News

News

TRH spend a day conducting engagements in the West Midlands

21st April 2008

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall were greeted by hundreds of people when they visited the West Midlands today.

Cheers greeted Their Royal Highnesses as they arrived in Birmingham’s Victoria Square for the official opening of the newly refurbished Town Hall.

They were met by the Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Paul Sabapathy, before going into the hall to watch students from Birmingham's Elmhurst Ballet School perform classical ballet, jazz, tap and musical theatre.

The Duchess of Cornwall is Patron of Elmhurst, the United Kingdom’s oldest vocational dance school.

City organist Thomas Trotter also performed, before Their Royal Highnesses unveiled a plaque to formally open the Grade I-listed building after its £35million renovation.

The Prince said: "It's an enormous pleasure for my wife and I to join you here today on what is really a very special occasion.

"It's a real joy to see this building revealed once again in all its original glory."

One dance performed today was a pas de deux, Amazing Grace, which featured a piper and was dedicated to Their Royal Highnesses.

The Prince said: "It's been a really special treat to be allowed to see a special performance by the Elmhurst Ballet School."

He added: "It's the first ballet I have ever witnessed played on the bagpipes."

Their Royal Highnesses met pupils after the performance.

Ballet student Rex Wheeler, 17, from London, said: "They were friendly and just spoke to us on a very informal level.

"They said they really enjoyed the performance.

"I was really nervous but they were so easy to talk to."

Their Royal Highnesses also met many people waiting outside the Town Hall, including Joyce Williams, 72, from Marston Green near Birmingham.

She said after meeting The Prince: "He’s the first Royal I have spoken to and the first I have shaken hands with.

"I think it's an honour for Birmingham, and the Town Hall does us proud."

The Duchess then stayed to attend a lunch reception at the Council House, while The Prince left for Coventry.

The Prince later visited the farm at the Cardinal Wiseman School in Coventry, where he was met by 1,400 flag-waving children.

The Prince spent over two hours touring the school's impressive collection of farm and exotic animals, including snakes and alpacas.

The Prince, who is Patron of the Year of Food and Farming, believes far too many children have little or no contact with the countryside.

The Cardinal Wiseman School is one of only a handful of schools continuing to operate a fully-functioning farm.

His Royal Highness was greeted at the school gates by head boy Ethan Griffiths, 18, and head girl Lauren Studon, also 18, to whom he apologised for keeping them away from their A-level revision.

Miss Studon said: "He said we should really be revising for our exams, and said he was sorry for interrupting.

"But I told him one day won't hurt, it's not often the heir to the throne turns up at your school!

"He said he was very impressed with how original and different our school is as it is a farm in a city."

The Prince watched pupils Adam Bailey, 18, and Niall Nestor, 13, weigh a piglet, and was pleased to hear the pigs are reared on site. They are then butchered nearby and turned into sausages which are available from the school shop.

Assistant Head Teacher Sean O'Donovan said he would have liked to offer The Prince some sausages, but added: "They are so popular with the staff and parents, we have completely sold out."

The Prince did walk away with a bird box made from recycled science work-top benches.

The Duchess, who is President of the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS), later visited a school in Stourbridge, West Midlands.

She was greeted by the headteacher and staff at Rufford Primary School, where the pupils have been learning about the importance of healthy bones.

During her visit, The Duchess was shown work undertaken to promote awareness of osteoporosis in all 112 schools in Dudley.

Ken Strike, the regional development manager for the NOS in the area, said: "We are thrilled and delighted to have the President of our charity - Her Royal Highness - visit and see the work that has been done."

Mr Strike added that the NOS was keen to educate both pupils and parents of the need for healthy eating and exercise among the young to prevent the onset of osteoporosis in later life.

Also in Coventry, The Prince visited a South Asian health project, where he spoke of his enthusiasm for the use of "ancient wisdom" in tackling health problems.

He said: "I happen to be one of those people that has a great admiration and affection for the culture and religions of the people of India and the subcontinent."

The Prince went on: "So often in the modern world it's so easy to forget how to look at ... the whole picture, mind, body and spirit."

He said it was important that an "integrated approach" was not lost.  The Prince founded The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) to encourage greater collaboration between conventional and complementary practitioners and facilitate the development of integrated healthcare.

"The secret is the best of the ancient and the best of the modern."

One benefit of ancient wisdom, he added, is that it "doesn't cost very much".

The Prince was speaking at the Muslim Resource Centre in Foleshill, where he met people involved with Apnee Sehat - "Our Health" in Punjabi
- which provides health and lifestyle advice to the South Asian community.

The Prince's visit marked the launch of the project's healthy eating magazine and the opening of the centre's new outpatient suite.

The Prince was told of the medicinal properties of various cooking spices and sampled slow-cooked Kurzi chicken, a dish traditionally
prepared for Mughal kings.

Chef Shah Hussain, whose runs a Warwickshire restaurant, said he had been concerned about how well his spicy creation would suit the Royal
stomach - but that the Prince said "it was really nice".

Food writer Manju Malhi, who works with Apnee Sehat, said The Prince confided to her that "he used to try and cook curries at university - with much failure".

Dr Shirine Boardman, the director of Apnee Sehat, said those involved with the project were "deeply moved" to have The Prince's backing.

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