Prince Charles visits Bangor on day two of NI visit
- Published
Prince Charles visited an open-air market in Bangor on Wednesday morning
Prince Charles has visited an open-air market in Bangor, County Down, on the second day of his visit to Northern Ireland.
He was accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall as they also met schoolchildren from Bangor Central Primary School on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the royal couple had engagements in Belfast and counties Down and Armagh.
It is their 18th visit to NI and their first in its centenary year.
The Duchess of Cornwall gives the royal seal of approval to a Bangor book club named in her honour
In Bangor, they were met by Lord Lieutenant of County Down, David Lindsay.
Crowd control measures were in place at the market as people gathered for a glimpse of the couple. Almost 1,000 people gathered as news spread of the royal couple's arrival.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were given gifts at the market of flowers and sweets.
Ards and North Down Borough Council tweeted that the prince and duchess could be "assured of a very warm welcome" during their visit to the area.
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The events follow Tuesday's visit to Belfast City Hall, at which the Prince of Wales was shown a painting of his great-grandfather, King George V, opening Northern Ireland's first parliament in 1921.
They also met youth workers at the Education Authority's headquarters, before touring the Harland and Wolff shipyard.
From there, Prince Charles travelled to Slieve Gullion Forest Park in County Armagh where he met schoolchildren and listened to traditional Irish music.
The duchess meanwhile travelled to Hillsborough, County Down, where she visited the workshop of silversmith Cara Murphy.
Prince Charles received bluebells during a visit to Slieve Gullion Forest Park on Tuesday
On Tuesday evening, the prince met First Minister Arlene Foster at the Queen's official residence in Northern Ireland, Hillsborough Castle.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said it was "not possible" for her to attend the meeting, but did not outline a reason.
However, the Sinn Féin vice-president said she had met him during his last visit in September and praised the role played by the Royal Family during the peace process.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald says that even though her party did not meet Prince Charles this week, meetings will take place in the future.
"We have to talk to each other," she said.
"So I wouldn't over-read anything into one meeting not happening and I can assure you we will meet again because we have a lot to talk about, and there's a lot of work to be done in Ireland."
- Published19 May 2021
- Published30 September 2020
