London | United Kingdom
Following their recent marriage, the Duchess of Sussex has been center stage and has already started her royal duty of public service in her newly acquired role within the British royal family. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex made her first royal appearance when she and her husband, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace. Subsequently, the palace has announced that The Duchess of Sussex and The Queen will enjoy their first joint engagements later this week.
On June 14th, The Duchess of Sussex is set to visit Chesire where she and Her Majesty the Queen will open the Storyhouse theatre. The theatre acts as a library, community centre and cinema. Formerly an Odeon cinema, the Storyhouse theatre underwent a two-and-a-half-year refurbishment at a total cost of £37m.
Built in the 1930s and closed in 2007, the building is an expansive Art Deco Grade-II listed property and originally served as an Odeon cinema. The reinvented building will be operated by arts group Chester Performs and has been designed to run as an 18-hour-a-day flexible space. According to True North, Storyhouse is set to become the biggest cultural space being built outside of London.
During their visit to the theatre, The Duchess of Sussex and The Queen will meet performers, as well as unveil a plaque in order to commemorate the theatre’s officially opening. Andrew Bentley, chief executive of Storyhouse stated:
“This amazing visit has been made possible by the tremendous support we have in Chester and in the region and is testament to the degree to which our community has taken us to their hearts and for that we are immensely grateful and proud.”
The Duchess of Sussex and The Queen will also visit the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre, a museum that describes itself as “putting the fun in science.”
After that? A visit to the new bridge between Runcorn and Widnes that opened in October. The palace further stated that Her Majesty and Her Royal Highness will continue on and attend a lunch held at Chester Town Hall alongside local leaders and dignitaries.
The Queen’s invitation for the Duchess to attend the opening of the theatre with her shows The Queen’s faith in the Duchess and serves as a personal welcome into her new royal duties.
Before the Duchess of Sussex attends her first royal visit with The Queen, she and The Duke of Sussex, alongside many of the other members of the Royal family, will appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on June 9th as they celebrate the Queen’s birthday during the Trooping the Colour.
