Royalguestto markanniversary
Excited crowds are expected to line the streets when His Royal Highness the Earl of Wessex visits Perthshire on Tuesday next week.
Prince Edward will stop off in Dunkeld and Perth as part of a tour which will see him take in a number of local landmarks and mark milestones.
As part of his time in Highland Perthshire, the Earl will help celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Royal School of Dunkeld by unveiling the school’s Coat of Arms Letter Patent, granted in the first year of the reign of HM The Queen and newly-restored by the Court of the Lord Lyon.
He will also visit a garden party planned within the historic grounds, which will include a celebration of school history by the children
Perth and Kinross Council has advised that members of the public wishing to see the Royal guest are encouraged to gather in Dunkeld town centre at 2pm, between Cathedral Street and High Street, via The Cross, as he will be taking part in a‘walkabout’ following the service of re-dedication
After visiting Dunkeld, Prince Edward will make his way to Willowgate Activity Centre, just outside Perth, where he will name a Tay River skiff built by Duke of Edinburgh Award participants and school children from Perth High School, supported by the Tay Landscape Partnership.
The craft will be named‘The Silvery Pearl’.
The Earl will then travel into the Fair City to visit the 117-year-old Perth Theatre, which is in the final stages of a major transformation programme
During the sneak peek behind the scenes he will tour the revamped interior of the Theatre, and will re-bury a time capsule which was originally buried in 1899 – updated during the box office refurbishment in 2001 – and uncovered once again during the most recent work on site.
Provost Dennis Melloy said:“We were delighted to hear that the Earl of Wessex will be visiting Perthshire to help celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Royal School of Dunkeld.
“I know that pupils from the school are particularly looking forward to welcoming him to the area, and to having him attend the re-dedication service more than four centuries after the original Royal Charter was granted to the school.”
Horsecross Arts chief executive Gwilym Gibbons said he was equally delighted to welcome the special guest.
The cultural figurehead added:“The visit comes at a significant time in the history of the theatre as it reaches the final stages of its transformation.
“We look forward to showing the Earl the theatre’s emerging new spaces and the painstaking auditorium restoration, and introducing some of our young drama and singing participants, actors with a close connection to Perth Theatre and other key players.
“We are particularly pleased that he will be reburying our Perth Theatre time capsule, which will be full of interesting documents to be rediscovered by future generations in many years to come!”