WATERFORD, March 25 — Prince Charles on Thursday celebrated the "ancient connections” between the UK and Ireland as he and wife Camilla visited Waterford on a royal tour marking Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee year.

Under sunny skies, the Prince of Wales, 73, and Duchess of Cornwall, 74, were greeted by the mayor, a modest crowd and a troupe of Viking re-enactors as they began a three-day visit to Ireland’s oldest city.

Addressing community leaders and local politicians at Waterford City Council, Charles said his thoughts were with the people of Ukraine, and spoke of the close ties between Britain and Ireland.

"It is in places such as Waterford... we are reminded so vividly of our ancient connections, and how they have evolved over time toward a modern friendship,” he said.

"Our two countries are not just neighbours, but partners who, though at times we have travelled a troubled road together, have through reconciliation and understanding forged a future that has benefitted both our peoples and the world.

"I am sure your thoughts and prayers, ladies and gentlemen, however inadequate they may be, are with the people of Ukraine as they continue to face such uncertainty and brutal aggression,” he added.

Charles added it was a "huge pleasure” for the couple to be in Ireland, "a country that means more to us than I can possibly say.

"It has long been one of our great ambitions to visit every county of this majestic land before senility totally overtakes us, so to have been so warmly welcomed... is a wonderful blessing, and one that will certainly live long in our memories,” he added.

Later Charles, who is the 95-year-old monarch’s eldest son and heir, met school children and community groups at a gardening project in the city.

Frail health

A keen gardener and environmental campaigner, he showed off his skills with a shovel while extolling the virtues of growing your own potatoes to the pupils aged between six and 12.

Camilla, who missed out on the Cheltenham horse racing festival earlier this month while recovering from Covid, met staff at the stables of renowned trainer Henry De Bromhead and was presented with prize-winning horses Honeysuckle and A Plus Tard. 

On Friday, the pair will visit the Rock of Cashel, a collection of mediaeval buildings in southern Ireland that served as the seat of historic kings.

The couple have visited Ireland five times in the past, most recently in 2019 when they met President Michael Higgins in County Wicklow on Ireland’s southeast coast.

They visited Northern Ireland on Wednesday, taking in tourist attractions in Belfast including the Titanic museum about the ill-fated ocean liner.

The trip is part of a series of spring royal tours, including one by his eldest son, Prince William and his wife Catherine, to the Caribbean.

Senior royals are visiting eight of the 14 Commonwealth countries outside Britain where the queen is also head of state to mark her record-breaking 70th year on the throne.

Public events over four days are to be held in the UK in early June to mark the occasion.

The Queen, who turns 96 next month and has been in fragile health, made history in 2011 when she became the first British monarch to visit Ireland since its independence.

The state visit was seen as helping overcome deep-rooted unease and putting Anglo-Irish relations on a new footing.  — AFP