The King and Queen Consort visit Colchester Castle during the Year of Celebration

The King and The Queen Consort visited Colchester Castle yesterday (7 March 2023) to celebrate Colchester’s modern city status in the Year of Celebration.

Their Majesties were greeted on arrival by a Guard of Honour and the British Army Band Colchester, playing the National Anthem.

Inside Castle Park, The King and The Queen Consort met those who took part in Colchester’s city status procession last year, including charities, volunteers and refugees who have settled in Colchester, alongside schoolchildren taking part in educational visits to the Castle Museum.

Inside the Castle, students from Market Field College showed The King and The Queen Consort objects from the museum’s handling trolley and Their Majesties also met representatives from local organisations who support a range of local communities and conservation projects during a reception to mark Colchester’s status as a modern city, where they viewed the Letters Patent and signed Colchester Castle’s visitor book.

Representatives from the Essex Native Oyster Restoration Initiative (ENORI), led by the University of Essex in collaboration with oystermen, nature conservation organisations and the UK Government, talked to Their Majesties about how they are creating the largest marine restoration project in the United Kingdom. It works to