King Charles was joined by four senior royals at an awards ceremony this afternoon, marking the largest gathering of the Firm since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest last week. The 77-year-old monarch was accompanied by his wife, Queen Camilla, sister Princess Anne and cousins the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester as he handed out awards at St James’s Palace.
Prince Edward had been due to attend but pulled out at the last minute due to a seasonal cold. The special ceremony today saw the King hand out the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Higher and Further Education in recognition of outstanding work at UK universities and colleges.
The ceremony saw 19 universities and colleges recognised for their innovation and excellence across a range of subject areas, from a centre tackling sustainability in the textile industry, to a partnership providing higher education in prisons and groundbreaking research into Paralympic performance.
The King has undertaken a number of public-facing engagements since his brother’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Andrew is alleged to have passed official and classified documents to his friend, the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, while working as the UK’s special trade envoy.
Last week, Charles expressed his “deepest concern” at the events and said: “The law must take its course”. He also pledged that the Royal Family will continue to serve the nation as normal.
The royals walked in together to the Picture Gallery at the palace for the ceremony, with the King and Queen standing for the National Anthem before taking their seats on a small stage.
The King handed out silver gilt medallions to the winners, bearing the cypher of Queen Elizabeth, while the Queen presented scrolls designed by students at Central Saint Martins College of Art, printed with gold leaf and signed by the King.
Following the presentations, the royal party met recipients at a reception to hear more about their award-winning work.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
