Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, arrived to a warm welcome at the Owen Roberts International Airport Monday evening, heralding the start to their visit to the Cayman Islands.
Governor Martyn Roper, in a post on his official Facebook page, shared that he, together with his wife Lissie, and Premier Wayne Panton and his wife Jane, welcomed the Royal couple.
“The Cayman Islands and the United Kingdom have a strong and long-lasting connection, and Caymanians have always expressed their affection towards the Royal Family. I am glad that we have the opportunity to celebrate and solidify our close links with the UK and to showcase what our Islands have to offer,” Roper said in the post.
He said that at the formal airport arrival, the Earl of Wessex received a Royal Salute and inspected the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service while the Countess of Wessex was presented with a floral arrangement by a representative of the Girl Guides.
“Their Royal Highnesses were also greeted on arrival by the Chief Justice, Members of Cabinet, Parliamentary Secretaries, the Hon Leader of the Opposition and the Police Commissioner,” he added.
The Earl and Countess have a special connection to Cayman as Prince Edward is a longstanding patron of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute and later Tuesday will spend time there in celebration of the 20th anniversary of his patronage.
“He will also spend time with the Cayman Islands Coast Guard and the Regiment who will have the opportunity to demonstrate their maritime emergency and disaster resilience response. HRH will also see the Cadet Corps to understand how they support our youth,” Roper added.
The countess will attend 100 Women in Finance events as one of their global ambassadors.
She will visit a children’s camp at the YMCA later on Tuesday afternoon.
She will also formally open the 54th Cayman Islands Agricultural Show on Ash Wednesday, which has been on hold since the COVID pandemic.
The Royal couple, Roper added, will hand out two Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards at Government House.
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