Their Majesties continued their Brecon visit today, by travelling to Theatr Brycheiniog.

Situated in the canal basin in the centre of Brecon, Their Majesties first proceeded to a field next to the theatre. Here, The King and Queen saw elements of Brecknock Agricultural Society’s annual show, of which His Majesty was Patron as Prince of Wales.

Their Majesties had the opportunity to see livestock, speak to local food and drink producers and meet representatives from Black Mountains College, a new college based in Brecon with courses specialising in adapting to the climate emergency.

While Their Majesties were speaking to representatives at the various stalls, Aberhonddu Male Voice Choir sang in the background.

Concluding the county show aspect of the visit, The King was invited to add some soil to an oak sapling which will later be replanted in the Brecon County Showground.

The King and Queen walked the short distance to the theatre, and were invited to join a reception for 100 guests. Guests included Welsh Coronation Champions, members of the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team (of which The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh was Patron), representatives from the Brecon Women’s Festival and of the local health service.

Music during the reception was provided by the Swing Strings Trio - three top Welsh Jazz musicians who are regular performers at the annual Brecon Jazz Festival, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this August.

Following the reception there was a short performance by Theatr Brycheiniog’s Lunchtime Uplift Choir and the Alive & Kickin’ Community Choir Brecon.

Their Majesties were invited to unveil a plaque, marking the visit. It comes a quarter of a century after His Majesty opened the theatre as Prince of Wales in 1997.

Founded in 1755 March, local community members got together to form a group to “do something to support and encourage Agriculture, Manufacture and promote the general good of the County of Brecon”. This having been agreed they met again in the April and formally established the Brecknockshire Agricultural Society.From 1755 to 2023, the society has continued and is the oldest surviving agricultural society in the United Kingdom. In 2022, the society celebrated its 268th Anniversary. Annually, the show attracts 12,000 people, with over 200 trade stands and a main attraction ring. In addition to the show, the society runs charitable fundraising events to help fund a bursary for young people.

Theatr Brycheiniog was officially opened by The King, as The Prince of Wales, on July 29 1997. It is Mid Wales’ principal space for theatre, the arts, and culture, featuring a 470-seat auditorium. It sits alongside the start of the historic Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal, in the heart of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and has been part of the history of theatre-making in Brecon from at least 1699.The Theatr is home to a vibrant network of community and professional creative partners working across drama - in Welsh and in English - music, dance, the spoken word and a wide variety of different art forms and wellbeing programmes

.There is a strong focus on supporting users of all ages, from the Baby B! Storytelling group for the youngest audiences to a Young Music Promoters’ programme for 12–17-year-olds to one of the busiest and most successful u3a (University of the 3rd Age) groups in Britain.

Annually, it promotes some 250 events to around 28,000 people with over 100,000 visitors.