Prince Charles and Camilla visited the Isles of Scilly today, July 2, 2009. The group of more than 50 islands and islets are located southwest of Cornwall. The biggest islands are St. Mary’s and Tresco, both of which were on the royal couple’s tour.

Among the stops of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall’s visit were the Gig Boat Club,Trenoweth Horticultural Centre, and the Harbour Quay. The royal couple boarded a boat to get from St. Mary’s to Tresco. At one point, the Duchess had to take off her shoes, probably to avoid getting them stuck in the sand.

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Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are on their annual Summer Tour of Wales. The royal couple, who own a farmhouse estate in Wales called Llwynywermod, started their visits on June 23, 2009 at Brecon. On June 24, they went to the Ecodysgu holistic education center in Tondu.

Ecodysgu, a holistic community-based education center, is the winner of this year’s award for the best integrated health project in the UK, given by The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health. Ecodysgu offers workshops set in 42 acres that include woodland and pasture. It is also the winner of The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services.

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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, officially opened the Healthy Bones Service of Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon on June 9, 2009. The service includes the new Healthy Bones Mobile DEXA Unit, which was launched on the same day.

The mobile unit was added to the facility in order to bring bone density scanning services to people who do not have immediate access to hospitals, such as those in rural areas or who have transportation issues. These scans are necessary to monitor bone health and prevent osteoporosis.

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Prince Charles, and Camilla joined the congregation at Westminster Abbey for the Commemoration, Celebration and Rededication Service of the 90th Anniversary of Combat Stress today, May 12, 2009.

The Combat Stress organization was founded in 1919 to aid soldiers who fought in World War I. It has since helped more than 100,000 military veterans through clinics and outreach services. Among the conditions that the organization treats are Post Traumatic Stress, depression and anxiety. 

The Prince of Wales is Patron of Combat Stress, after his grandmother The Queen Mother. In his speech, he briefly reviewed the history of the organization and launched “a new appeal to raise twenty million pounds over the next three years”.

Image: INF; via Prince of Wales website

Prince Charles, Camilla, and Prince Andrew gathered with Royal Navy servicemen to celebrate a century of naval aviation on May 8, 2009.

A Service of Thanksgiving was held at St Paul’s Cathedral, followed by a parade composed of Royal Guards from HMS Illustrious and veterans of the Royal Navy. The 6,749 personnel from the Royal Navy Air Service and Fleet Air Arm who have died in service over the past 100 years were commemorated.

After the service and parade, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke of York joined servicemen and their families at a reception at London’s Guildhall.

More photos after the jump:

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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, welcomed the new season with a new grandstand at Epsom Downs Racecourse today, April 22, 2009.

The‘Duchess’s Stand’, which has a capacity of 11,000, is most significant portion of a three year, £38 million project at the racecourse. The facility is an addition to the Queen’s Stand and the Prince’s Stand.

The Duchess enjoyed the venue’s first race of the season after meeting with Epsom schoolchildren and racegoers.

image: Newscom

Clarence House has released the official “List of gifts given to TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on official overseas tours during 2008”.

Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall had two overseas trips last year:

1) Caribbean Islands (March 3-14, 2008) – Trinidad and Tobago, St ucia, Montserrat, Jamaica
2) Japan, Brunei, Indonesia (October 26 to November 5, 2008)

Among the gifts that the couple received were DVDs and CDs, books, paintings, a box of volcanic ash and sand, coffee and wine. Prince Charles also received batik ties, an acoustic guitar, organic honey, and a metal cufflinks and tie clip set. The Duchess received some accessories, including a gold and tourmaline brooch from the First Lady of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and a a set of jewelry from a member of the royal family of Brunei.

The British Royal Family is required to disclose all gifts given to them during official visits.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

Three days before Christmas, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall spread cheer at separate charities. Prince Charles opened the new building at the Cotswold Care Hospice in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire on December 22, 2008. The Duchess of Cornwall visited the Emmaus charity shop in Nailsworth, also in Gloucestershire.

Prince Charles chats with one of the patients at the Cotsworld Care Hospice on December 22, 2008.

Prince Charles is the patron of the Cotsworld Care Hospice, which officially opened in 1990. The new £2.8million facility can provide care for 100 patients every week.

“This care building has made a great difference to all the people here”, said Prince Charles. “The staff here make a huge difference to all the patients that come in. It is pleasing this remarkable service can be provided in this part of the county.”

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Prince Charles and Camilla joined other European dignitaries in commemorating the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I today, Tuesday, November 11, 2008. They had arrived in Paris on Monday and had dinner with France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy at Elysee Palace.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy welcome Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales at the Elysee Palace on November 10, 2008 in Paris, France.

Tuesday’s Armistice Day ceremony was held in Douaumont, near the site of the Battle of Verdun, where about 300,000 soldiers died. Prince Charles, Australia’s governor-general Quentin Bryce, Sarkozy and Germany’s Peter Mueller laid wreaths at the site’s memorial.

A ceremony at London’s Cenotaph was held with the three surviving British WWI veterans attending. The three veterans are Henry Allingham, 112, Harry Patch, 110 and Bill Stone, 108, from the RAF, Army and the Royal Navy, respectively. The Duchess of Gloucester, patron of the World War I Veterans Association, represented the royal family at the Cenotaph ceremony.

A separate program was held at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Alrewas, Staffordshire. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent attended this event on behalf of the Queen.

via BBC; image credit: Newscom

HRH Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall

Born as: Camilla Rosemary Shand

Birthday: July 17, 1947 at King’s College Hospital, London

Royal House:  The House of Windsor (The British Royal Family) 

Parents: Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand (1917-2006) and Hon. Rosalind Maud Shand (née Cubitt) (1921-1994)

Siblings: Annabel Elliot (née Shand) and Mark Shand (b. 1951)

First marriage: To Andrew Parker Bowles (wedding: 1973), with whom she had two children: Tom Parker Bowles (b. 1974) and Laura Rose Lopes (née Parker Bowles) (b. 1978). They divorced on March 3, 1995.