King Charles and Queen Camila cap off landmark royal visit to Poundbury
Surprised spa guests have unique encounter with King Charles and Queen Camila
King Charles and Queen Camilla made their first official visit to Poundbury yesterday since the Coronation.
They unveiled a new bronze relief sculpture of themselves to mark the completion of Queen Mother Square as well as open the new Duke of Edinburgh Garden.
In a speech commemorating the completion of Queen Mothers Square Poundbury Development Director Andrew Hamilton acknowledged that the idea had been 'ridiculed' at first but now “most praise it for revolutionising the way we expand our communities,” he told the King.
King Charles III looking at his plaque and bronze reliefs
Hundreds gathered at The Royal Pavilion to get a glimpse of the monarch and as the royal couple greeted well-wishers, it was a trio in bathrobes and slippers that captured the King’s playful side.
Speaking after their interaction with the royals, James and Tess - the pampered pair from Lyme Regis – said: “We arrived wondering what was going on and they said, “oh the King’s arriving at some point today,” so we came to watch, in our robes as you do.”
It was last thing the couple expected to see when they visited Monart Spa but agreed it was a ‘once in a lifetime spa experience’: “Our daughters are going to think this is really cool and that it’s really impressive,” Tess added.
Children from Damers First School got a surprise from their teachers too - they didn't know they'd be singing for Their Majesties until it happened!
Mary Peats, 8, told us: “We started learning ‘Sing for the King’ just before the coronation and I suppose it was a surprise to some people that we would be signing for the actual King.”
The Headteacher of Damers said: “I did tell the children that if they sang it well enough and he heard about it that he would probably come and listen to it for himself, so it was such a treat this morning to tell them, ‘He's heard how well you've sung it and now you can sing it to him yourself.’
“It was a big moment for them and I felt so proud of them, I thought they sang beautifully.”
As alluded to by Mr Hamilton 'many of us have joined with His Majesty on this long journey. We started building exactly 30 years ago and now have a thriving community.'
Poundbury is an urban extension of Dorchester, built on the principles of architecture and urban planning advocated by King Charles III.
When construction of the town began in 1993, King Charles believed Poundbury would represent “a vision of Britain” and until the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II last year, he resided over Poundbury.
The town has now been handed over to the Prince of Wales, making it even more poignant that he was able to make time to celebrate the occasion.
Poundbury resident, Lisa Pharaoh said: “I think that it's a very memorable occasion and I think we're very lucky to see him walking around as closely as he is and he's extremely friendly.”
Another resident said: “This means the world to me; I just think he’s lovely and a real ‘man of the people.’”
A third person added: “I didn’t think I’d cry but I did.”