King Charles III remains patron of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society has announced that King Charles III will continue to be patron of the charity.

The news follows a review of more than 1,000 royal patronages and charity presidencies by the Royal Household, following the King’s accession.

Queen Elizabeth II was patron of the society between 1952 and 1997 before King Charles III became the society’s patron as The Prince of Wales in 1998.

His Majesty last visited the Great Yorkshire Show, which is organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, with Queen Camilla in 2021.

Allister Nixon, CEO of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, said:

“We are honoured and delighted to receive confirmation that King Charles III will continue to be Patron of the Society. We feel deeply privileged and very much look forward to welcoming the King and Queen back to the Show in the future.”

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society is the charity which organises the Great Yorkshire Show and runs businesses on the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.

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Royal visitor to Great Yorkshire Show revealed

This year’s royal visitor to the Great Yorkshire Show will be the Duke of Gloucester, organisers have revealed.

The duke, who is a first cousin to the late Queen Elizabeth II, will make his first visit to England’s biggest agricultural show on its first day, Tuesday, July 11.

In 2021, King Charles III and The Queen Consort visited and last year it was the turn of Princess Anne, The Princess Royal.

The duke will be taken on a tour of the livestock and exhibits with show director Charles Mill and lord-lieutenant of North Yorkshire Jo Ropner.

Mr Mills said:

“We are delighted to welcome the Duke of Gloucester to the Great Yorkshire Show for the first time and look forward to showing him some of the highlights including horses, cattle and the latest in farming technology.”

Also attending on Tuesday will be some of the industry’s top-level leaders with MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

The chair of the cross-party environment, food and rural affairs committee, Sir Robert Goodwill MP, and committee members will launch a report on the merits and risks involved in species reintroductions in England.

TV presenter Adam Henson will then chair a discussion on the challenges and opportunities for the farming sector.

He will be joined on stage by: Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union; Mark Spencer, a minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Sir Robert Goodwill.

The show will run from Tuesday, July 11 to Friday, July 14.

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Column: A marriage that provided constancy through our challenges and joys

This column is written for the Stray Ferret by the Bishop of Ripon The Rt. Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, who reflects on the life of Prince Philip, his service to the nation and her experience of taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme: 

When I heard the news of the death of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh my mind was immediately taken back to my schooldays, and to the overnight expedition I took part in as part of my bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.

I am sure I am not alone in having such a memory.  These were definitely pre-internet days: myself and two friends had a map, a compass, and a carefully planned-out route.

We tramped through fields and forests, and set up our tent for the night in a field behind a pub somewhere in County Durham.

The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley

The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley

Thankfully it didn’t rain!  Corned beef hash was on the menu for dinner, and funnily enough I don’t think I’ve tried it since, which probably says less about my cooking skills aged 16 and more about developing food tastes as an adult!

Countless numbers of young people were pushed, challenged and in some cases saved by the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.

I read an article online following the Duke’s death, in which two men very much attributed the Award to setting them on the right path in life.  Maybe you have your own stories of taking part in expeditions, volunteering, learning a new skill?

HRH Prince Philip will perhaps best be remembered for his unwavering support of Her Majesty the Queen.  Married for 73 years (that’s amazing in itself), their lives witnessed so many ups and downs in global life: their constancy something of a foundational soundtrack to our own nation’s challenges and joys.

To live a life so much in the public eye, and at the same time to forge an identity filled with commitment to so many good causes: it’s hard to sum it up or do it justice in just a few paragraphs.

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HRH Prince Philip’s interest in the environment, sport, the armed forces (let’s not forget his own naval career), in agriculture and farming, to name but a few topics he was devoted to were in many ways commitments that underpinned so much of the uniqueness of our United Kingdom.

He will be remembered most of all however for a life lived in service and support of our Queen, our country, and the Commonwealth family of nations.  We salute and give thanks for him, and our love and prayers are with Her Majesty and all the Royal Family.