By Gina Kalsi and Rebecca English Royal Editor For The Daily Mail
12:31 25 May 2023, updated 12:48 25 May 2023
The King and Queen have arrived in Co Armagh on their second day of engagements in Northern Ireland.
The King, 74, visited St Patrick’s Cathedral where met representatives from the Church of Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church and the Irish Council of Churches.
The Queen, 75, visited the Armagh Robinson Library, which is home to a number of local archaeological items, historical archives and fine art, as well as books.
Charles was met outside St Patrick’s Cathedral in Co Armagh by the Dean of Armagh, the Very Rev Shane Forster.
Charles then entered the cathedral, where he was greeted by choir song before exchanging brief words with various religious leaders.
He took a seat before the altar with Rev Forster to one side and Lord Lieutenant of Co Armagh, the Earl of Caledon seated on the other.
Among the church leaders who gave readings at the service were the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland Rev John McDowell and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland Rev Eamon Martin.
It is the first time that the King and Queen are visiting Northern Ireland since Charles’ crowning on May 6.
The Queen hailed the power of volunteering as she visited the 252-year-old library and admitted to suffering ‘creaks and groans’ when gardening.
She was greeted by a table of library volunteers, a group children from Drelin Court School whose English is a second language and members of Dementia NI.
She told the volunteers: ‘This is very special what you are doing.
She added: ‘The whole country would collapse without volunteers. That goodness there is a lot of you about.
‘Volunteers also get as much out as they give.’
The Queen also leafed through a reproduction of the Lindisfarne Gospels with brightly coloured illustrations used to thrill child visitors to the library.
And marvelled Jonathan Swift’s personal copy of Gulliver’s Travels – with his personal annotations – kept safe in a glass cabinet.
The Queen was also given the chance to read parts of Joseph Baxter’s Magazine of Botany, which is a collection of illustrated advice for gardeners.
Speaking to members of Dementia NI, she said: ‘I love gardening. I’m a passionate gardener. And it’s very therapeutic. But I always stay too long. Everything creaks and groans.’
Speaking to children, some who only arrived in Northern Ireland two weeks ago, she said: ‘You speak very good English.’
Angela Baleva, 6, who was born in Portugal, whose first language is Bulgarian and handed the Queen a picture she had coloured in from the Lindisfarne Gospels.
She said afterwards: ‘I told the Queen I thought she was beautiful and she said thank you.’
Camilla wore emerald green sleeved dress which came down to just below her knees.
The dress featured beading detailing around the neckline and then also at the cuffs.
The royal paired her dress with tan coloured heels and wore a brooch on her shoulder.
She wore her blue Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet which featured their classic clover charms.
King Charles wore a grey suit with a white shirt and a black, gold and red striped tie and polished shoes.
Yesterday, the royal couple attended a garden party at Hillsborough Castle and opened a new Coronation Garden, erected to mark King Charles’ ascension to the throne.
Camilla looked typically elegant in an all-white ensemble, while her husband, Charles appeared dapper in a navy suit and light blue tie for the occasion at the monarch’s official residence in Northern Ireland.
During the party, the couple planted a tree within the grounds of the castle to mark the coronation, following the King’s brief audience with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.
According to the British Royal Family’s official website, Charles grabs a hold of a branch, gives it a ‘friendly shake’, and wishes it well after planting a tree during official engagements.