Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall to Visit Ghana

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, will visit Ghana from November 2-6, 2018.

A statement issued by the British High Commission in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency said this would highlight the United Kingdom’s warm and enduring relationship with Ghana and the breadth of their dynamic contemporary partnership as well as their shared values.

It said on arrival in Accra, their Royal Highnesses would be welcomed at Jubilee House by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

The statement said they would attend a State Banquet organised by the Presidency in their honour celebrating the ties between the UK and Ghana, attended by senior dignitaries, a number of British Ghanaians as well as prominent figures from business, arts, culture and media.

It said the Prince would also attend a meeting with Ghanaian and International business leaders to discuss sustainable practice in Ghana’s cocoa industry and key environmental issues.

It noted that His Royal Highness would visit the Christiansborg Castle, once a Danish, and then British, slave fort, which was until a few years ago, the seat of Ghana’s Government after independence, to discuss the future restoration and reuse of the area, as part of a major redevelopment of Accra’s waterfront, conceived by the Ghanaian Government with the Architect Sir David Adjaye.

The statement said their Royal Highnesses would visit Kumasi to meet Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Ashantehene at the Manhyia Palace.

It said the Prince and The Duchess would attend a traditional Durbar or procession at the Palace with the Ashantehene and local chiefs.

It noted that the Duchess who was President of the Women of the World Festival would also attend an event for a range of Ghanaian women in leadership positions.

It said the Women of the World festival (WOW) was a global festival movement founded by Jude Kelly CBE in London in 2010 celebrating women and girls, and looking at the obstacles that stop them from achieving their potential.

It said the WOW event in Ghana would include a round table discussion with influential Ghanaian women.

Their Royal Highnesses would also take part in a commemorative event to acknowledge the sacrifices made by Ghanaian soldiers during the First and Second World Wars and in more recent times during international peacekeeping missions.

It noted that this was the second visit to Ghana for The Prince of Wales and the first for The Duchess of Cornwall.

It said His Royal Highness first visited Ghana in March 1977 to attend the Golden Jubilee of Achimota School, formerly ‘The Prince of Wales College’, and a Durbar in his honour in Kumasi by Otumfuo Nana Opoku Ware II.

Ahead of this visit President Akufo-Addo said: “I welcome The Prince of Wales very warmly back to Ghana, a country he knows well. He is an old friend of our country, and we look forward to receiving him, as his visit will renew and strengthen the bonds of friendship between the United Kingdom and Ghana.”

Mr Iain Walker, British High Commissioner to Ghana said: “Their Royal Highnesses visit to Ghana comes at an opportune moment. The UK and Ghana’s shared history and common values form the basis of our enduring friendship. But it’s the many and varied links between our people’s which make our ties so unique. This visit allows us to celebrate all that is good about our ties. And – importantly – to focus on shaping the common future we each want to create.”

“This is a once in a generation visit by the heir to the throne; one that I am confident, will endure in the hearts and minds of us all.”

This is The Prince of Wales’s first visit to Commonwealth Nations after the Commonwealth Heads of Government unanimously decided in April this year that he should succeed Her Majesty The Queen as the Head of the Commonwealth.

The Prince of Wales has visited 44 out of 53 Commonwealth nations. The Duchess has visited 18 Commonwealth nations with The Prince of Wales.

Source: GNA