Her Majesty The Queen & HRH The Duke of Edinburgh begin a 3 day visit to NI
Earlier this evening, Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh arrived at Belfast City Airport for a 3 day visit to Northern Ireland.
On arrival at the airport they were met by Dame Mary Peters DBE, Lord Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Brian Ambrose, Chief Executive of Belfast City Airport.
The Royal party then made its way to Her Majesty’s Official Residence in Northern Ireland – Hillsborough Castle. On arrival at Hillsborough Castle The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were met by David Lindsay, Lord Lieutenant of Co Down and Michael Day, Chief Executive of Historic Royal Palaces.
Her Majesty The Queen then conducted private Audiences with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, First Minister of Northern Ireland, the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and Chief Executive of Historic Royal Palaces.
Meanwhile, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh met around 75 recipients of the DOE Gold Awards, including the 1000th young person to receive their certificate in Northern Ireland, Clodagh McCreevy from Patrician Youth Centre, Downpatrick.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by The Duke of Edinburgh and has since expanded to 140 other countries. The awards recognize adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises modelled on Kurt Hahn’s solution to the “Six Declines of Modern Youth.”
HRH took the opportunity to meet each individual award recipient and their families. He also met representatives from the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster, Belfast Education and Library Board, Campbell College, NI Fire and Rescue Service, Royal School Armagh and Triangle Housing – all of whom received Operating Authority License Certificates.
The Royal Couple spent a private evening in Hillsborough Castle.