2Wish’s Rhian Mannings meets The King and Queen at Senedd 25 year celebration
Written by Gavin on 12th July 2024
A woman from Miskin, who has campaigned for better bereavement support for parents, met The King and Queen at the Senedd on Thursday, 11 July 2024, during Their Majesties visit to Cardiff.
The King and Queen were visiting Cardiff Bay to mark 25 years of the Senedd, during which The King delivered a speech to mark the 25th anniversary of devolution in Wales. Their Majesties also met with people who have made a valuable contribution to the Senedd’s work during that time.
Among the guests was Rhian Mannings, founder of the charity 2Wish which campaigns for more support for parents of bereaved children after the father to her children took his own life after the death of their youngest son.
Rhian won Senedd Petition of the Year 2022 by raising awareness of the lack of short and long term support for families and saw the Welsh Government commit money to the NHS for bereavement support coordination.
Rhian Mannings said: “I feel totally honoured to have been invited to the Senedd on this special occasion to meet the King and Queen. Its extra special as I am able to bring my daughter on this occasion. I have been lucky enough to meet the King several times before attending his Coronation and receiving my MBE from him when he was Prince of Wales. To be recognised for the work I do with the 2wish, the charity I established in memory of my Husband and Son, is humbling and it means that people are acknowledging the importance of bereavement support.
“I feel proud to be at the Senedd today, the place where we got our petition discussed to ensure all families get the support they deserve when their child dies under sudden circumstances. To have the Senedd behind the petition and to agree that the support should be mandatory remains one of the biggest achievements of my life and I am proud of everyone involved in 2wish for making this possible.”
Llywydd of the Senedd, Rt. Hon. Elin Jones MS said;
“It was an honour to welcome people who have made such a valuable contribution to the Senedd’s journey to celebrate the parliament’s 25 year milestone. Politicians have come and gone, making their own contributions. But this is not a politicians’ Parliament – it belongs to the people of Wales, who forged its beginning and are shaping its future.”
Other guests included Ffion Fairclough from Pontypridd, a former Member of the Welsh Youth Parliament. During the Royal visit, Ffion read out a poem written by Senedd staff member, Aron Pritchard in 1999 to celebrate the opening of the National Assembly for Wales.
There was also a musical performance by the Any Body Can Choir, made up of pupils from 10 primary schools including Ysgol Tref-y-Rhyg, Tonyrefail and Ysgol Tŷ Coch, Pontypridd. They performed the song Sing Together / Pawb i Ganu’n Un.