Welsh children's choir rehearsing for King Charles jump for joy after surprise appearance from new Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- Youngsters from Ysgol Treganna in Cardiff were shocked to see Sir Keir Starmer
- They were rehearsing at the Senedd ahead of King Charles' visit on Thursday
- Starmer and Vaughan Gething, leader of Wales, stopped by the rehearsals
Young Welsh choristers were left literally jumping for joy after realising their rehearsal ahead of a visit from King Charles was being watched on by new Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Eight youngsters, all wearing yellow T-shirts and pupils at Ysgol Treganna in Cardiff, have been selected to sing for Charles and Camilla, who will visit Wales on Thursday.
The royal couple are arriving to mark the 25th anniversary of the Senedd, home to the Welsh parliament, where they will meet party and parliamentary leaders.
At today's rehearsal inside the Senedd, the children, aged 10 and 11, had just finished their harmonising and happened to look up at a balcony above when they saw Sir Keir Starmer beaming down in delight at them.
The Prime Minister visited the Senedd in Cardiff Bay on Monday to meet Vaughan Gething, the leader of Wales, and Jo Stevens, the Secretary of State for Wales.
'Fantastic': Sir Keir Starmer praised young singers rehearsing at the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, ahead of a visit from King Charles and Camilla on Thursday
Eight youngsters, all wearing yellow T-shirts and pupils at Ysgol Treganna in Cardiff, have been selected to sing for the monarchs
The Prime Minister visited the Senedd in Cardiff Bay on Monday to meet Vaughan Gething, the leader of Wales, when the pair came across the singers
His trip follows visits to the other devolved nations, having stopped in Belfast earlier on Monday and Scotland on Sunday.
On footage of the scene posted on X, the Prime Minister, accompanied by Gething said: 'We were just walking over that bridge and heard the beautiful sounds you were making. It was fantastic.'
Their teacher went on to explain they were rehearsing for a guest on Thursday.
'Who's the guest?' she teased to the children.
'King Charles', they replied, prompting Sir Keir to respond with a 'wow'.
'If you sing like that he's going to absolutely love it,' the Prime Minister replied, looking relaxed and speaking informally with the children.
Telling them again their singing of traditional Welsh song Safwn yn y Bwlch was 'absolutely lovely' and 'brilliant', he added: 'We lifted our step as we heard you.'
The children remained calm in the Prime Minister's presence, but just seconds after Sir Keir said goodbye the children rallied round, laughed and jumped up and down in excitement.
Journalist Andy Davies, who posted the footage on X, described it as a 'lovely unscripted moment'.
The post has attracted hundreds of comments, mostly praising Starmer for his 'natural discussion' with the children.
One wrote: 'Keir is just every bit the loveliest Prime Minister. Very special for the children too.'
Starmer told the children their singing of traditional Welsh song Safwn yn y Bwlch was 'absolutely lovely' and 'brilliant'
Disbelief: The children waited until the Prime Minister left before excitedly jumping up and down at the surprise appearance
The youngsters were putting the finishing touches to their performance ahead of Thursday, when Charles and Camilla arrive in Cardiff.
The Royal Welsh will form a Guard of Honour when they step foot into the Welsh capital and it will mark the first time the King will have seen them since he was appointed their Colonel-in-Chief on St David’s Day.
They will be greeted by primary school children representing schools from across Wales, a civic line-up, the Llywydd, presiding officer, Elin Jones and Vaughan Gething, the First Minister of Wales.
Once inside the Senedd, Charles and Camilla will meet party and parliamentary leaders.
As they enter the Siambr, Mared Pugh-Evans, who has been appointed the King’s harpist, will give her first performance in her new role.
The Llywydd will make opening remarks, followed by Mr Gething and the party leaders.
Two poems written by Aron Pritchard - a member of staff at the Senedd - will then be performed, one written when he was a school pupil to mark the first official opening of the then National Assembly in 1999 and a new one written for this event.
The King will also give a speech, marking the 25th anniversary of the Senedd, after which the Llywydd will close the session.
Entering the Cwrt, Charles and Camilla will be introduced to members of Senedd staff who have worked at the parliament for 25 years, or who are 25-years-old.
They will also meet members of the Senedd.
Charles and Camilla last visited the parliament building in September 2022, receiving a motion of condolence following the death of the late Queen.
They also visited in October 2021 with the late Queen. The visit marked the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Senedd.
