King and Queen set for day two of Channel Islands trip with a visit to Guernsey
The King and Queen will attend a special sitting of Guernsey’s Parliament during the second day of their whistlestop trip to the Channel Islands.
Charles and Camilla, who were in Jersey on Monday, are travelling to Guernsey in their first visit to the two bailiwicks, which are Crown Dependencies off the north-west coast of France, since the King acceded to the throne.
A 21-gun salute from the Castle Cornet will mark their arrival on the St Peter Port seafront on Tuesday, where Charles will preside over a short special sitting of the States of Deliberation, Guernsey’s Parliament.
The seafront setting means islanders can watch the events.
The two-day visit comes as Charles returns to some public duties, despite his continued treatment for cancer.
The King is known as the Duke of Normandy on the Channel Islands, dating from when William the Conqueror’s son, Henry I, seized the Duchy of Normandy, including the islands, in 1106.
At official functions, islanders raise the loyal toast to “The Duke of Normandy, our King”.
The States sitting will be followed by a Ceremony of Homage, a tradition that is observed when the monarch first visits Guernsey.
Historic title-holders, seigneurs and dames of small parcels of land known as fiefs, will pay homage during the ceremony, which is held in French.
Charles will be presented with some ceremonial silver spurs.
The trip ends the day before the planned State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday, which is also Camilla’s 77th birthday.
Jersey and Guernsey announced special public holidays to mark the royal visits on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
The Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK but are self-governing possessions of the British Crown.
When Queen Elizabeth II visited Jersey in 2001, she was presented with two dead ducks on a silver tray, part of an ancient tradition dating back to the Middle Ages when six seigneurs, lords of the manor, would pay homage to the sovereign as the Duke of Normandy with the mallards.
Charles and Camilla last visited the Channel Islands during the Diamond Jubilee year of 2012.
