Inside King Charles, Camilla’s visit to Northern Ireland

King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting Northern Ireland to carry out a series of engagements, marking their first visit to the country following the Coronation.

They spent a day in the city of Belfast, celebrating the best of Northern Ireland, from community and entrepreneurship to flora and fauna.

The Coronation Garden

The ‘Botanical Borough’ of Antrim and Newtownabbey has created a new community space, and it was in bloom for their Majesties’ arrival. Named in honour of the new King and Queen, the Coronation Garden is the first step in developing a huge green initiative for residents.

The garden is framed by a flowering meadow of 932 square metres, which includes both annuals and perennials, with colour from the first year and many years after that. It is a 100% Island of Ireland provenance wildflower seed mix.

The Garden has followed ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ practices, with many elements being locally composted or reclaimed.

King Charles and Camilla 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 the Coronation.

The Coronation Bench

At Hillsborough Castle, they met the winners of a School Bench Competition. In January 2023, Historic Royal Palaces invited schools across the UK 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: Costus Spectabili to represent Nigeria, Hibiscus to represent Malaysia and Water Lily to represent Bangladesh.

Audiences at Hillsborough Castle

King Charles held an audience with Chris Heaton-Harris, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, at Hillsborough Castle.

Garden Party

The King and Queen welcomed Guests were chosen for their links to: youth, community, diversity and sustainability. Guests from across Northern Ireland to a Garden Party held in the grounds of Hillsborough Castle.