Charles and Camilla tour Kent
Royal couple visit charities, animal shelter, dockyard and two new exhibitions
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall made a whistle-stop tour of Kent last week.
Their first port of call was the Sheerness Healthy Living Centre where they met those behind charity Sheppey Matters, which works to improve health and wellbeing on the Island.
Prince Charles and Camilla also met a Syrian family who have settled on Sheppey with help from the Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN).
Syrian refugee Osama Sharkia spoke to the royal couple about his role as a youth ambassador for KRAN. He said: “They were amazed by the work we are doing.
“They said it’s nice that I am paying back to the UK and that touched my heart as I feel it is my duty to help refugees and give the same support I was given when I came to the UK.”
During a tour of the sports
centre the couple met personal trainer Ryan Thompson who has launched mental health charity Mentalk; the 1,2,3 ADHD and Me project supporting young people affected by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; and a crafting group from Eastchurch.
The Royal Highnesses also encountered the Isle Connect You project, which is tackling loneliness, and members of a Nordic walking group which improves fitness, before visiting Sheppey FM community radio studios.
Prince Charles requested a song by Jools Holland and chatted to youth presenters Martin Goodsell and Aimee Cordwell of Oasis Academy and Anya Cordwell and Lacie Ingram from The Sittingbourne School.
The Duchess of Cornwall then went on to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, making her first visit to its Brands Hatch centre.
Camilla took a tour of the kennels and cattery before joining Battersea ambassador, Paul O’Grady MBE on a woodland walk with a rescue dog.
Charles went to Chatham Historic Dockyard and was the first to see the attraction’s newest exhibition ahead of its opening to the public.
Diving Deep: HMS Invincible 1744 on Saturday will open to the public on Saturday and tells the story of the gem of the Navy which ran aground in the Solent off Portsmouth in 1758.
And The Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to The Guildhall Museum in Rochester to open ‘The Making Of Mr Dickens’.
The exhibit tells the story of one of England’s finest writers and Medway resident, Charles Dickens. Camilla read extracts from Great Expectations to schoolchildren alongside Gerald Dickens, Charles’ great, great grandson.
The Duchess of Cornwall then went to Rochester Airport to meet volunteers who have been restoring iconic aircraft – such as the Spitfire and Hurricane – for nearly half a century.
The visit also included a private tour of Elmley Nature Reserve on Sheppey for Prince Charles. He met owner Philip Merricks, and toured the estate, where land is managed for breeding ground-nesting birds.