KING Charles will be on the minds of many across Herefordshire and beyond this evening, as Buckingham Palace announces that he has been diagnosed with cancer.
This evening (February 5), Buckingham Palace said the King has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and has begun a schedule of regular treatments, and while he has postponed public duties he “remains wholly positive about his treatment”.
The King has had a long association with Herefordshire, and has paid many visits to the county over the years.
His visits have not only been on official royal duties, but also through his association with the county in his role as the head of the Duchy of Cornwall estate, which owns land across the county, and in other roles.
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Here, we have taken a look back at King Charles' visits to Herefordshire over the years.
King Charles visits the Royal National College for the Blind, Hereford, 2022
King Charles visits the Royal National College for the Blind, Hereford, 2022
His most recent, shortly after he became monarch, was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Hereford’s Royal National College for the Blind in December 2022. He had also visited the college years earlier, in 1979.
Opening the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford, 1979
The visit was seen as a celebration of the important role the Royal National College for the Blind plays in providing education and support to those with visual impairments.
Visiting Hereford Cathedral, Feb 22, 2022. Picture: Gordon Taylor, Hereford Cathedral
In February 2022, when he was still Prince of Wales, he was seen outside the Bishop's Palace, near Hereford Cathedral.
At Hereford Cathedral in 1998
It is believed he was in the area looking at the Duchy Estate, taking the opportunity while he was in the county to pay a visit to Hereford Cathedral, which he has paid many visits to over the years (pictured above and below on a visit in 1998).
A visit to the Mappa Mundi at Hereford Cathedral in 1998
In November 2019 he visited Ross-on-Wye to launch the Gilpin Festival 2020.
The Mayor of Ross, Jane Roberts, accompanied Prince Charles on his visit to Ross-on-Wye
He gave a speech at the Market House and during a walkabout delighted crowds of people who had turned out to greet him.
He also made a visit to Ditton Farm, home of Two Farmers Crisps, in St Owen's Cross in 2019.
Visiting Ditton Farm in Herefordshire. Photo: Two Farmers Crisps.
The biggest crowds were in 1985 when he visited Hereford with his then wife, Princess Diana.
The then Prince Charles and Princess Diana in Hereford, 1985
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