On Tuesday, March 17, 2015, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh opened the new £4.8 milliom Mary Tealby kennels at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London, England.

Since 1860 the organization has “…been rescuing, reuniting and rehoming lost, abandoned and unwanted animals…” Her Majesty The Queen is patron of the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home since 1956.

According to a press release the new:

“…canine facilities will play a vital role in supporting the dogs during their early days at Battersea, improving and speeding up their journey towards a loving new home.

[The kennels will also] replace the noisy and out-dated Victorian facilities that were closed in 2012 after providing a home to around one million dogs over the centuries. The new block, designed by Battersea and award-winning architects Jonathan Clark Associates and delivered by contractor Lakehouse will provide accommodation for 56 dogs. The focus is on providing a quiet, calming environment for the Home’s most vulnerable dogs. Each kennel has built in speakers to play calming music and an external run area, whilst adjoining paddocks have paddling pools, climbing mounds, play equipment, and plants to awaken and interest dogs’ senses.

The new kennels will help Battersea respond to an all-time high demand for its services. In the past three years, the charity has seen an 84% increase in calls from owners wanting to give up their dogs to the rescue. Accommodation issues such as eviction and downsizing are the most common reasons, and around 13 dogs arrive at the Home’s three centres every single day.”

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On Tuesday, March 17, 2015, Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Irish Guards at Mons Barracks, Aldershot, Hampshire.

During today’s visit the lovely presented “…shamrocks to officers and guardsmen of the regiment and pinned a traditional sprig on the silver collar of the regiment’s beloved mascot, Irish wolfhound Domhnall.”

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On February 25, 2015, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited the offices of the London Evening Standard newspaper in Kensington, London, England.  And, that’s it.

Please click here for more information about today’s visit.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images/J.Selwyn

On February 11, 2015, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall visited the 4th Battalion, The Rifles, at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire, England.

According to Clarence House, today’s visit:

“…marked Her Royal Highnesses’s last visit to the regiment at their current base, before they move to new headquarters at Aldershot later this year.  The Duchess [also] toured the Vehicle Instruction Shed, where she was shown some of the armoured vehicles used by the regiment.

Her Royal Highness inspected the vehicles, before hopping in to a Jackall and later a Mastiff, both used by the British Army.

The Duchess [then] moved on to the on-site Boxing Gym, where she met a number of Boxers who had competed against the Parachute Regiment in a boxing match in Colchester last night.

Her Royal Highness climbed through the ropes to talk to two of the men who had just been taking part in a boxing demonstration.

Moving outside, The Duchess met the Support Company, who talked through some of the armoury that they are currently using.

Ending her visit, The Duchess, who was wearing her regimental green coat and brooch, joined servicemen and women and their families for a reception in the Barrack Hub.”

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On January 27, 2015, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attended the Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony held at the Central Hall Westminster in London, England.

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On January 20, 2015, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall met with BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show presenter, Mr. Chris Evans, following the launch of the 2015 children’s short story-writing competition, 500 Words, at Clarence House in London, England.

According to a press release the aim of the competition is to:

“…help find the UK’s most talented young writers, with the final of the competition taking place at St James’s Palace in May 2015.  [Marking the launch of the competition] The Duchess of Cornwall will also attend a special ‘500 WORDS Story Laboratory’ in Weston Park Primary School, London on Wednesday 21 January.

As part of the competition, entrants aged 13 and under have to compose an original work of fiction no longer than 500 words. Hopeful entrants should apply via the Radio 2 website – bbc.co.uk/500words. The writers of the top 50 stories will be invited to attend a broadcast of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show that will be broadcast live on Friday 29 May, 2015 from St James’s Palace.

The six lucky winners will be announced live on air and will get to hear their stories read out by a famous narrator. Last year saw names including Sherlock himself Benedict Cumberbatch, Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville and Paloma Faith take part.

The judging panel for 2015 includes head judge Richard Hammond, the highly acclaimed author of the Horrid Henry series, Francesca Simon, best-selling authors Charlie Higson, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman.”

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Photo courtesy of Getty Images/WPA Pool