THE Forest will be at the centre of attention later this month as the Earl and Countess of Wessex will spend a day touring the area.

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie will begin their tour on April 24 at Vantage Point Business Village, in Mitcheldean, where they will be greeted by village schoolchildren and some of the 2,000 staff who work on the site.

The Earl will unveil a plaque at the official opening of the Forest Enterprise Hub – the first centre for young entrepreneurs in the county to be based on an industrial estate. It is a joint project co-ordinated by Vantage Point and the University of Gloucestershire.

HRH will also visit a pudding maker, Forest students from Gloucestershire College, and the only British roadsweeper manufacturer in the country – among other businesses.

Meanwhile, The Countess will be helping to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Orchard Trust at Lydbrook, where she will meet the team led by Gareth Jones. The trust provides a vital range of services for people with learning disabilities.

The royal couple will then be reunited underground at Ray Wright's famous Clearwell Caves, where they will see evidence of mining carried out beneath the Dean for more than 4,000 years – as well as meeting today's village schoolchildren.

During the afternoon, the royal spotlight will focus on the heart of the Forest at the Speech House, where owners Peter and Gill Hands will introduce The Earl and Countess to the guardians of the Dean's ancient traditions – the Verderers, Freeminers, Commoners and Forestry Commission.

This will be followed by the planting of two trees – which has echoes of half a century earlier when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh performed the same ceremony in 1957.

The couple's last duty at the Speech House will be to unveil a refurbished obelisk – which marks the very centre of the statutory Forest.

The final leg of the tour brings the Royal pair to Newent, where The Earl will cut a ribbon to mark the refurbishment of St Mary's Church tower. Rector Simon Mason will be throwing open the church doors for The Earl and Countess to meet organisers of community groups inside – including the Lord's Larder and Chill-Out Zone for young people.

The day will end with a special reception at the Three Choirs Vineyard.