Out and About

In support of Her Majesty The Queen, every year The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visit cities, towns and villages across Britain and Northern Ireland to recognise and celebrate success and achievement and to offer encouragement. This year, The Prince and The Duchess visited 44 counties and 85 cities, towns and villages. The Prince and The Duchess saw the astounding work of charities and community initiatives and visited local festivals, businesses and shows.

85

Cities, towns and villages visited.

44

Counties visited.

Highlights and Key Moments

Devon and Cornwall

In July, The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (as they are known in Cornwall) visited the town of Porthleven, the most southerly port in the British Isles, to see how the harbour had been rejuvenated after the storms in February 2014. Their Royal Highnesses then travelled to Truro, visiting the Great Cornish Food Store; an independent grocer stocking Cornish produce. His Royal Highness unveiled a commemorative plaque at the Cove Macmillan Support Centre and met volunteers, staff and young patients. Her Royal Highness formally opened the Disaster Relief Centre at ShelterBox Trust, finishing the day at the Caterlink site in Bodmin, which supplies ice cream to local businesses.

The next day, Their Royal Highnesses travelled to Devon to visit the historic Pannier Market in Barnstaple, after which they visited the Ambrosia Creamery in Lifton to celebrate its centenary. Her Royal Highness subsequently visited the First Light Sexual Assault Referral Centre to learn about the services provided to people affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence, while His Royal Highness visited the Devon Young Farmers, to see their new Devon Rural Hub.

The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall returned to Cornwall with a visit to St. Protus and St. Hyacinth’s Church in Blisland, attending a short service to mark Her Royal Highness’s birthday. This was followed by a guided tour of the Tregunnel Hill estate where Her Royal Highness joined a special ‘Big Lunch’ in the local community fire station. At the end of the day, Her Royal Highness visited Cornwall Air Ambulance, which celebrated its 30th anniversary, to open the newly-completed Headquarters Building.

Wales

During Their Royal Highness’s annual tour of Wales in July, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall opened the new visitor centre at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, visited the Regimental Museum in Brecon and the restored Jacobean Manor House at Llancaiach Fawr near Caerphilly.  

During the week, and during other visits to Wales during the year, The Prince of Wales visited communities, factories, churches, pubs and villages across the country, from Valley in the far north of Anglesey, to the Celtic Manor hotel at Newport in the South-East, and including Wrexham, Ceredigion, Cwmbran, Treforest, Felinfach and Aberystwyth. 

In July, His Royal Highness attended the events to commemorate the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium where he gave a moving reading, in Welsh, from the work of the poet Hedd Wyn, who died in the conflict.   

At their Welsh home, Llwynywermod, near Llandovery in Carmarthenshire, The Prince and The Duchess held an evening of entertainment provided by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, of which His Royal Highness is Patron, for guests from around Wales.  

In June, His Royal Highness attended a performance in Cardiff by the Welsh National Opera, of which he is Patron.

Scotland

The Dumfries House Estate in Ayrshire continued to expand as a hub of Their Royal Highnesses’s activity. In October, The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, as Their Royal Highnesses are known in Scotland, hosted the President of Ireland and Mrs. Higgins and invited local community groups and school children to events to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the rescuing of the house, and its unique contents for the nation. In the summer, His Royal Highness opened the outdoor swimming pool in nearby New Cumnock, following its renovation by his Dumfries House Trust.  The pool had for many years been a focal point for the local community until it fell into disrepair.  The pool reopened in March for the 2018 season, after extensive refurbishment. It welcomed a record number of locals and tourists ‒ 14,500 ‒ in the period between mid-June, when refurbishment was completed, and December, and now offers swimming and fitness classes for people of all ages.

Further afield, The Duke of Rothesay held the “Fishing for the Future” event in Inverurie to provide young recruits to the fishing industry with formal training in sustainability for the first time. His Royal Highness also carried out coastal engagements in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Portsoy, including a visit to the Scottish Maritime Academy.

The Duchess of Rothesay continued the nautical theme with the official naming of The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier The Prince of Wales at Rosyth Dockyard, Fife. Following the ceremony, the Duchess travelled north to Perthshire to visit businesses supplying traditional Scottish food, drink and clothing. Meanwhile, The Duke met students involved in traditional building crafts at the Scottish Lime Centre Trust before travelling South to Edinburgh to open the Patrick Geddes Centre for learning at Riddle’s Court, a 16th Century courtyard house restored by the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, Their Royal Highnesses covered a lot of ground visiting many different locations along the way. They visited a new visitor centre which celebrates the work of the poet Seamus Heaney in his home village of Bellaghy in County Londonderry. His Royal Highness had recorded one of Heaney’s poems for the centre’s public archive, and he made a speech paying tribute to the poet’s work.

Afterwards, Their Royal Highnesses opened the North West Cancer Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry, a state-of-the-art facility which serves patients from both Northern Ireland and from Ireland. Here, they met staff, patients and their families.

At Hillsborough Castle, the Royal Residence in Northern Ireland, The Prince of Wales toured the house and gardens to view the restoration being carried out there by Historic Royal Palaces, and overseen by His Royal Highness. In the evening, Their Royal Highnesses gave a concert for guests from across Northern Ireland, which featured the World Premiere of Songs After Rain, a new musical work by the Londonderry composer Neil Martin, which was commissioned by The Prince of Wales and which set to music the words of poets in English, Irish and Ulster Scots. 

Their Royal Highnesses also visited the Belfast memorial garden of the Police Service of Northern Ireland which commemorates the officers who have died while on duty. They were also greeted by enthusiastic crowds during a visit to Dromore in County Down, where Her Royal Highness also visited the local primary school. 

In October, The Prince of Wales paid a special visit to Londonderry to visit communities which had been hit by the floods which happened in August. In the communities of Eglinton and Drumahoe, His Royal Highness met those affected by the floods as well as rescuers and helpers, and representatives of The Prince’s Countryside Fund, which had helped the farmers hit by the flooding. 

"The Clink Charity were delighted to welcome HRH Duchess of Cornwall to The Clink Training Restaurant at HMP Styal, Cheshire. The Duchess met with the prisoners who volunteer to receive accredited City & Guild’s (NVQ) training in Food Preparation and Food Service in a real life fine dining environment. Upon release The Clink supports the Clink Graduates into work and accommodation which achieves one of the lowest reoffending rates in England and Wales. We would like to say thank you to HRH Duchess of Cornwall for her continued support of our work."

Christopher Moore, Chief Executive, The Clink Restaurant Cheshire

"This means a huge amount to the hospice, having our patron visit us is a real morale boost for the families that come here. It is recognition of the work we do and we could not be more delighted."

Rob Jones, Chief Exec of Ty Hafan Hospice, Wales

West and South Yorkshire

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall spent some time in West and South Yorkshire, where they opened the newly restored Piece Hall in Halifax, an 18th Century Cloth Hall, before visiting the city’s historic Borough Market. Her Royal Highness then visited the Bronte Parsonage and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in Haworth while His Royal Highness visited the restored Dean Clough mill complex in Halifax and the emergency services centre in Rotherham. His Royal Highness also continued his longstanding support for the British Steel industry by re-starting the furnaces at the Liberty Steel works in Rotherham, which has been reopened. 

Cheshire

Their Royal Highnesses spent a day in Cheshire where The Prince of Wales visited the National Trust’s Quarry Bank Mill complex while The Duchess of Cornwall visited the nearby Clink restaurant, which is staffed by inmates at the local prison.  Afterwards, crowds lined the streets in the town of Congleton where Their Royal Highnesses visited a local community café and then the town hall to mark the 700th anniversary of the town’s mayoralty.

Durham

In the city of Durham, The Prince of Wales visited the University and Cathedral, where he opened the new exhibition of treasures  and then attended a concert to commemorate the centenary of the death of the composer Sir Hubert Parry, of whose work His Royal Highness is a particular admirer. Afterwards, His Royal Highness met large crowds on Palace Green before calling in to an exhibition about the history of the Durham Light Infantry.  Later, in the town of Barnard Castle, The Prince of Wales visited the joint emergency services centre followed by the Bowes Museum. 

“The concert was a pretty extraordinary experience. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for months, with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. It was really great.”

Alex Mackinder, student at Durham University, on conducting the Durham University Symphony Orchestra

Cumbria

His Royal Highness arrived into Langwathby railway station, where he was shown the restoration that has painstakingly been carried out to this historic railway following the recent floods. His Royal Highness then travelled to Crow Park to unveil the official plaque to designate the Lake District National Park as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site. His Royal Highness’s tour was followed up by a visit to the National Centre for the Uplands to see the facilities available to students who wish to become hill farmers and he was shown the new sheep husbandry centre at Low Beckside Farm. Following on from this, His Royal Highness travelled to the Ullswater Steamers at Glenridding Pier, where he boarded their flagship vessel, ‘M.Y. Lady of the Lake’, to mark the occasion of her 140th anniversary. The final visit of the day was to James Cropper P.L.C.; Europe’s leading coloured and specialist paper mill, to learn how the company is developing recyclable paper alternatives to plastic consumer packaging.  His Royal Highness also joined a Waste Utilization Summit which was in progress, discussing ways in which to protect the environment from waste pollution.