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The Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, who are styled as The Baron and Baroness Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland, gave us another surprise today when the news of their landing in Belfast came. The visits to Northern Ireland have always been kept under wrap due to security concerns.
This is William and Catherine’s first visit to Northern Ireland since they became the Prince and Princess of Wales last month. It was also their first visit to Carrickfergus since The late Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the title of Baron and Baroness on them in 2011. Carrickfergus – ‘Rock of Fergus’ is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough. Yesterday, The Princess of Wales visited the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Windsor.
The Prince and Princess arrive at PIPS Charity to speak to staff and counsellors about the life-saving work that it provides to service users and how the organisation has worked to remove all possible barriers to support those experiencing suicidal thoughts. pic.twitter.com/SGbU2Ou76h
In Northern Ireland, William and Catherine visited cross-community organisations which work to provide services and support to people from all backgrounds. The first stop of the day was PIPS Suicide Prevention Ireland which supports people who are at risk of suicide and self-harm in Belfast and across Northern Ireland and provide them with crisis support.
“Lord mayor Tina Black and Sinn Fein MP for the constituency John Finucane were among those who welcomed the royal couple on arrival. Inside, 12-year-old Elyse Quinn, the daughter of the charity’s executive director Renee Quinn, presented the princess with a bouquet of flowers. “
Established in 2003 following the tragic suicide of 14 young people in Belfast within a very short period, PIPS was the result of group efforts when stakeholders from across the city came together to tackle the tragic issue. Today, PIPS provide tailored suicide prevention, counselling and bereavement support services. The Charity also runs a training program where they educate the public to help them spot the individuals who are the risk of suicide and self-harm.
During their visit to PIPS, The Prince and Princess of Wales learnt about how the charity works. The couple met with the staff and support team. The charity has a ‘no-appointment needed’ service. William and Catherine also met with the people who were supported by the charity in the past and learnt how charity changed their lives and helped them in difficult times. They spoke with 24-year-old Erin Quinn about her personal challenges and how PIPS is helping her overcome her struggles.
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They learnt about the charity’s initiative ”Little Boxes of Hope’ care packages that are given to children supported by the charity. The boxes contain a variety of products including the ‘Wash away your worries’ soap bar and ‘Seeds of Hope’.
There was a large crowd gathered outside the charity to meet and greet the Royal couple. The large crowd was a pleasant surprise given the event was not announced beforehand. To Catherine, babies are like magnets.
Kensington Palace
The mother of 3 adorable children loves meeting young babies and cooing over them. This event was not an exception either. Outside PIPS, The Princess noticed a cute little baby and even though they were scheduled to leave for the next event, she asked William for a few minutes and met the babies and other gathered public outside.
The second stop of the day was Trademarket – brand-new outdoor street food and retail market right in the heart of Belfast. There William and Catherine met with vendors of street food and retail. Supported by Kainos Technology, the trademarket works with young people in the local community
Kainos Twitter
In the market, they visited various vendors and learnt about the day-to-day life of the people working at the market and how it supports the local economy and youth. The Prince and Princess of Wales met with traders, and representatives from Kainos, the IT company that leases the land to the food and retail enterprise.
Local entrepreneur Will Neill set up the market to create a vibrant, welcoming and diverse site which would allow new businesses from different backgrounds to work alongside each other. After competing in the cocktail contest, the Prince and Princess of Wales chatted with vendors and heard about the measures that have been put in place to ensure the site is both ethically and environmentally sustainable, such as removing single-use plastics and a commitment to paying staff a living wage.
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The Prince and Princess of Wales tried their hand at making cocktails at the Trademarket.
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) October 6, 2022
Kensington Palace shared this lovely video of the moment. Rebecca English from The Daily Mail shared on Twitter, “I spoke to the lovely Will Neill from Trademarket who told me this was an ‘Up the Lagan in a Bubble’ – a reference to the famous river that flows through Belfast and local slang for ‘I wasn’t born yesterday’. It was based on ingredients from one of the collective’s vendors, Brew & Yaki, and included gin, fruit tea cordial, sherry, a Japanese plum-liqueur called umeshu and lime and passionfruit ‘bobas’ – tapioca starch ‘pearls’ found in Taiwanese bubble tea.
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A special meeting and a little gift for family dog Orla.
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The last stop of the day was Carrickfergus where The Baron and Baroness of Carrickfergus visited Carrick Connect.
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Carrick Connect is a youth charity which offers support services to young people experiencing social or emotional difficulties. They learned about some of the projects the charity is involved in including a mentoring service created to help young people develop strategies for coping with life.
Kensington Palace
Northern Ireland GOV Twitter
The Princess of Wales, who has many times made it known publicly that she loves cooking, made cookies at the connect centre.
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William was not going to let go of the chance that easily either.
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The couple received a very warm welcome in Antrim and were met with hundreds of people along the town’s seafront, against the backdrop of Carrickfergus Castle.
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Many schoolchildren actually missed a school day to meet the Royal couple. One young kid jokingly said he is never going to wash his hand as he just shook it with Princess.
