Every Commonwealth nation was vying for the bragging rights of snagging a Diamond Jubilee visit from the sovereign and Prince Philip. (She’s never done a foreign trip without her husband of nearly 65 years.) However, given the Queen will turn 86 in April and Philip, who underwent a heart procedure over Christmas, will be 91 during this exceptional year (the London Summer Olympics start a month after the big Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June), officials clearly heeded the mandate given by Britain’s Home Office to bureaucrats planning Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee celebrations back in 1977: “You must not bore the public. You must not kill the Queen.” So they are keeping the Queen and Philip in Britain and, instead, are sending everyone else out to the Commonwealth.
This year, every one of the 15 realm countries (not counting Britain itself), plus most—if not all—of the Commonwealth, can expect royal visitors. Prince Charles and Camilla, duchess of Cornwall will conduct flying visits to the Commonwealth bigwigs of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (with Papua New Guinea thrown in because of its close geography), while Prince Harry gets the fun of Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica for his first solo tour. Even the remote south Atlantic colony of the Falkland Islands will get its own royal visitor—the Queen’s cousin, the duke of Kent, 76, will make a stop here. And taking the cake for hosting the most coveted royal guests are Malaysia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands and the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu, who can all expect a visit from William and Kate.
Below is Buckingham Palace’s list, to date, of who is doing what:
The Queen’s schedule:
8 March – Leicester
23rd March – Manchester and Salford
29th March: North London
Redbridge, Walthamstow, Harrow
26th – 27th April: Wales
Cardiff, Margam, Merthyr Tydfil, Aberfan, Ebbw Vale, Glanusk Park
1st – 2nd May: South West England
Sherborne, Salisbury, Crewkerne, Yeovil, Exeter
15th May: South London
Bromley, Merton, Richmond
16th – 17th May: North West England
Burnley, Accrington, Warrington, Chester, Liverpool
2nd – 5th June: Central Weekend
13th – 14th June: East Midlands
Nottingham, Burghley, Corby, Stevenage, Hatfield
25th June: South East England
Henley-on-Thames
2nd – 6th July: Scotland (Holyrood Week)
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Perth
11th – 12th July: West Midlands
Hereford, Worcester, Birmingham, Shropshire
18th – 19th July: North East England
Sunderland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Durham City , Stockton-on- Tees, Leeds
25th July – South East England
Cowes, Isle of Wight, New Forest, Hampshire
Overseas visits by Members of the Royal Family:
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall: Channel Islands, Isle of Man
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: Malaysia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu
Prince Harry: Belize, Jamaica, The Bahamas
The Duke of York: India
The Earl and Countess of Wessex: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Gibraltar, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
The Princess Royal: Mozambique, Zambia
The Duke of Gloucester: British Virgin Islands, Malta
The Duke of Kent: Falkland Islands, Uganda