Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip are to come to Slovakia on October 23-24 to pay their first-ever visit at the invitation of Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič.
During the official state visit, the royal couple will be accompanied by Foreign Minister David Miliband. This visit will be focused on topics of partnership, social inclusion and environmental issues, as well as trade, investments, tourism, culture, education and science, the TASR news agency wrote.
During the first day of the visit, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip will meet Gašparovič, Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška and Prime Minister Robert Fico. After private talks with the president and First Lady Silvia Gašparovičová the delegation will meet Bratislava Mayor Andrej Ďurkovský. The royal couple will also attend a ceremonial reception organised by British Ambassador to Slovakia Michael Roberts. Later on, the Queen will have lunch with Paška and Fico. The evening in Bratislava will culminate with an official state dinner organised by the president and First Lady.
On October 24, the delegation will visit eastern Slovakia. The Queen will visit the town of Starý Smokovec in the High Tatra (Poprad region), as well as the tourism resort Hrebienok. In Spišská Sobota (Poprad), she will visit St. George's Church and the well-known historical altar of Master Paul of Levoča. In a separate programme, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, will take part in a discussion on climate change organised by the British Council in Slovakia. At the conclusion of the visit, the royal couple will visit the ice-hockey stadium in Poprad and officially open a friendly match between Poprad and Guilford from the UK. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
