It was a day full of joy, excitement, kissing, and a little disappointment, as the crowds were treated to royal handshakes and sudden changes to royal routes.

Here we go through all the ups and downs of a day that will go down in history…

Early birds

As early as 07:00 members of the public had started to filter down to the seafront of St Peter Port, where the Royals were expected to arrive at by 11:10. 

We met some of those eager members of the public to hear about their reasons for getting to the front of the crowd.

“I came down here early to hopefully get a good view of his Majesty,” said Catherine.

5-year-old Marley came down dressed as the King. His mum told us that they’d got down to the front at 8:45 to make sure they were in the best place to wave to the Royals.

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Hundreds of people filled in behind barriers along the seafront.

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A little behind schedule

All eyes were on the sky as the King and Queen arrived in Guernsey on a helicopter, only slightly behind schedule.

They landed on the College Field to hundreds of school children and expectant faces.

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Pictured above: The Royals land in Guernsey (Credit – Chris George).

Despite planning to be in Town for 11:10 the King and Queen arrived just after 11:20. The Royal Standard flag was flown as they made their way to the seafront.

Deputies on display

On arrival the King and Queen were welcomed by a special sitting of the States Assembly, and the island’s deputies gathered to hear from His Majesty and offer up the odd handshake.

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Oysters and beer

The King and Queen then made their way down the Crown Pier, to see local dancers, eat local food, and try a tipple from a local bar. It was all about celebrating what is it to be from Guernsey and they ended their short tour with a tea party on the pier.

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The kiss

It was a day full of iconic moments, including one lady grabbing her chance to peck the King on the cheek.

Livestream?

Despite publishing a livestream of the seafront visit, the States of Guernsey were plagued with tech issues that shut down the online feed constantly.

The issue was a sore point for some members of the public who hadn’t been able to make it into town.

“So annoying for people who cannot get to town,” said Heather.  “We’re at work today so had the live stream on. It was shockingly poor,” added Paula.

Early in the livestream the States of Guernsey said: “You may have noticed that we are experiencing some streaming quality issues. We apologise to those trying to view the livestream. Thank you for your patience whilst the tech team try to resolve this. We will be sharing the uninterrupted recording later on.”

The streaming issues continued in a second broadcast from Les Cotils.

A quick route change

The King and Queen were expected to leave St Peter Port via Fountain Street and then up the Bordage as they departed for several royal engagements, including tree planting and a meeting with Guernsey Finance.

It was certainly what hundreds of members of the public thought, unfortunately they were left dismayed as the Royals peeled off up the Val de Terres instead. 

Bailiwick Law Enforcement have since published the following explanation:

“Today, the route taken by Their Majesties as they left Town was changed at very short notice so they did not travel up Fountain Street.

“This decision was taken because an unidentified, unattended package was found near Sports Direct, which could have posed a security risk.
“It was a decision taken by His Majesty the King’s security detail, and was beyond the control of our officers.

“We know many people were disappointed by this route change, however we hope that the community understands that security is paramount during events such as this.”

Some pictures of the day courtesy of Chris George and John Fitzgerald…

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Les Cotils and a bustling Cambridge Park

Throughout the day there were refreshments, children’s entertainment and creative activities available at Cambridge Park, with big screens showing the livestream of events on the St Peter Port seafront.

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The Royals passed a jam-packed Cambridge Park on their way to Les Cotils, where they met representatives from Sark and Alderney. 

The King gave the following address to representatives from Alderney: 

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Pictured: The King meeting children from Alderney.

The King and Queen also met with representatives from Sark – with the King being overheard saying “I’m really annoyed we didn’t get over there!”

The Royals met dozens of people, including some of Sark’s emergency services: 

Ending on the GOAT

The visit ended on a real high when His Majesty officially elevated the iconic Golden Guernsey Goat to the Royal Golden Guernsey Goat.

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And just like that, the day drew to a close. You can see a round up of all the celebrations below:

Till next time…

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