Schools visit for African queen
- Published
The queen will visit locations all over Wales over the coming week
Lesotho's queen has visited two schools and the national language centre at Nant Gwrtheyrn in Gwynedd on the second day of her visit to Wales.
Queen Masenate Seeiso is touring Wales as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of a charity which fosters links between the two countries.
On Sunday she was welcomed to Anglesey by the founder of the charity Dolen Cymru, Dr Carl Clowes.
Her itinerary includes a visit to the Welsh assembly in Cardiff on Thursday.
Dolen Cymru, whose patron is Prince Harry. promotes friendship and understanding between Wales and the south African kingdom and raises funds for charity projects.
Dr Clowes - who is also honorary Welsh consul for Lesotho - and the Lord Lieutenant of Gwynedd Huw Morgan Daniel met Queen Masenate Seeiso when she arrived in Anglesey on Sunday.
Dr Clowes said: "This is a very important part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, and we hope that it will raise the profile of the work that we do in creating links between people here in Wales and Lesotho.
During her Welsh tour the royal visitor will attend the charity's annual general meeting.
She will also visit The Maelor School in Penley near Wrexham, which has developed close links with with St Saviour's High School, Leribe, Lesotho.
Next week students and staff from the school in Lesotho will be travelling to spend a week at the Welsh secondary school before a reciprocal exchange next year.
Since 2005, over 70 teachers from Wales have have had placements in Lesotho, providing education support but also giving children here a picture of what life is like in Saharan Africa.
Queen Masenate Seeiso will visit the grave of Prince Jeremiah of Lesotho in Welshampton, Shropshire.
In Cardiff, she will meet First Minister Carwyn Jones and Welsh assembly presiding officer Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas at the Senedd.
To mark Dolen Cymru's 25th anniversary this year an appeal is under way to raise £250,000 to build and equip a training and resource centre called the Wales Centre in Lesotho's capital Maseru.
Through the centre, people from Wales will provide training for key workers in Lesotho's health, education, voluntary and public sectors.
The centre will also act as a hub for the charity's activities in the African country.