On February 17, 2012, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall attended the Royal Artillery Gold Cup at Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, Surry.  During her visit the Duchess met with the Military Wives Choir.  According to the Press Association the Duchess of Cornwall:

…heard the wives sing their number one hit, Wherever You Are, and met the group and service families during the tour in Esher, Surrey.

She was also introduced to War Horse author Michael Morpurgo and Topthorn – one of the puppets from the stage show – which playfully stole the writer’s red beret.

The Duchess then watched several races, including the Royal Artillery Gold Cup, from the Royal Box and presented trophies.

The cup is one of the oldest and most prestigious events in the racing calendar, having existed for nearly 150 years.

The inaugural event was in 1862 in Eltham. The race moved to Sandown for the first time in 1878 and has been run there every season since 1921.

The race is restricted to horses that are owned or have been leased by those who are serving, or have served, in the Royal Artillery or one of its recognised establishments or units.

The jockeys must be amateurs and they must also be past or present members of any of the Armed Services.

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Sources: Press Association and Royal.gov.uk

Per the Press Association:

The Prince of Wales has visited a community organisation to meet the people involved and learn about projects which are transforming lives in the area.

Charles went to the Bromley by Bow Centre in east London, which he last visited in 2002, to see how it has approached health, well-being and social enterprise in the last decade.

He met doctors and patients from the centre’s GP practice as well as staff and clients from the Pollen project, which offers therapeutic, horticultural and art-related activities for people with mental health issues.

He also chatted with staff and clients from Arteast, which runs design and print enterprises, along with social entrepreneurs who have recently set up their own businesses through the centre’s Beyond Business programme.

Each week the centre supports families, young people and adults of all ages to improve their lives in areas such as health and employment. There are more than 100 projects and social enterprises ongoing at the centre, including complimentary therapies, art studios, a nursery, community care projects, landscape design, graphic design, furniture, public art and a community café.

Charles planted a tree in the centre’s garden in memory of Vanessa Barker, who founded one of the Bromley by Bow’s successful social enterprises, Green Dreams, which was a landscape gardening project.

The centre’s assistant chief executive, Dr Julia Davis, showed the Prince around the health centre today and said they talked about some of the centre’s programmes.

“There were lots of community members that came for the whole event and I think they were really excited,” she said.

“He seemed very impressed with what we’ve done here and what we’ve developed since 2002. I hope he was impressed. You rarely get that chance to showcase your work. I think it brings the whole community together and when something like this happens, well, there was a lot of excitement here today.”

Lord Andrew Mawson, founder and president of the centre, said: “It’s been fantastic to welcome Prince Charles back to the Bromley by Bow Centre, and even more of an honour to introduce him to the people and partners that are helping us to transform lives here in Bow.”

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On February 16, 2012, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall participated in the event, “Improve Your English”, held at the St. James Park Tube Station in London.

The Duchess, who is patron of the National Literacy Trust, the Wicked Young Writers’ Award, Booktrust and First Story, met with “…Transport for London (TfL) employees who are taking part in Improve Your English course…”

During the event, the Duchess of Cornwall read an extract from Tony Parsons novel, Beyond The Bounty.  When asked how she felt reading aloud to the students the Duchess replied, “…it was nerve wrecking…”

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Sources: Press Association and Royal.gov.uk