#RoyalVisitNI: Day 2

To begin Their Royal Highnesses’ final day in Northern Ireland, The Prince of Wales visited Belfast Synagogue. During the visit, The Prince was shown some artefacts relating to Jewish history in Belfast and met the Belfast Jewish Community Council.

Following this, His Royal Highness was introduced to participants in the Institute of Conflict Research programmes designing and creating windows. After viewing the newly installed windows, The Prince took a seat for a poetry recital and short performance of a specially commissioned musical piece, ‘Oh Belfast’.

Meanwhile, The Duchess of Cornwall visited the Belfast Welcome Centre, which has been providing services and support to vulnerable women in Belfast since 1997. The centre runs crisis accommodation for women, a homeless drop-in, a street outreach service and health services. In 2017, it received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

During the visit, Her Royal Highness joined local women who have experienced domestic abuse working on craft projects. The Duchess also met volunteers, supporters and service users in the social enterprise shop. 

Next, Their Royal Highnesses jointly visited the Belfast Bank Buildings. In August last year, Belfast and many of its traders suffered the consequences of a devastating fire at the historic city centre Bank Buildings. The Prince and The Duchess first met with representatives of the Belfast City Council, who dealt with the immediate aftermath of the fire, as well as the Police and Fire Service of Northern Ireland. Their Royal Highnesses also met with representatives from local businesses who were affected.

Following this, The Prince and The Duchess attended the Spirit of Belfast Reception at the Grand Central Hotel to celebrate those involved in delivering the success of the tourism and artisan food sectors. Belfast was awarded The Food Destination Award at The International Travel and Tourism awards in November 2018. At the reception, Their Royal Highnesses met local producers and representatives from Belfast’s growing tourism sector, traders affected by the fire and those involved with the regeneration of Belfast. 

The Prince of Wales subsequently visited Finnebrogue, a supplier of sausages, bacon and venison. On arrival, The Prince learnt about Finnebrogue’s environmental approaches to production. The company are working hard to replace all single-use plastics and now use innovative cardboard trays. The company has notably produced the first – and currently only – mass-produced bacon without nitrates, the carcinogenic chemicals traditionally used to cure meat. Another of Finnebrogue’s brands, Good Little Sausages, use their profits to fund charities in Malawi.  During the visit, His Royal Highness had the opportunity to sample the nitrate free bacon and Good Little Sausages. Ahead of departure, The Prince unveiled a commemorative plaque. 

At St. Patrick’s Grammar School, The Prince met young people on the Prince’s Trust Achieve programme. After joining a cookery class, His Royal Highness met other pupils who have just finished the programme to hear about their experiences. The Prince’s Trust, of which His Royal Highness is President, has helped over 8,400 young people across the province. At the Cathedral, The Prince met the Catholic and Anglican Archbishops and undertook a tour. 

The Prince then joined A Game of Two Halves at Palace Demense, Armagh. The game, which features one half of rugby and the other of Gaelic football, is aimed at developing better cross-community relationships through sport and encouraging young people to come together and take part in a sport that is not traditionally played in their community. During the visit, His Royal Highness met the current Captain of the Ireland Rugby team, Rory Best O.B.E.

To end the day, The Prince of Wales visited Brownlow House, where His Royal Highness heard a performance of piping and met participants of the local piping festival. The Prince also met representatives of the Orange Order and the Royal Black Institution.