King Charles will make his first visit to Wales on Friday. The new head of state will visit the city with his wife Camilla Queen Consort as part of his tour of the UK to attend remembrance ceremonies. Charles and Camilla will travel to the Welsh capital on September 16, having already attended ceremonies in Belfast and Edinburgh.
They will be visiting for a thanksgiving service at Llandaff Cathedral followed by receptions at the Senedd and Cardiff Castle. They are expected to spend most of the afternoon in various engagements in the city.
Preparations have been underway in Llandaff throughout the week to prepare for the day. Llandaff Cathedral will be the first port of call on their visit to attend a remembrance service. The day after the Queen's death a notice was put outside the cathedral announcing that it had closed until further notice in order to prepare for the service.
Read more: How Llandaff is preparing to become the first place in Wales the new King will visit
Many streets in the area have been closed throughout the week, while residents have been told to move their cars ahead of the Royal visit. You can read more about that here. There are also airspace restrictions in Cardiff from 6am to 8pm on Friday, although Cardiff Airport has confirmed it will not be affected.
The King and Queen Consort's schedule
The King and Queen Consort will be greeted at Llandaff Cathedral by the Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan. A service of prayer and reflection for the life of the queen will be led by the Dean. The Archbishop will give the address and the First Minister will be called upon to give a reading.
The Bishop of Llandaff and interfaith leaders will lead the prayers. After the Service has taken place, the King and Queen Consort will undertake a short walkabout on Llandaff Green to meet with school children and members of the local community
The couple will then travel to the Senedd to receive a Motion of Condolence, where they will be greeted by the Llywydd and First Minister. They will then process into the Siambr, (the Senedd's debating chamber), accompanied by the First Minister and party leaders.
The First Minister will stand to propose the Motion of Condolence, the King will stand to reply and the Llywdd will close the session. After the session has taken place, the King and Queen consort will view condolence messages in the Cwrt Area and meet members of the Youth Parliament. They will greet Senedd Members in the Neuadd and, upon departure, will meet members of the public.
For their third engagement of the day, the King and Queen Consort will head to Cardiff Castle, where the King is expected to receive the First Minister of Wales and the Presiding Officer. The King and the Queen Consort will be met by the First Minister and Llywydd and will then proceed to the banqueting hall where they will join guests including representatives of Royal patronages and members of faith communities at a reception.
Where can you see the King?
Huge crowds are expected to line the streets of the capital to greet the King and Queen Consort to the city, with road closures put in place across Cardiff ahead of Friday. The Royal couple are expected to stop and speak with some members of the public in between their engagements, both outside the Senedd and within the castle grounds.
At Llandaff, members of the public are welcome to gather and watch the Royal Party arrive with Cardiff council confirming that plans are in place that are designed to facilitate this as much as possible. The area is expected to be incredibly busy on Friday morning, with accessibility for viewing potentially limited due to closures that have been imposed on surrounding roads.
Following the service, the Royal couple will then travel to the Senedd in the afternoon to receive a Motion of Condolence from the First Minister, Mark Drakeford. Upon leaving the Senedd, Their Majesties hope to greet some members of the public before they depart for Cardiff Castle.
Cardiff Council has said that the public are invited to line the route to welcome the Royal Party as it approaches Cardiff Castle in the afternoon and to wave goodbye as they depart. The motorcade will drive along St Mary Street en route to the Castle and it is expected large crowds will gather in advance of their arrival. Members of the public will also be welcomed into the grounds of Cardiff Castle to see the King and Queen Consort as they take part in their final engagement of the day.
Entry will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. The opening time for public entry through the Castle's main gate is yet to be confirmed, but people have been advised to expect very long queues from early in the day, with entry set to be restricted to around the first 2,000 people to arrive.
Once inside the Castle House, Their Majesties will meet representatives from Royal Patronages and members of the Faith Communities. The King will also hold a private audience with the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, and the Llywydd of the Senedd, Elin Jones. It is expected that his visit to Wales' capital city will end with The King and The Queen Consort greeting members of the public in the Castle grounds before departing.
Cardiff council have said that the Royal visit will be televised for those wanting to watch from home. However, exact details about listings are yet to be confirmed.
Road closures
There will be significant disruption to roads in the city throughout the day due to the visit.
City Centre
From 6am until 6pm on Friday (September 16), the following roads will be closed:
- North Road between Boulevard de Nantes and Kingsway
- Kingsway from North Road to Duke Street
- Duke Street throughout its length
- Castle Street throughout its length
- Wood Street between Westgate Street and St Mary Street
- St Mary Street from Custom House Street to High Street
- High Street throughout its length.
- Wood Street
- Westgate Street
- Cowbridge Road East between Westgate Street and Cathedral Road but access will be maintained.
As a contingency, if large crowds materialise, then the following road closures may be put in place:
- Lloyd George Avenue throughout its length
- Herbert Street between Lloyd George Avenue and Callaghan Square
- Callaghan Square from Dumballs Road to Bute Street
- Full length of St Mary Street until Callaghan Square.
Sophia Gardens
From 6am until 6pm on Friday, (September 16) , the following roads will be closed:
- Sophia Close – service users must use the pay&display can park accessed via Cowbridge Road East
- Limetree Avenue – exit for the campsite will be via Dogo Street
Llandaff (Cathedral)
The following roads are already closed and will not re-open to motor vehicles until Saturday, (September 17)
- High Street
- Heol Fair
- Cathedral Green
Access is currently being controlled into the area for those on foot, or on bike, with alternative parking available for motorists at the pay&display car park and on Fairwater Road. On-site staff are assisting the public and businesses with the road closure arrangements
From Thursday, (September 15) from 8pm until Friday "September 16" at 4pm, the following roads will be closed in their entirety:
- High Street
- Heol Fair
- Cathedral Green
- Heol-y-Pavin (access maintained)
- Bridge Street (access maintained)
If large crowds attend, the following roads will also be closed:
- Cardiff Road from the junction with Llantrisant Road to the junction with Western Avenue
- Fairwater Road to the junction with Pwllmelin Road (access maintained)
Cardiff Bay
The following roads are already closed and will not re-open to motor vehicles until Friday afternoon:
- Harbour drive
- Britannia Quay
How is public transport affected?
On Friday, train services into Cardiff are expected to be busy. The nearest train stations to Llandaff Cathedral are Waun-gron Park and Fairwater . However, Cardiff Council is recommending that passengers wishing to travel to Llandaff from Cardiff Central use a local bus service. Visit traveline.cymru for local bus timetables.
Bus services will be diverted while the city centre road closures are in place
People are being asked to visit the relevant bus operator's website for more information about your specific bus routes.
For Stagecoach services, visit here.
For Cardiff Bus services, visit here.
For NAT services, visit here.
Between Wednesday, September 14, and Friday morning on September 16, the drop off and pick-up point for National Express Services will be on Cathedral Road and not in Sophia Gardens.
Parking
There isn’t an event parking facility for this event, but all on-street parking is available in the city centre, Cardiff Bay and in the Civic Centre, as well as private car parks, including North Road Car Parks, St David's Shopping Centre, John Lewis, Capitol Shopping Centre, and NCP (Adam Street, Dumfries Place and Greyfriars Road.)
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