Prince William makes urgent trip to Notre-Dame at the request of the UK Government
It has been announced that Prince William will be travelling to Paris tomorrow to attend the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral, at the request of the UK government, which is also being attended by Donald Trump
Prince William is to make a last-minute trip to France tomorrow at the request of the UK government.
It has been confirmed that the Prince of Wales will attend the huge reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, five years after a fire threatened to destroy it. William is travelling to the event, which will also be attended by Donald Trump on behalf of King Charles and the government.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "The Prince of Wales will travel to Paris tomorrow to attend the ceremony marking the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral. His Royal Highness is travelling at the request of His Majesty’s Government on behalf of the United Kingdom."
The reopening of the 12th century Paris landmark will take place in a succession of ceremonies to breathe life back into the famous cathedral and celebrate the recovery from the devastating fire in 2019. As flames tore through the building it destroyed ancient aretfacts, most of the roof as well as its landmark spire.
For the reopening ceremony tomorrow, US President-elect Donald Trump and dozens of heads of state and government accepted invites from French President Emmanuel Macron after a £600million restoration programme. It will be the first time William has met the new US president-elect in five years with their last meeting coming in 2019 when Trump came on a state visit to the UK and was hosted by the late Queen the last time he was in the White House.
The Notre-Dame reopening service will be led by the Catholic archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich and will see the building’s great organ be played in public for the first time since the blaze coated the nearly 8,000 pipes with toxic dust released when the lead roofing burned.
Last year, King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the fire-ravaged Cathedral to hear about the restoration work that had been taking place. Just earlier this week, Camilla also met with President Macron’s wife Brigitte Macron to present a literary prize and the first lady gave the Queen a book about the cathedral.
William’s trip to Paris will come just hours after he attends wife Kate’s annual Christmas Carol Concert, which is taking place tonight at Westminster Abbey, with the prince set to give a reading at the event. In previous years, the couple has attended the event with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis along with other members of the Royal Family as well as the Middleton family.
The event, which will be attended by 1,600 people, is a key milestone in Kate’s return to public duties after finishing chemotherapy treatment in the summer following her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
During the past year Kate has returned to public duties after being treated for cancer, while Charles is still under the care of cancer specialists, and the service aims to provide a moment of reflection about the importance of loved ones, especially during difficult times. The event will be broadcast as part of the programme Royal Carols: Together At Christmas, screened on ITV1 and ITVX on Christmas Eve
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
