The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Bradford

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were welcomed outside City Hall in Centenary Square where they met a group of young people from across the community to hear about life in Bradford. Their Royal Highnesses met representatives from local employers and businesses who are helping young people into employment before meeting members of the public who had gathered outside City Hall to greet them.

At MyLahore’s flagship restaurant the couple learnt about some of the charitable work that the restaurant does to support the community. Founded in 2002, MyLahore is a British Asian restaurant chain which has taken inspiration from Lahore, known as the Food Capital of Pakistan. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Lahore during their tour to Pakistan in October 2019.

Their Royal Highnesses visited the restaurant’s kitchen where they met students from Bradford College who are on a kitchen apprenticeship scheme. The Duke and Duchess joined students making mango and kulfi milkshakes before sitting down to meet representatives from the UK Women’s Muslim Council and those who have benefited from the Council’s Curry Circle. The Curry Circle, which is sponsored by MyLahore, is an initiative that provides a hot two-course meal for people who are homeless or struggling to feed themselves.

The Duke and Duchess then visited one of Bradford’s Khidmat Centres, whose main focus is to help the most vulnerable members of the community from minority ethnic backgrounds. Their Royal Highnesses heard about the activities and workshops offered at the centre, and the organisations that they support before joining a session involving groups supported by Better Start Bradford, which delivers over 20 projects to pregnant women and families with children under the age of 4.

Finally, The Duke and Duchess joined a workshop run by Near Neighbours, an organisation which brings people together in communities across the UK that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust, and collaborate together on initiatives that improve the local community that they live in.