Commonwealth Day 2023 congregation

The Governor and Mrs Dawson joined The King, The Queen Consort and members of the Royal Family at Westminster Abbey as part of the 2023 Commonwealth Day congregation.

With over 2,000 people in attendance, representing the 56 countries which make up the Commonwealth, the King spoke to the 2023 theme of ‘Forging a Sustainable and Peaceful Common Future’.

Whether on climate change and biodiversity loss, youth opportunity and education,
global health, or economic co-operation, the Commonwealth can play an indispensable role in the most pressing issues of our time. Ours is an association not just of shared values, but of common purpose and joint action.

In this we are blessed with the ingenuity and imagination of a third of the world’s population, including one and a half billion people under the age of thirty. Our shared humanity contains such precious diversity of thought, culture, tradition and experience. By listening to each other, we will find so many of the solutions that we seek.

Following the service, the Governor attended a reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by the King and The Queen Consort and included The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.

Ahead of the reception, The King signed the Commonwealth Charter; a single document outlining the sixteen core values of the association, which the leaders of the Commonwealth have committed to upholding.