Prince and Princess pay special visit to Monasterboice and Newgrange.
DROGHEDA welcomed some royalty to town last week when Prince Albert of Monaco and his wife Princess Charlene paid a visit to the area.
The couple visited the historic site at Newgrange before stopping off for lunch at The Monasterboice Inn.
But their trip was a low key affair and the couple kept such a low profile that other visitors to Newgrange didn’t even recognise the regal duo!
‘It was a private visit and we were notified that we would have special visitors but we didn’t know who were were expecting until they arrived,’ said Clare Tuffy from Newgrange. ‘We were delighted to be able to welcome the Prince and Princess of Monaco and it was very low key, informal and relaxed. There was no fanfare when they came in, in fact there were two tours onsite at the time and we don’t believe that any of our visitors recognised them, they were so low key.
‘ They were dressed very informally. They really enjoyed their visit and I think it’s great they can go around and enjoy themselves and feel relaxed and not hassled.’
Ms Tuffy said Prince Albert in particular was very interested in the site and obviously knew a lot about it.
‘He had a lot of questions for Sharon, who was their guide on the day. They were with family and friends and they were just chatting and talking just like any other of our visitors. There was no ceremony and no formality. They seemed very down to earth.’
After their trip to Newgrange, the group stopped at the Monasterboice Inn for a spot of lunch, where again the visit was very informal.
‘We got a call from Newgrange asking us to keep a table that there was a celebrity coming but they wouldn’t say who it was,’ said Roseanne Donegan. ‘ They were lovely, really nice people and very down to earth. They were here for about two hours. Prince Albert had seafood chowder with our homemade wheaton scones, which he thought was lovely. It was great to have them here,’ said Roseanne. ‘It was really special.’
‘I went over and welcomed them and we gave them a couple of books; ‘ Treasures of the Boyne Valley’ and a book on Monasterboice Celtic Crosses both of which were written by Peter Harbison. ‘Prince Albert was really, really nice said he really enjoyed Newgrange, and he introduced me to his wife and the two friends with them.’