It had already been scheduled that The Queen will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 27 but it has now been confirmed that alongside her husband The Duke of Edinburgh, she will open both Games.

As Head of State, The Queen will proclaim the Paralympic Games open by saying: "I declare open the London 2012 Paralympic Games."

London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe said: "This summer we will be hosting the largest Paralympic Games ever and the Opening Ceremony on 29 August will be a fantastic event.

"The Paralympic Games will undoubtedly be a time of extraordinary pride for our nation and it is fitting that Her Majesty will declare us underway."

The announcement means that London 2012 will mark the first time ever that The Queen has opened a Paralympic Games, although the Royal Family has been involved in a Paralympic Opening Ceremony before.

In 1984, when the Paralympic Games where held jointly at Stoke Mandeville in Britain and New York in the United States, Prince Charles opened the event in Stoke Mandeville while Ronald Reagan, the then American President, opened the competition in New York.


The Queen however, has been involved in an Olympic Opening Ceremony once before having opened the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games in Canada.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Edinburgh opened the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games on behalf of The Queen.

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven has expressed his pride at The Queen opening the Paralympic Games for the first time ever at London 2012.

"I am delighted that Her Majesty The Queen will be opening the Paralympic Games," said Sir Philip, who is also an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member.

"It further underlines the significance and status of these Games not just to the Commonwealth, but to the whole world."

The Queen's father, King George VI, opened the last Olympic Games in London back in 1948 at Wembley Stadium while his grandfather, King Edward VII, opened the first Olympic Games in the English capital in 1908 at the White City Stadium.

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