
very relaxed and jovial atmosphere.
Unsuspecting staff manning the reception desk were also given a change to shine as the prince caught sight of Barbara, a hospice volunteer with a bruised face resulting from a recent fall. Appearing concerned, he stopped to enquire after what she had been doing in order to receive such a blow! The prince also was heard to say to members of staff on several occasions that he hoped his visit hadn't caused them any inconvenience if it had meant them coming into work on their days-off.
Having been invited to sign the visitor’s
book, the prince proceeded to a specially erected marquee in which day
patients, trustees, staff and volunteers were gathered together along
with various other invited guests. After enjoying a well-deserved cup
of tea, The Chairman of the Trustees, Mr Hibberd escorted His Royal Highness
to the platform where he was invited to unveil the plaque. This he did
following several light-hearted comments as to how he hoped he would be
able to perform this duty whilst avoiding disaster, which caused much
laughter amongst everyone present.
A very demanding itinerary
The
party then departed the hospice for Haseley Manor where Prince Edward
was shown around their reserve before being asked to plant an oak tree
to commemorate his visit to the manor. Thereafter His Royal Highness received
a short tour of the house to view the newly discovered mediaeval wall
decoration.
At around 4pm Prince Edward departed Haseley Manor for Brading Roman Villa where he was greeted at the gate by Anthony Turnball, Chairman of the Oglander Roman Trust amidst a group of local children who were lining the road to catch a glimpse of the Royal visitor.
This was in fact the second time in three years that the Earl of Wessex had visited the popular Island attraction. This time though his visit was two-fold. He came to see Brading Roman Villa’s impressive new exhibition and visitor’s centre along with examples of the many fundraising efforts, which took place in order to achieve it. The prince’s father; the Duke of Edinburgh opened the exhibition centre last July and it was without any doubt that the prince himself will have seen a dramatic change in this award-winning heritage site which now allows for enhanced appreciation and display of artefacts and educational services.
Following
a brief rest-period, His Royal Highness arrived back in Newport at 6pm
for a church service at St Thomas’ in the square where Canon Stephen
Palmer, Vicar of Newport, met him. Following the service, Prince Edward
was escorted to the Vestry for the signing of the register and a photo
call. A reception was later held in St Thomas’ Church before the
Earl of Wessex departed by car for the helipad at Seaclose where his visit
to the Island drew to a close.
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