Three Counties Show gets royal recognition

One of the UK's largest agricultural events has been granted the Royal seal of approval, following a lengthy application process.

The long-running Three Counties Show in Malvern, Worcestershire, will now become the Royal Three Counties Show, it was confirmed today.

Livestock entry levels (cattle, sheep, pigs and goats) have reached 4038, and are now on a par with The Royal Highland and Great Yorkshire Shows.

"This is wonderful news for the Society, and for individuals and businesses throughout the three counties, and I am delighted that our efforts to secure this endorsement have finally come to fruition" said Michael Warner, Chairman for the Society's Board of Trustees.

"Having a ‘Royal’ in our stable of events, will almost certainly add weight to everything we do here, and affirms our place as one of the top agricultural shows in Britain.

"We are indebted to many people who have been instrumental in helping us to achieve this prestigious accolade, including our exhibitors, competitors, traders and visitors who have supported this Show over the years through times of prosperity, hardship and change."

The Show's new title acknowledges its contribution over two centuries, to the promotion of breed development, commercial farming and food production, together with its efforts to create opportunity for educational interface between farmers and consumers.

"The Three Counties Show is the Society’s flagship event, which continues to go from strength to strength" said Chairman of the Society's Council, Michael Blandford.

"livestock entries are currently at an all-time high. We now host many national breed society shows, bringing pedigree cattle, sheep and pigs from right across Britain, to Malvern, and the largest Rare and Minority Breeds Show in the country. Our horse entries, at almost 3000, have reached record levels too, with many of our equestrians competing in Horse of the Year Show qualifiers. We are also pleased to support traders and local schools and colleges, and now sponsor a Nuffield Scholar each year."

The Three Counties Show has been a favourite with the Royal family since the early days on its permanent site at Malvern, with the Queen Mother visiting the very first one at Malvern in 1958, and the Princess Royal acting as the Society's President in 1981.

Since then, the Society has welcomed a string of Royal visitors, the most recent being the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2007.