Many Royal visits start with an invitation sent to The Queen or another member of the Royal Family from a charity, organisation or community group, asking them to a special event or an historic occasion.

Invitations to members of the Royal Family are welcomed, although not all can be fulfilled owing to the large numbers received.

Around 1,000 invitations to The Queen alone are received each year, many more than can be practicably accepted. But each invitation is given careful consideration, and in some cases another member of the Royal Family will be able to attend instead.

The best initial point of contact for UK visits by any member of the Royal Family is the local Lord Lieutenant, who is responsible for advising on invitations and for co-ordinating the programme of any Royal visitor.

The Lord Lieutenant will then liaise with Buckingham Palace, the Private Office of the prospective Royal visitor and the host organisation.

You can find information about the locations of the various Lord Lieutenancies on this site. Find out more.

If you have a preference as to which member of the Royal Family you wish to invite, you should write to their individual private office.

All invitations to The Queen for future engagements should be directed to:

The Private Secretary to The Queen
Private Secretary's Office
Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA.

Programmes of members of the Royal Family are planned well in advance, so invitations should be submitted at least six months ahead of the suggested visit.