London 2012: Queen will declare Paralympic Games open
Queen Elizabeth II will declare the London 2012 Paralympics open later this year, organisers have announced
Queen Elizabeth II will formally declare the London 2012 Paralympic Games open, organisers have confirmed, with six months to go until the flame is ignited.
The Queen, who is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee this year, will be accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh at the opening ceremony on Wednesday August 29th.
It will be the first time she has opened a Paralympics, although she declared the 1976 Olympics in Montreal open and will perform the same duty for the 2012 Olympic Games a few weeks earlier.
Her son, the Prince of Wales, presided over the opening ceremony of the 1984 Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the event, which that year were split between the UK and New York, the last time the Games were not held in the same venues as the Olympics.
“This summer we will be hosting the largest Paralympic Games ever and the opening ceremony on 29 August will be a fantastic event,” said London 2012 chairman Seb Coe.
“The Paralympic Games will undoubtedly be a time of extraordinary pride for our nation, and it is fitting that Her Majesty will declare us under way.” 
