Duke of Gloucester to visit Orkney

It has been announced that HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester is set to visit Orkney later this month.

The duke is expected to arrive in the county on Tuesday, October 24. During his visit, he will be taking part in commemorative events including the Magnus 900 celebrations and Stromness Per Mare. He is also due to visit Stromness Lifeboat Station, to mark 150 years of the service, as well as The Hall of Clestrain and St Magnus Kirk in Birsay.

On the Tuesday evening, the duke will attend a service in the St Rognvald Chapel of St Magnus Cathedral and will also attend the AGM of The Society of The Friends of St Magnus Cathedral, of which he is Patron.

The Duke of Gloucester is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He trained and practised as an architect until the untimely death of his elder brother placed him in direct line to inherit his father’s dukedom of Gloucester in 1974.

He has visited Orkney on two previous occasions —  in 2003 to mark the refurbishment of St Peter’s Kirk at the Bay of Skaill, and in 2008 to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of The Society of The Friends of St Magnus Cathedral.