- By James Kelly
- BBC News NI
The King and Queen met eight year olds Camilla Nowawakowska and Charles Murray outside St Patrick’s Cathedral
The King and Queen met another Charles and Camilla as they concluded their two-day visit to Northern Ireland in counties Armagh and Fermanagh.
The royal couple greeted primary school children who had been waiting outside St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh.
Among them was Camilla Nowawakowska, wearing a crepe-paper replica of her own crown.
Standing next to Camilla was Charles Murray, who was sporting a purple paper crown decorated with shiny stickers.
When the two children told the Queen their first names, she said: “Goodness me, isn’t that funny.
“You’ve got very smart crowns on, they’re a little bit lighter than the one I had on.
“They look pretty cool with all the jewels.”
Charles was then called over and shook hands with the two children.
The royal couple had just met the main Christian denominations at the Anglican St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Queen Camilla also met children at Armagh Robinson Library as part of her campaign to encourage reading.
Later, they met local community groups many of whom had taken part in the Coronation Big Help Out.
King Charles with the Dean of Armagh, the Very Revd Shane Forster, during his visit to St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh
Among those to give readings at the cathedral service were 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.
The other denominations represented at the service were the Presbyterian Church and the Methodist Church.
At the library, the Queen viewed Jonathan Swift’s own, annotated, copy of his book Gulliver’s Travels, during her visit to the library.
Children from Drelin Court primary school, volunteers from the library and representatives from Dementia NI, all of whom use the library regularly, were among those meeting the Queen.
She said they were lucky to have access to the historical books in the library.
The royal couple then made their way to Market Theatre Square to see a celebration of culture.
The Queen got up close with the legendary characters associated with Armagh
Ulster-Scots, Irish, Chinese and South Asian cultures featured their traditional music, song and dance.
‘Greatest pleasure’
The King and Queen also met characters representing legendary and historical characters associated with Armagh, sampled local delicacies and met artisanal food producers, as well as speaking to the crowds gathered.
As the couple joined the Lord Mayor of Armagh Paul Greenfield on stage, King Charles addressed the crowd and thanked the community for its hospitality.
“I did just want to say before we leave that it’s been the greatest pleasure to join you here today,” he said.
“I realise it was 23 years ago since I was last here, and I think opened The Market Place building, which I’m so pleased to see is still going strong and I hope making a huge difference to Armagh.
“But if I may say so it’s been particularly special to meet so many of you today, also a large number of school children whose exams, I suspect, we have totally disrupted.”
In the afternoon, the pair made their way to Enniskillen Castle where they met representatives from across the community, voluntary and heritage sectors in Fermanagh in celebration of the Coronation.
All smiles as the King greets schoolchildren at Enniskillen Castle
They were entertained by a special joint performance of Irish and Scottish dancers accompanied by traditional musicians.
The King and Queen were presented with a Coronation Basket made by Belleek Pottery.
Around a thousand people who had gathered outside the castle were rewarded by a royal walkabout with the King and Queen spending time shaking hands and talking to the crowd.
The King and Queen also went to Lough Erne’s waterfront where they met representatives of the RNLI who marked their 200th anniversary.