THE King’s representative in Jersey has said that he is ‘very hopeful’ that the new monarch will visit in the ‘near future’ and Islanders should ‘watch this space’.
The Lieutenant-Governor, Vice-Admiral Jerry Kyd, shared his enticing prediction with a crowd of Islanders who had accepted his invitation to join him and his wife, Dr Karen Kyd, at Government House on Friday evening to mark the King’s official birthday.
In a speech on the lawn at the first birthday reception for a king since June 1951, Vice-Admiral Kyd spoke about the Island’s enduring relationship with the Crown.
He added that King Charles III had a long affection for the Island which had begun in 1968, when he visited as a Cambridge undergraduate and had been demonstrated recently with his donation of seven heifers to help restock the herd decimated by illness at Woodlands Farm.
The reception featured music by La Ronde Concert Band, a 21-gun salute by the 1781 Jersey Militia, and a marching display and a beating retreat by the Band of the Island of Jersey.
The Lieutenant-Governor also congratulated the five Islanders who were recognised in the King’s birthday honours list – Jennifer Bridge MBE, Jason Hamon MBE, Bill Harris MBE, Roy McDonald BEM and Stuart Crossan, Royal Victorian Medal (Silver).
