Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall to visit Ashanti kingdom

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall's will on Sunday, November 4, visit the Ashanti kingdom.

The Ashanti Kingdom visit is part of the four-day official visit of the Royals to Ghana.

A statement issued by the British High Commission in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the Royals would visit Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Kingdom, a historic region with a strong connection to the United Kingdom.

It said this was The Prince of Wales’ second visit to the Ashanti Kingdom, and the first for The Duchess of Cornwall.

It said the Royals would meet Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene and his wife, Lady Julia Osei Tutu, at the Manhyia Palace.

The statement said they would have a guided tour of the Palace Museum and see many of the treasured artefacts that tell the story of the Ashanti people and the shared Anglo-Ashanti history.

It said at the Palace, the Royals would participate in a Grand Durbar, the ‘Akwesidae’.

It said this spectacular occasion, would showcase the rich culture of the Ashanti people.

It said the Royals would enjoy a cultural display and traditional music in the company of the Asantehene, local chiefs, religious leaders and guests from across the Ashanti kingdom.

The statement said a visit to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) would give the Royals the opportunity to meet with academics and students from one of Ghana’s most prominent universities.

It said to celebrate the occasion, The Prince of Wales would plant a tree on the campus grounds, alongside Ghanaian alumni from the Commonwealth Scholarships programme.

The statement said the University would also host The Duchess of Cornwall and Lady Julia for The Royal Commonwealth Society Africa’s reading circle initiative and observe innovative learning materials and methods developed with the support of the UK Government’s Department for International Development.

It said the Duchess of Cornwall would visit the National Cultural Centre, alongside Lady Julia, where she would meet artisans who make traditional Ghanaian crafts such as kente cloth weavers, potters and bead-makers and learn about how the centre preserves the traditional techniques so that these crafts remain part of Ghana’s heritage for generations to come.

It said separately, The Prince of Wales would visit a cocoa farm on the outskirts of the city to see how traditional cocoa farming practices are becoming more sustainable and environmentally sound.

The statement said the visit was part of a broader initiative by The Prince of Wales to engage industry on reducing the deforestation attributed to cocoa farming in Ghana.

It said he would also visit the new Kejetia market – a site that would soon house the 10,000+ market traders that makeup West Africa’s largest open market.