Court Circular

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

2 December: Dame Ninette de Valois was received by The Queen when Her Majesty invested her with the Insignia of a Member of the Order of Merit.

Sir Edward Ford (Secretary and Registrar of the Order of Merit) was in attendance.

His Excellency Sayed Ali Mohammed Osman Yassin was received in audience by The Queen and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Republic of the Sudan to the Court of St James's.

His Excellency was accompanied by the following members of the Embassy:

Sayed Ahmed Omer Ahmed (Minister Plenipotentiary); Sayed Abdel Wahab Ahmed Mohamed Osman (Information Counsellor); Sayed Sulieman Mohamed Mustafa (Counsellor); Sayed Ahmed Fedail Mahgoub Fedail (Counsellor); Sayed Mirghani Abaker Bakheit (Second Secretary); Sayed Eldirdiri Ahmed Mohamed Hussein (Second Secretary) and Sayed Babiker El Siddig Mohamed El Amin (Third Secretary).

Sir David Gillmore (Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) was present and the Household in Waiting were in attendance.

Admiral Sir Jock Slater was received in audience by Her Majesty upon relinquishing his appointment as Commander-in-Chief Fleet.

Sir Michael Atiyah was received by The Queen when Her Majesty invested him with the Insignia of a Member of the Order of Merit.

Sir Edward Ford (Secretary and Registrar of the Order of Merit) was in attendance.

The President of the Italian Republic and his daughter, Signorina Marianna Scalfaro, this afternoon visited The Queen.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Patron, this evening attended a Dinner given by the London Federation of Boys' Clubs at the Lanesborough Hotel, London SW1.

Brigadier Miles Hunt-Davis was in attendance.

By Command of The Queen, the Viscount St Davids, Lord-in-Waiting, was present at Royal Air Force Northolt this morning upon the Arrival of The President of the Italian Republic and welcomed His Excellency on behalf of Her Majesty.

2 December: Prince Edward, Patron, the Scottish Badminton Union, this morning attended the Triangular International Badminton Match - Wales, Scotland and Ireland - and afterwards was entertained to Lunch by the Welsh Badminton Union at the Afan Lido Sports Centre, Port Talbot, and was received by Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for West Glamorgan (Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Michael Llewellyn).

His Royal Highness, Chairman, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Special Project Group, this afternoon visited the Open Award Centre at Swansea City Association Football Club and Olchfa at Gowler Road, Sketty, Swansea.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sean O'Dwyer was in attendance.

The Prince Edward, Trustee, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, this evening attended a Presentation and Dinner for the Young Presidents Organisation at St James's Palace.

Mrs Richard Warburton was in attendance.

2 December: The Princess Royal, President, the British Olympic Association, this morning attended the National Olympic Committee Meeting at Queen's Club, Palliser Road, London W14.

Her Royal Highness, President, Royal Yachting Association, this afternoon attended a Council Meeting at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge, London SW1.

The Princess Royal, Commandant in Chief, St John Ambulance and Nursing Cadets, this evening attended the St John Sparkling Starlight Ball and Dinner at the Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, London W1.

Mrs Ritchie was in attendance.

CLARENCE HOUSE

2 December: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother this morning visited the Royal Smithfield Show at Earl's Court.

The Lady Margaret Colville and Major Sir Ralph Anstruther Bt were in attendance.

KENSINGTON PALACE

2 December: The Prince of Wales, President, The Prince's Trust, this morning attended the 'Young Offenders' Conference at Pentonville Prison, London N7.

His Royal Highness, President, Business in the Community, subsequently visited Community Links at 105 Barking Road, London E16.

The Prince of Wales, President, The Prince's Youth Business Trust, this afternoon attended a trade event with The Prince's Youth Business Trust businesses and their advisers at Queen Mary and Westfield College, Mile End Road, London E1.

Finally, His Royal Highness met staff, students and graduates of the Urban Learning Foundation and also staff and graduates of the Windsor Fellowship at 56 East India Dock Road, London E14.

Mr Hugh Merrill was in attendance.

The Prince of Wales this evening attended a Concert to mark Coutts and Company's Tercentenary in the Garden Court, 440 Strand, London WC2.

Miss Belinda Harley was in attendance.

His Royal Highness later received the Right Hon John Major MP (Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury).

The Princess of Wales, Patron, Turning Point, this morning attended a Reception at the House of Lords, Palace of Westminster, London SW1.

Mr Patrick Jephson was in attendance.

YORK HOUSE

2 December: The Duke of Kent, President, this afternoon attended the Business and Technology Education Council's Student of the Year Medal Award Ceremony at the Institute of Civil Engineers, Great George Street, London SW1.

Captain the Hon Tom Coke was in attendance.

His Royal Highness this evening attended a Classic FM Concert at Spencer House, St James's Place, London SW1, in aid of the Thomas Coram Foundation.

Commander Roger Walker RN was in attendance.

The Duchess of Kent, Patron of the Samaritans, this evening attended a 'Faberge from Private Collections' Exhibition at Wartski, Grafton Street, London W1.

Mrs David Napier was in attendance.

THATCHED HOUSE LODGE

2 December: Princess Alexandra and the Hon Sir Angus Ogilvy this evening attended the 40th Annual Ball of the British-American-Canadian Associates at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London W1.

Rear-Admiral Sir John Garnier was in attendance.

Luncheon

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh held a Lunch Party yesterday at Buckingham Palace. The guests were:

Mrs Stella Rimington (Director General of Security Service); Professor Carol Seymour (Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, St George's Hospital Medical School); Mr Linford Christie (Captain, British Olympic Team); Sir Christopher France (Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence); Sir John Hall (Chairman, Cameron Hall Developments); Sir Derek Hornby (Chairman, British Overseas Trade Board); Sir Brian Nicholson (Chairman, the Post Office); Mr Graham Taylor (England Football Team Manager).

ROYAL ENGAGEMENTS

The Queen visits Oxford. The Duke of Edinburgh, Trustee, attends a Meeting and Lunch at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. The Queen Mother dines at the Middle Temple. The Prince of Wales visits France. The Princess of Wales, Patron of English National Ballet and the Foundation for Conductive Education, attends the Nutcracker Ball at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London SW1. The Princess Royal re-opens the Wellcome Building, London NW1; and, as Patron, the British School of Osteopathy, attends the Annual Degree Awards Ceremony at St Martins-in-the-Fields, London WC1, and attends the 75th Anniversary graduation reception at St James's Palace. Princess Margaret, President, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, opens the West Merseyside Child Protection Team's new building in Wavertree, Liverpool; and attends a Gala Performance of Les Miserables at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. The Duchess of Gloucester opens the 10th Annual Conference of the Federation of Army Wives at Churchill Hall, RMA Sandhurst, Berkshire. The Duchess of Kent, Patron, Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund, attends a fund- raising dinner at the Banqueting House, London SW1.

Changing of the Guard

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment mounts the Queen's Life Guard at Horse Guards, 11am; 1st Battalion The King's Regiment mounts the Queen's Guard, at Buckingham Palace, 11.30am, band of the Irish Guard.