King Charles and Queen Consort to name baby white rhino as part of Colchester's city celebrations
The King will reveal the name of a baby white rhino at Colchester Zoo to help celebrate Britain's oldest town becoming a city.
The King and Queen Consort will also visit Colchester Castle and have afternoon tea in the library to mark the occasion.
Colchester officially became a city in November 2022, having been awarded the status during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Camilla will be joined in the library by broadcaster and children's author Dermot O'Leary, and author Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who are both local to the area.
Charles and Camilla will visit Colchester Castle to celebrate with local organisations which represent the city's heritage and communities.
They will meet those who took part in Colchester's city status procession last year, including charities, volunteers and refugees who have settled in Colchester.
The couple will also meet the animal care team from Colchester Zoo to hear about their conservation work before revealing the chosen name for the Zoo's newest addition, a baby white rhino.
Later at Colchester Library, Charles and Camilla will join Age UK for an afternoon tea with local volunteers, service users and The Silver Line staff to hear about the support provided by the charity across the region.
Charles became patron of Age UK in in 2010 when he was Prince of Wales, while Camilla became patron of The Silver Line in 2017 when she was Duchess of Cornwall.
At the library, Camilla will join a gathering of local authors, children, supporters and volunteers to celebrate the Essex Year of Reading.
The countywide campaign was established to help children and young people discover a lifelong love of reading, and help to ensure every Essex child is able to read at their age level or above.
Camilla will be welcomed by characters Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter, played by actors from the local Mercury Theatre.
She will also be joined by O'Leary, who is a keen supporter of the Essex Year of Reading, as well as Cottrell-Boyce.
The city's council and Essex Police have warned that some road closures and other safety measures will be implemented during today's visit.
And police are implementing a no fly zone for drones and will have extra officers on patrol for the day.
During a visit to Milton Keynes last month the monarch was met by a small band of protesters.
Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Nolan said: “It is the greatest privilege for Essex Police to be involved in supporting our partners to prepare for and welcome His Majesty the King – it’s a momentous occasion for our force and our county.
“We want everyone to enjoy the day as safely as they can and ask that everyone remains vigilant on the day. If you need us we will have lots of officers in Colchester City on the day supporting the policing of the event so find us if you need us and please say hello.
"We are very excited to be joining our community to welcome His Majesty the King and the Queen Consort.”
Road closures will be in place between 7am and 2pm and will cover East Hill, High Street and Head Street, Culver Street West, North Hill and Sir Isaacs Walk.
Colchester was granted city status last November.
The King will reveal the name of this baby rhino