The King strummed a ukulele while the Queen devoured an Italian ice cream cone during a whirlwind final day of a visit to Northern Ireland.
Musical Interlude at the Allotment
Charles tried his hand at playing the mini stringed instrument in an unlikely spot – an allotment – joining a ukulele group of more than a dozen players in the town of Newtownards. The King kept up with the Loughries Men’s Shed Ukulele Ensemble and seemed to enjoy the moment as he held the ukulele almost in the style of one of its best known players, George Formby. Charles is not the only royal with musical aspirations; some of his grandchildren are learning to play instruments, with Prince Louis a would-be drummer and Princess Charlotte a budding pianist, while Prince George is believed to have taken up the guitar.
Final Day in Conway Square
Charles and Camilla spent the past three days touring Northern Ireland and they ended their stay in Conway Square where hundreds turned out to see them meet local craftspeople and retailers. Ice cream seller Michael Cafolla, whose business was started just over a 100 years ago by his Italian immigrant grandfather, gave the Queen a cone of ice cream from a mobile cart, freshly made that morning. She took a wafer to dip into the vanilla flavoured treat and joked: “Can I stay here, can I stay and eat” and quipped the cone was her “lunch”. At one point she handed it to her equerry then took it back to have some more ice cream before moving on to another stall. Mr Cafolla said afterwards: “We make a fresh batch of ice cream every morning. My grandfather Giuseppe would have whisked it by hand but now we use modern machinery. The Queen told me she could stay here a bit longer. It’s amazing she came over and she really enjoyed it.”
Meeting Local Heroes
Among the guests in the town square was local-boy gymnast Rhys McClenaghan, the reigning pommel horse Olympic champion who brought his gold medal to show the royal couple. Camilla posed with a Paddington Bear statue sat on a bench that has become a star attraction with visitors to the town. During his day in Co Down, Charles whipped up a stir when he helped mix a gluten-free chocolate cake at the Warehouse centre in Newtownards, a former pub repurposed as a volunteer-supported facility providing free food supplies and meals to people in need.
Supporting Community Initiatives
While the King was on baking duty, Camilla learned about the hub’s “blind date with a book” initiative that encourages people to try new genres of books by picking ones with their covers concealed by wrapping paper. At a separate event, the Queen praised a group of people who work and volunteer with survivors of domestic abuse including representatives from Women’s Aid in North Down and Ards, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, food banks and Community NI. She also spoke with survivors of domestic abuse and their children. Making an impromptu speech to those she met, the Queen said their work is “more important than ever because domestic abuse is coming to the fore more and more, it’s not hidden any longer, it’s talked about, and it’s only through people like all of you that we hopefully can do a lot to put an end to it all with everyone working together”. She added: “It’s lovely to see here all the agencies coming together, I think that’s what is needed all over the country. Thank-you very much.”
