Sunday, December 22, 2024

Prince William to attend Notre-Dame Cathedral reopening in Paris

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Prince William will attend the ceremony marking the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday.

The world-famous cathedral burned in a devastating fire in 2019.

Now, after more than five years of frenetic reconstruction work, the 12th-century landmark has been revived.

A spokesman for Kensington Palace said on Friday: “The Prince of Wales will travel to Paris tomorrow to attend the ceremony marking the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

“His Royal Highness is travelling at the request of His Majesty’s Government on behalf of the United Kingdom.”

Image:
The cathedral after its renovation. Pic: AP

A view of the nave of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris, on November 29, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/Pool via REUTERS
Image:
Pic: Reuters

The reopening this weekend is the first of several events planned to celebrate the cathedral’s restoration.

Donald Trump, the US president-elect, and dozens of heads of state and government have accepted invites from French President Emmanuel Macron.

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First look at restored Notre-Dame

Tickets for the first week of Masses were snapped up in 25 minutes.

Tomorrow will also be the first time Notre-Dame’s great organ will be heard in public since the blaze.

It’s nearly 8,000 pipes were coated with toxic dust released when the lead roofing burned.

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Overall, more than 150 countries donated €846m (£285m) to fund the restoration of the cathedral, according to the public body in charge of it’s restoration.

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