Sun shines for King and Queen during royal visit to Guernsey

King Charles III has thanked islanders for coming to see him and Queen Camilla during their visit to Guernsey as part of a two-day trip to the Channel Islands.

The King and Queen were welcomed by sunshine as opposed to their rainy reception in Jersey on Monday.

Upon landing via helicopter from Jersey, the royal couple were greeted with a 21-gun salute at Castle Cornet and thousands of people lining the seafront.

During a special States sitting, the King said he was “so very grateful” for the warm welcome he and his wife had received and remembered their last visit to the Bailiwick of Guernsey in 2012.

He said: “We were fortunate to meet so many islanders on that occasion and to see so clearly the great regard and affection for her late Majesty.

“We are delighted to be able to return once again and we look forward to meeting more people from the wonderful islands.”

The King and Queen were able to meet a variety of islanders showcasing Guernsey trades at the Crown Pier expo.

Trevor Bourgaize, president of La Societe Guernesiaise, said the King was “very pleasant, very knowledgeable and just encouraged us to carry on the good work”.

The expo opened to islanders after the royal couple left.

The King and Queen met many of the people lined up along the St Peter Port seafront.

Some islanders in the crowds described the atmosphere as “amazing” and “fabulous”.

Tim Milehan said he joked with the King, saying “we have better weather here than in Jersey”, and Beatrice, eight, said she thought it was “really nice they finally get to visit Guernsey again”.

Geoff Le Gallez illustrated the King as “a spokesman for the world” for announcing his cancer diagnosis.

“I think he’s been brilliant and to make awareness of a cancer diagnosis… I’m doing exactly the same here because I’ve just had an operation,” he said.

It was not just islanders greeting the King and Queen as a special goat was introduced to them at Les Cotils.

Tamsin, eight, represented her breed, which had been granted a special title of the Royal Golden Guernsey Goat to recognise the “significance of the visit” – the King’s first to Guernsey since he ascended to the throne.

The meeting was part of the event where the royal couple learnt more about the environment, heritage and traditions of the islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were unable to go to Alderney and Sark due to “time restraints”, the States of Guernsey said.

When addressing representatives of the two islands at Les Cotis, King Charles said it was “a special pleasure to see the members of your community here”.

“We are really deeply sorry that we are unable to visit you on this occasion,” he said.

Students from Sark School concluded the royal visit by singing Happy Birthday to the Queen in Serquaise – the island’s patois – ahead of her 77th birthday on Wednesday.