The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visit Merseyside
Published
Today The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attended engagements in Merseyside.
Together, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall first visited the Victoria Gallery and Museum at the University of Liverpool.
At the University, The Prince and The Duchess met The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins and his wife Mrs Sabina Higgins to celebrate His Royal Highness and The President’s patronage of the Liverpool Institute of Irish Studies.
The Institute was formed in 1988, as part of the 1985 Anglo-Irish agreement to encourage greater understanding between the UK and Ireland. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall have visited Ireland on many occasions including most recently in June 2018.
At the Institute of Irish Studies today, The Prince and The Duchess met members of the Irish community and heard from Professor of Irish Literature, Frank Shovlin, who read a letter from Irish writer John McGahern to Irish poet Seamus Heaney.
The Prince of Wales and The President of Ireland to sign the Centre’s Charter, in honour of a joint Patronage. #RoyalVisitMerseyside
Next, the Prince of Wales visited St George’s Hall to view the newly discovered “undercroft” – which is traditionally a cellar used for storage in mediaeval times but have now been transformed into gallery spaces.
The Hall houses a priceless “Minton” mosaic floor of over 30,000 tiles. It is regularly used for occasions such as a gathering place for vigils and homecomings for Liverpool and Everton football clubs.
The Prince of Wales visited St George’s Hall in 2007 after a refurbishment and to deliver a speech after receiving an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University. [@LJMU]
At St George’s Hall The Prince meets Dr Makiziwe Mandela, the daughter of Nelson Mandela and Dr Tukwini Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter.
Dr Makiziwe has donated several of her father’s drawings for a permanent display at the hall. Finally, His Royal Highness took a tour of the Catacombs and Basement Performance Area.
Next, The Prince of Wales visited the Royal Albert Dock in recognition of its new Royal status ahead of the 175th anniversary of the Dock in 2021.
The Dock was opened in 1846 by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. It was designed by engineer and architect Jesse Hartley, changing the way Docks worked by cutting offloading times. 40% of global trade passed through Liverpool in the 19th Century.
The Prince reopened the regenerated Dock in May 1988 with the opening of Tate Liverpool, following a full restoration after years of decline and near demolition.
Royal status was granted by The Queen in 2018 recognising the importance and historical significance of the Dock, a Grade I listed site.
The Prince was then taken on a tour of the Docks, which includes visiting people who run local businesses and seeing the International Slavery Museum.
The museum is the only national museum in the world to explore transatlantic slavery and its legacies and today The Prince meets staff at the museum, finding out more about the history of the slave trade.
The Prince then visited a Marie Curie Hospice as Patron of the charity which offers care to people living with a terminal illness.
The Prince has been Patron since 2003 and this year the hospice is marking its 60th Anniversary. Today HRH met patients, nurses and volunteers who work at the centre.
His Royal Highness met Actor and Marie Curie Ambassador Alison Steadman and also cut a cake which was made by restaurateur Simon Rimmer. [@simonrim]
Meanwhile, The Duchess of Cornwall visited Liverpool Central Library where Her Royal Highness found out more about “Story Starters”, a scheme which aims to give people the support they need to develop their language and reading skills.
The programme is a partnership between Beanstalk and Dolly Parton's “Imagination Library” to provide training and books to early years professionals.
The Duchess of Cornwall also visited Wirral Women and Children’s Aid on the Royal visit. Her Royal Highness met staff and people who use the refuge, which provides a place of safety for women and children fleeing domestic abuse.
The Duchess also visited an iconic mural in Jamaica Street in the Baltic Triangle. The piece of art “For All Liverpool’s Liver Birds” was created by street artist Paul Curtis and The Duchess had a chance to find out about the Baltic Triangle’s regeneration through young entrepreneurs.
Find out more about the work of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on their website.
