KING CHARLES and Queen Camilla have made a special trip to Northern Ireland this week to carry out a series of engagements.
The royal pair arrived in Belfast yesterday and spent the day in the city meeting government officials and members of the public as well as taking time to explore its outdoor spaces.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are in Northern Ireland this weekThey visited The Coronation Garden, in the ‘Botanical Borough’ of Antrim and Newtownabbey.
The new community space, which was named in honour of the new King and Queen’s recent coronations, is framed by a flowering meadow of 932 square metres - which includes both annuals and perennial flowers, from a 100% Island of Ireland provenance wildflower seed mix.
The pair met groups enjoying the new garden, including schoolchildren taking part in a Coronation Microgreens Horticulture Project and volunteers who had helped organise recent events to celebrate their Coronation.
The royal pair met the winners of the School Bench competitionAt Hillsborough Castle, the royal couple met the winners of a School Bench Competition.
In January 2023, Historic Royal Palaces invited schools to take part by designing a bench which explored their hopes for the future.
Blythefield Primary School’s winning design incorporated a variety of flowers to reflect the diversity of their school, including Costus Spectabili to repesent Nigeria, Hibiscus to represent Malaysia and Water Lily to represent Bangladesh.
King Charles and Queen Camilla attended a garden party at Hillsborough CastleKing Charles also held an audience with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris yesterday afternoon during a Garden Party at Hillsborough Castle.
Fillowing the meeting Mr Heaton-Harris said: “An absolute pleasure to host today’s annual garden party at in the presence of Their Majesties The King and Queen. A wonderful setting and special atmosphere as representatives of the community across NI came together following the recent Coronation.”
👑 An absolute pleasure to host today’s annual garden party at @HillsCastle in the presence of Their Majesties The King and Queen.
🤝 A wonderful setting and special atmosphere as representatives of the community across NI came together following the recent Coronation. pic.twitter.com/KOIB9o1ptn
— Chris Heaton-Harris MP (@chhcalling) May 24, 2023
Today the pair are in Armagh, where King Charles has visited St Patrick's Cathedral and met representatives from the Church of Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church and the Irish Council of Churches.
The Queen visited the Armagh Robinson Library this morning.
