Prince Charles and Camilla meet locals and visit fish market during royal visit
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall also met survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire during day one of their trip to the Duchy
Prince Charles and Camilla are on a royal visit to Cornwall for the second time this year, and are spending two days meeting people in the Duchy.
On Monday morning (18th July) the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall met locals and community groups at the Solomon Browne Hall in Mousehole.
Their Royal Highnesses were received by the Lord Lieutenant, Edward Bolitho, who presented the civic line up and the Chair of the Solomon Browne Hall. Their Royal Highness also met several local groups, including Mousehole Archive Group.
Their Royal Highnesses then walked down to the Harbour where they met residents and visitors including representatives of the Mousehole Harbour Authority, and Esme Page who runs Cornwall Hugs Grenfell, a charity founded on nearby ‘Grenfell Street’ that provides holidays for families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.
Esme Page has recently taken in a Ukrainian refugee from Odessa, who is a professional singer and will be singing with the Mousehole Male Voice Choir on the harbourside.
Charles and Camilla listened to the Mousehole Male Voice Choir and met children from Mousehole primary School, some of whom made a sculpture on the beach.
The Duchess of Cornwall was also given a copy of the famous book The Mousehole Cat.
The Solomon Browne Memorial Hall is dedicated to those who lost their lives when they set out to rescue the Union Star on 19th December 1981 during a raging storm.
Eight crew members of the Penlee Lifeboat lost their lives and the Union Star was also lost in the attempt. The hall is now a precious hub for local community activity.
In 2019 The Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund made a donation to this important community asset.
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall also visited Newlyn Harbour and fishing port o Monday.
Their Royal Highnesses met local fisherman and learned about the sustainable fishing practices that they are adopting.
Upon arrival at the Harbourside, their Royal Highnesses were greeted by Lord Lieutenant Edward Bolitho, who presented Mr Robert Clifford-Wing, Chairman, Newlyn Pier & Harbour Commissioners. Their Royal Highnesses also met staff from the harbour, including the Harbour Master and a number of the Commissioners.
Entering the Harbour Market, Charles and Camilla met with staff from the National Lobster Hatchery, alongside staff from Fishy Filaments, a company which is repurposing old fishing nets into useful products for industry.
Walking around the market, the royal couple viewed a display of locally caught fish, meeting with the market supervisor, Lionel Washer, and also met local fishermen.
Proceeding through the carpark, their Royal Highnesses visited the Argoe Restaurant, a fish restaurant based on the harbour.
Finally, Prince Charles proceed towards The Copper Works, a workshop specialising in the use of copper, and enjoyed a tour of the workshop.
Newlyn has had a working harbour since the 15th Century and is the largest fishing port by tonnage in England, mainly because of its catch of pilchards or Cornish sardines as they are now known.
More than 600 vessels and 100 fishermen land up to 40 different species of fresh fish each day at Newlyn Harbour, including hake, turbot, mackerel and cuttlefish to name but a few.
Throughout the harbour visit there will be a focus on sustainable practices.
Chairman of Newlyn Pier & Harbour Commissioners, Rob Wing, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome Their Royal Highnesses to Newlyn Harbour and to share its importance as a strategic port to Cornwall’s fishing industry and local community.
“We discussed sustainable fishing practices and the need to preserve our ancient fisheries as well as the fisherman’s craft by providing resources to support them and training facilities for the next generation. I also shared the ambition of Newlyn Harbour Commissioners to secure a transformative level of investment to regenerate the harbour estate, which would not only benefit our hardworking fisherfolk but prepare Newlyn for the 22nd century and beyond.”