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Today's Royal visit might have been wet, wet, wet, but King Charles III and Queen Camilla had the warmest of welcomes extended to them as they arrived in the island today – and His Majesty returned the sentiment.
Welcoming the King and Queen Camilla to Jersey at a Special Sitting of the States Assembly in the Royal Square, the Bailiff Sir Timothy Le Cocq said Jersey's loyalty to the Crown remained “constant and strong”.
Here's his Loyal address, and King Charles III's response...
Your Majesty,
We, Your Majesty's loyal subjects, bid the warmest of welcomes on behalf of the people of Jersey to Your Majesty and to Her Majesty The Queen in your first visit to the Island following your accession to the throne.
At Royal Square, Their Majesties joined a special sitting of the States Assembly, the island’s parliament comprising 49 elected members.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 15, 2024
Addressing the Assembly, The King said:
"Jersey has one of the oldest connections to the Crown and we are delighted to be here once again to… pic.twitter.com/ExNXAcwrOw
We are deeply appreciative that, in the midst of many Royal duties, you have agreed to honour us by your visit and by attending this special sitting of the States Assembly.
It is not often the States, or indeed Members of the Royal Court, gather outside of their respective chambers but on this occasion it is fitting for us to be gathered together in a historic and significant place, the Royal Square, the old marketplace renamed in 1751 following the erection of the statue of King George II. This square has played a central part in island life for the last eight hundred years.
As Your Majesty will know, it was here your Royal predecessor King Charles II was proclaimed King, a full eleven years before he was so recognised in his other realms. It was in this place that the Battle of Jersey reached its conclusion in 1781 preserving Jersey as a dependency of the Crown.
Video: The visit in full was live-streamed to audiences in Jersey and around the world.
Here too a predecessor Bailiff gladly proclaimed our freedom when the forces of your Royal Grandfather King George VI liberated the island from enemy occupation at the end of the second world war. In 1952 we proclaimed the accession to the throne of Your Late Mother Queen Elizabeth II, much loved and admired by the people of this Island, and here that in 2022 I had the honour of proclaiming Your Majesty's accession to the throne.
Your Majesty has visited us in Jersey a number of times before firstly as a student and then to celebrate important occasions and of course we fondly remember
when Your Majesties visited us in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee.
In 1204 our ancestors pledged their loyalty to King John, whom they continued to regard as the lawful Duke of Normandy, and were rewarded with privileges and liberties which endure to this day and have been renewed in successive Royal Charters. The seedlings of our special constitutional identity were planted and they have been nurtured down the centuries by Royal protection and by the loyalty, resilience and independence of spirit of the Jersey people.
Our relationship, with the United Kingdom, though important to us, lies in its constitutional essence through the person of the Sovereign. We value that history and our traditions, one of which will shortly take place in the ceremonial sitting of the Royal Court, but we also embrace the new, as we grow and develop as a community reaching out into the wider world by our active participation - amongst other things - in the Commonwealth, Overseas Aid and playing our part in conservation and combatting climate change.
The loyalty of Islanders towards the Crown has remained constant and strong. For the people of Jersey, Your Majesty is not only a symbol of order and stability but also an admirable exemplar of a progressive and thoughtful leader. Your Majesty's continued patronage of a number of charities and societies demonstrates your support for island institutions which encourage community engagement and participation in heritage.
We are delighted also to have the opportunity to pay tribute to Her Majesty The Queen whose hard work, constancy and support of Your Majesty is respected and admired by Jersey people.
Members of the States and all here rejoice in this opportunity of expressing the deep affection, loyalty and respect towards Your Majesty and Your Majesty's Royal House.
In the traditional words that reach back into our history and recognise Your Majesty's unique position in the hearts of Islanders and in our history as our Sovereign and Duke:
Vive Le Roi, Notre Duc! Vive La Reine! God Save The King!
Mr Bailiff,
I am most grateful to you and to the States for the warm welcome you have extended to both my wife and myself, and for the assurances of devotion, loyalty and allegiance to the Crown you have expressed on behalf of the people of Jersey. My wife and I have such happy recollections of the welcome we received when we were last here in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of my late mother.
During that visit, we met so many islanders and learned of the high regard and affection in which she was held, and also a great deal about your beautiful and unique island. We look forward to doing so again today during our time here in St Helier.
It is particularly special to know that I am standing here today in the place where you, Mr Bailiff, read the proclamation to announce my accession to the throne, the same spot where my late mother’s proclamation was read and that too, as you were saying, of King Charles II in 1649, long before he was acknowledged in other parts of the realm; so this truly is an historic place.
Jersey has one of the oldest connections to the Crown and we are delighted to be here once again to celebrate the special and the close relationship which binds us together. I pray that the blessing of almighty God will attend all your deliberations for the benefit and prosperity of this island.
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