Court Circular

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

16 February: His Excellency Senor Patricio Maldonado 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 Ecuador to the Court of St James's.

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

Dr Francisco Carrion Mena (Minister), Captain Mario Pinto (Naval Attache), Senora Soledad de Valencia (First Secretary), Senor Rolando Suarez (Second Secretary) and Senor Jose Miguel Barra (Commercial Attache).

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

His Excellency Mr Hiroshi Kitamura and Mrs Kitamura were received in farewell audience by Her Majesty and took leave upon his Excellency relinquishing his appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from Japan to the Court of St James's.

Sir Peter Hall (Her Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic) and Lady Hall were received by The Queen.

The Queen, Patron, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, this afternoon opened the newly restored building of the Royal College of Pathologists, 2 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1, and was received by the President (Professor Alastair Bellingham) and the Chairman, Appeal Committee (Sir Christopher Benson).

Her Majesty and His Royal Highness toured the building and The Queen afterwards unveiled a commemorative plaque.

The Duchess of Grafton, Mr Robin Janvrin and Major James Patrick were in attendance.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Patron and Trustee, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, later attended a Duke of Edinburgh's International Association Reception for the RTZ Corporation at 19 St James's Square, London SW1.

Major Charles Richards was in attendance.

16 February: The Prince Edward, Trustee, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, this morning attended a meeting at Buckingham Palace.

16 February: The Princess Royal, President, Royal Yachting Association, this afternoon attended a Council Meeting at the Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge, London SW1.

Her Royal Highness, Chief Commandant for Women in The Royal Navy, accompanied by Commander Timothy Lawrence RN, this evening attended the Mountbatten Festival of Music 1994, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7.

CLARENCE HOUSE

16 February: Commandant Anne Spencer today had the honour of being received by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Commandant-in-Chief, Women, Royal Navy, upon relinquishing her appointment as Director, Women's Royal Naval Service.

ST JAMES'S PALACE

16 February: The Prince of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief, The Parachute Regiment, this morning received Colonel John Holland upon relinquishing his appointment as Honorary Colonel, 10th (Volunteer) Battalion, and Major General Michael Jackson upon assuming the appointment.

KENSINGTON PALACE

16 February: The Duchess of Gloucester, Patron, National Asthma Campaign, was present this morning at the first National Conference on Asthma Education and Management at Kensington Town Hall, London W8.

Mrs Howard Page was in attendance.

Luncheon

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

Miss Elizabeth Blackadder (artist); Rabbi Julia Neuberger (Chairman, Bloomsbury, Camden and Islington Community NHS Trust); Mr Tom Conti (actor); Professor Simon Lee (Professor of Jurisprudence, Queen's University, Belfast); Professor David London (Registrar, Royal College of Physicians); Mr Bill Morris (General Secretary, Transport and General Workers' Union); Mr Geraint Stanley Jones (Chairman, Board of Governors, Welsh College of Music and Drama); Air Chief Marshal Sir John Thomson (Commander-in-Chief, Strike Command).

ROYAL ENGAGEMENTS

The Queen holds an investiture. The Duke of Edinburgh, President, National Playing Fields Association, attends a lunch at Coopers and Lybrand, London WC2. The Duke of Gloucester, President, St Bartholomew's Hospital, opens the new Magnetic Resonance Computered Scanner, at the hospital, London EC1. The Duke of Kent, Patron, British Computer Society, attends the ceremony of Awards Presentation at the Royal Society, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1; and as President, Imperial War Museum, opens the D-Day exhibition, London SE1. Prince Michael of Kent, President, Society of Genealogists, addresses the Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society at Clare College, Cambridge.

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 provided by the Scots Guards / the King's Regiment.

Windsor Castle

The Precincts and State Apartments at Windsor Castle open between 10am and 4pm.