16 Dec 2022
On Wednesday 30 November the Club was delighted to celebrate its 156th birthday. St Andrew’s is the oldest youth Club in the world, and we are proud to continue that legacy and proud heritage.
To celebrate this landmark the Club was visited by the Earl of Wessex Prince Edward. During his visit, Prince Edward spent time interacting with the Club’s Members and discussing the rich history of the Club with members of staff, while receiving a tour of the Club building.
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| Creating Graffti Tags | Everyone enjoyed the Earl's visit | Finding out about Member's games |
The visit of Prince Edward is another proud chapter in the rich history of St Andrew’s Youth Club, having been previously visited twice by Prince Philip in 1947 and again in 1984 when he opened the Club’s current building.
The presence of the Earl of Wessex was thanks to London Youth, who chose St Andrew's as the venue for the Earl's first London Youth visit as official Patron.
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| Taking on Members at table football | Learning about Member's lives | Seeing the Gym's impact on young Members |
Following Prince Edward’s visit St Andrew’s CEO Annette, Deputy CEO Sarah and Junior Youth Worker and current Member of the Year Mollie were invited inside Buckingham palace alongside others who have benefitted from London Youth and their tremendous work. Amongst a select list of guests, Mollie gave an inspiring speech about how the Club has helped her and made a positive impact on her, her family and her community.
The speech was well received by Prince Edward and everyone in the crowd, as Mollie perfectly captured how the Club enriches young people’s lives, speaking from her own personal experience.
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| HRH Earl of Wessex and CEO Annette | Meeting Youth Ambassadors | Mollie giving her excellent speech |
The Club is hugely grateful to Prince Edward for taking the time to visit St Andrew’s and we are proud to have had the opportunity to show him around the Club for our 156th birthday. You can see a video round up of the day here: (500) HRH Earl of Wessex Prince Edward visits St Andrew's Club as we celebrate our 156th Birthday - YouTube
Thank you so much to Prince Edward, the Royal Family and London Youth for acknowledging the work done by St Andrew’s. We are so proud of all we have achieved during our rich history and look forward to adding to it in the future.
Photos by Theo Wood