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British RoyalsKing Charles III

Prince Charles opens health and well-being centre at Dumfries House

The Prince of Wales saw an ambition he’d held for 35 years come to fruition Tuesday as he opened a new health and well-being centre at Dumfries House in Cumnock.

The Duke of Rothesay, as Prince Charles is known in Scotland, gathered with more than 100 guests to unveil the new centre. The building will hold The Prince’s Foundation’s Integrated Health and Wellbeing Programme, which was established in 2016. According to Clarence House, “the programme champions natural remedies and healthy-eating, with emphasis placed on healing the mind and body as a whole.”

Members of the community can access healthcare services and complementary therapies and classes through GP referral, including tai-chi, yoga, cookery, reiki, reflexology, acupuncture, mindfulness, nutrition workshops, and more.

The building features a large room for activities such as group yoga and meditation, along with six smaller treatment rooms for individual therapies. It also has energy-efficient underfloor heating throughout the centre to give patients a sense of warmth and comfort.

As he unveiled a plaque at the event, Prince Charles said: “I’m so glad that all of you have been able to get here today, particularly because I could not be more proud to see the opening of this new integrated health centre at Dumfries House. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for the last 35 years. I’m also so proud of all the team at Dumfries House who built it, an all in-house team.

“To reach this point where we can now offer a range of social prescribing opportunities is enormously encouraging and I hope it will be able to make some difference to a lot of the health issues that exist in this area.”

Carolyn Paton, Health and Wellbeing Coordinator at Dumfries House, said: “It’s a really exciting time for the health and wellbeing team here and it was so special to have His Royal Highness present to open our new home.”

The new centre is another successful project for the hands-on Prince of Wales, who purchased Dumfries House in 2007 to save the property and its priceless collection of Chippendale furniture. He frequently visits and has a keen interest in the runnings of the East Ayrshire-based estate.

In revitalising the 18th-century Scottish property and the surrounding land, Prince Charles has created enough jobs to make Dumfries House the second-largest employer in the area. Career training programmes also allow jobless young people to become skilled in trades such as hospitality and traditional crafts.

About author

Kristin was Chief Reporter for Royal Central until 2022 and has been following the British royal family for more than 30 years. Kristin has appeared in UK and U.S. media outlets discussing the British royals including BBC Breakfast, BBC World News, Sky News, the Associated Press, TIME, The Washington Post, and many others.