The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visit Liverpool

Today, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall carried out engagements in Liverpool. 

Their Royal Highnesses began the day with a welcome from the students of Liverpool University before joining a reception with the President of Ireland and Mrs Higgins at Victoria Gallery and Museum, University of Liverpool. The reception was held in celebration of The Prince and President Higgins’s joint Patronage of the Liverpool Institute of Irish Studies, which encourages greater understanding and positively framed contact between the UK and Ireland.

Next, The Prince of Wales visited St George’s Hall to attend a reception to celebrate Liverpool’s ethnic minority communities. In attendance was Dr Makiziwe Mandela, daughter of Nelson Mandela, who showed The Prince a selection of her father’s drawings, which have been donated for permanent display at the Hall. The collection of drawings depict the various stages of South Africa’s development and the direct influence Nelson Mandela brought from struggle, imprisonment, freedom, unity and future.

Meanwhile, The Duchess of Cornwall joined a children’s literacy event with Coram Beanstalk’s Story Starters programme to celebrate the charity’s partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at Liverpool Central Library. The partnership aims to introduce children to the world of books and support them with their reading skills. At the event, the Duchess observed the children working on craft projects, before giving a reading from a popular children’s book.

Later in the day, The Prince of Wales visited the Royal Albert Dock Liverpool to celebrate the Dock’s new Royal status, ahead of the 175th anniversary of its opening by Prince Albert, which will be commemorated in 2021. On arrival, The Prince was greeted by performers from the Beatles’ Story museum, before touring local businesses and residences, including the Dock’s longest serving restaurant, ‘What’s Cooking’. His Royal Highness also met residents and representatives of the Royal Albert Dock Liverpool Charitable Foundation and viewed Ugo Rondinone’s Liverpool Mountain sculpture. Before departing, The Prince of Wales unveiled a plaque to commemorate the Dock’s new Royal status and visited the International Slavery Museum, which occupies a restored warehouse on the Dock.

The Duchess of Cornwall visited Wirral Women and Children’s Aid, which provides shelter and protection for 12 women and up to 26 children in the Liverpool area. The refuge operates in association with Women’s Aid, a national charity working to end domestic violence against women and children. The Duchess met staff, volunteers, and women and children who use the facility. 

To end the day, The Prince of Wales visited Marie Curie’s Liverpool Hospice to mark its 60th Anniversary and meet patients and their families, including actor Alison Steadman, whose mother was cared for by the charity. Marie Curie, of which The Prince of Wales is Patron, provides expert care to people with terminal illnesses, as well as supporting their families. During the visit, The Prince was taken on a tour of the hospice’s Sefton and Stanley wards and visited a Day Therapy session. After touring the hospice, His Royal Highness unveiled a plaque and cut a cake made by TV presenter and chef, Simon Rimmer.

Praising the staff who work at the hospice, The Prince of Wales said:

This is just a small opportunity to thank you all for the incredible love and devotion and care that you provide to so many people in these places. You are so often unsung and unseen but I promise you it is hugely appreciated.

The Duchess of Cornwall visited Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle to meet with artist Paul Curtis and view his mural entitled For All Liverpool’s Liver Birds. The Duchess also met with a small number of local business owners.