| | Published December 21st, 2011
| A Windsor in our Midsts A Lamorinda resident recounts a day with Prince Richard
| | Submitted by Paul Martin |  | | From left: Hayden Wells (Stanley Middle School), HRH Prince Richard and Will Martin (Campo class of '14) at Grace Cathedra Photo provided
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Imagine my surprise when I, a resident of the relatively placid "shires" of Lamorinda, was asked to give a senior member of the British Royal Family a tour of San Francisco in early November.
Prince Richard (His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster and Baron Culloden) arrived in San Francisco on November 3rd to preside at the annual Investiture ceremony of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem at Grace Cathedral.
Shortly after his arrival at the Mark Hopkins, we were whisked away to our first stop, St. Mary's Cathedral. The prince, who studied architecture at Cambridge, showed a keen interest in the innovative Nervi design and was delighted with the tour given by Monsignor John Talesfore.
After visiting the cathedral, we were driven to the Legion of Honor, Lands End and the Golden Gate Bridge. It was one of those characteristically beautiful late fall afternoons and the prince marveled at the world-renown vistas and natural beauty of the Golden Gate and surrounding headlands.
During his four day stay in the Bay Area, the prince also visited Pixar, Dolby Labs, UC Berkeley's School of Environmental Design, the Cable Car Museum and the Getty manse.
My vivid and lasting impression of this senior member of the House of Windsor was his warmth, insatiable curiosity and wicked sense of humor.
On Saturday, November 5th, His Royal Highness presided over the ancient Investiture ceremony of the Order of St. John at Grace Cathedral where 80 people from across the USA were invested or promoted into the international order of chivalry founded in the 11th Century to offer medical care and security to pilgrims in the Holy Land. Resplendent with pomp and beauty, the ceremony was attended by over 500 members and guests and honors were bestowed on 80 new and existing members of the Order, including Frederick Rutledge of Orinda.
The American Priory of the Order of St. John raises approx $1M a year for the St. John Eye Hospital in East Jerusalem and satellite West Bank eye clinics in Gaza and Hebron where eye diseases are 10 times higher than in developed nations.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA