Royal visits

The Lieutenancy is responsible for making the arrangements for a visit to Hampshire by a member of the Royal Family.

How to request a visit

A Royal Visit is a memorable occasion which honours the work and achievements of an organisation or community. It is an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the different ways in which people have been involved in either a special piece of work or occasion. These visits are an important part of the Royal Family’s role and are much valued by those organisations that are fortunate enough to receive such a visit.

Many of the visits are connected to charities and other organisations with which members of the Royal Family are associated. For further information about Members of the Royal Family and the charities or organisations they support visit the Royal Family website.

Extending an invitation

Invitations to members of the Royal Family may be made in a number of ways:

Invitations can be extended through the Lieutenancy office and submitted to specific members of the Royal Family on an organisation’s behalf. It is important to remember that an invitation can only be extended to one Royal at a time. If in doubt the Lieutenancy office will advise as to who may be the most appropriate member of the Royal Family to approach and will give advice regarding dates as it is not unusual to start the process up to 12 months in advance.

Alternatively, any Patronage requests should be extended direct to the relevant Royal Household, via the Private Secretary. When using this route, it would be much appreciated if a copy of the invitation could be sent to the Lieutenancy office for their information. Include as much information as possible but try to keep it concise.

If the invitation involves a visit to a new or refurbished building, it is vital that the work is fully completed and operational before the member of the Royal Family visits. Such invitations need to be put forward for a date well after completion to ensure that everything is in place. This sometimes means that the Royal visit does not take place until sometime after the building or project has opened but that is quite usual.

Hosting a Royal visit

If you are fortunate to have an invitation accepted, the appropriate Royal Household will inform the Lord-Lieutenant and the organisation of a date when the member of the Royal Family wishes to visit.

At this early stage of the proceedings, all details relating to the venue and the visit are STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL and no details should be given to anyone that is not involved in the planning of the visit.

The Lieutenancy office will work with the organisation and will arrange to meet with the hosts to work on a draft programme for submission to the Royal Household. Detailed information on how to help with the arrangements of a Royal Visit can be found in the Royal Visit guide.

Once the Royal Visit is confirmed and all arrangements are in place, the details of the visit will be included on the official Royal Family website. At this stage the visit can then be discussed openly.