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The Prince and The Duchess visit Inverness

2nd June 2008

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall enjoyed home-made fruit smoothies today on a visit to a school gardening project.

On their first visit to Inverness as a couple, The Prince and The Duchess, who are known as The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland, saw first-hand the work being undertaken by pupils in the garden of a secondary school.

Their Royal Highnesses were greeted by about 300 pupils of Inverness High School, and once inside the school were shown some of the products it sells in the local community.

Both took the chance to sample freshly-made fruit smoothies, and The Duchess described them as "delicious".

The garden they toured is maintained by pupils to gain a formal qualification - one of the few initiatives of its type in Scotland.

The REAL (Real Education Active Lives) Food project was set up to encourage pupils' personal development and community involvement, by selling their own produce, much of which is organic, to local businesses and at nearby village markets.

There are a range of ways for pupils to be involved in farming enterprise, such as a gardening club, an eco-schools group and through courses like Rural Skills.  Nearly an acre of Inverness High School has been cultivated, with three poly tunnels and drills of vegetables. 

Iain Clyne, the project manager, said of the The Prince and The Duchess: "They are both keen gardeners, and The Prince has been into organic farming for some time.

"He certainly knows his stuff, which you could tell when he was talking to the kids, and I was talking compost with him for quite a while."

Pupil Shaun MacIver, 13, said he was "quite nervous" before speaking to The Prince, but was soon put at ease.

He said: "I didn't really get the chance to say that much, he just asked me a lot of questions."

After unveiling a plaque to commemorate their visit and being presented with a bouquet of flowers and basket of vegetables, the couple were driven off to separate engagements.

The Duchess went to nearby Culloden House Hotel to meet local members of the National Osteoporosis Society while The Prince travelled to Smithton to visit the Forestry Commission's new district office, opened in January last year.

Locally-sourced timber was used in the construction of the energy-efficient building, and it is heated by a woodchip boiler at a cost of just £5 per day.  The building was recently awarded the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ Sustainability Award for Scotland 2008.

The Prince was briefed by Forestry Commission staff about the building’s energy efficiency, and about the work underway in addressing environmental issues as they impact upon forestry. 

After meeting The Prince, planning forester Peter Walling said: "The building is a flagship for sustainability so, as a keen environmentalist, he was very interested."

In the evening, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall hosted a reception at Holyroodhouse to thank supporters of the Edinburgh Festival. 

Established in 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival is ranked as one of the most important cultural celebrations in the world.  Presenting programmes of classical music, opera, theatre, dance and comedy, it is now a major source of tourism revenue for the city and for Scotland.

Their Royal Highnesses met supporters and staff at the reception, and then enjoyed a performance by 30 members of the Festival Chorus.