Myddfai experienced a true midsummer’s dream on Tuesday evening when HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived at their country residence in Llwynywermod to welcome guests, musicians and diplomats for a taste of Wales’s great cultural output.
Students from the Welsh College of Music and Drama, of which Prince Charles is a patron, serenaded the royal couple throughout the evening, courtesy of royal harpist Alis Huws, as well as some of the college’s leading instrumentalists and drama students.
Guests arrived in radiant evening sunshine to walk through the wildflower borders to Llwynywermod's barn which had been emotively lit with red, blue and purple lighting. Guests took their seats on the gold paisley-covered chairs as the swallows darted in and out through the open doors.
As the royal harp played gently in the background, Prince Charles and Camilla emerged from the clematis-framed front door of the farmhouse and walked across the cobbles into the barn.
The Duchess was wearing a dress of blue silk with a lily-of-the-valley motif and fawn court shoes and clutched an oyster-coloured cashmere pashmina while the Prince sported a customary cornflower in the buttonhole of his navy blue pinstripe suit.
The evening opened with a reading from Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milkwood’ performed by WCMD student Joseph Reynolds before their Royal Highnesses heard performances from pianists Alistair Hamilton, clarinettist Isaac Prince, Elena Zamudio, soprano, cellist Tabitha Selley and drama students who performed a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Victoria Wood’s ever-popular ‘Notes to the Piecrust Players’ which was beautifully performed by Sophie Atherton.
The musical performance came to a rousing end with Trystan Llyr Griffiths, whose incredible tenor range and vocal control captivated the audience.
Each of the performers were formally introduced to the Prince and Camilla when the royal couple questioned them on their tuition and also their ambitions for their respective careers in the performing arts.
The guests, which included Mark Drakeford, Carwyn Jones and the Lord Lieutenants of both Dyfed and South Glamorgan, namely Sara Edwards and Morfudd Meredith, then moved to the rear of the barn for champagne and an opportunity to mingle. At this point the Prince met a number of foreign diplomats who attended the event, with the purpose of promoting Wales, both culturally and economically.
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