Commonwealth Day tomorrow:
The Queen will be joined at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey by the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of York. Other guests among the 2,000-strong congregation will include Prime Minister Theresa May, the Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Scotland, alongside high commissioners, ambassadors, faith leaders and more than 800 schoolchildren and young people.
Commonwealth Day has a special significance this year, as 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the modern Commonwealth – a global network of 53 countries and almost 2.4 billion people.
The theme for this year’s service is “A Connected Commonwealth” which highlights the co-operation between the culturally diverse family of nations who work together in friendship.
Highlights of the service include performances by Grammy-winning group Clean Bandit and tenor Alfie Boe. A reflection will be given by Lewis Pugh, an endurance swimmer, ocean advocate and the UN Patron of the Oceans.
Organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Commonwealth Service is the largest annual inter-faith gathering in the UK and will be broadcast live on BBC One.
Later in the evening, Charles and Camilla will be guests of the Commonwealth Secretary-General at the annual reception which traditionally takes place on Commonwealth Day at Marlborough House, the home of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the institution’s civil service.