On the third day of their tour of New Zealand, The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to Nelson.
Upon their arrival in the city, Their Royal Highnesses were welcomed by mayor Rachel Reese, Nelson’s first female mayor, following which they walked down Trafalgar Street, stopping to meet and talk to the crowds that had gathered to see their future King.
Following the walkabout, the pair headed to the Nelson Market, where Nita Knight, the market’s founder, gave them a brief introduction to the market’s arts, crafts and local produce. Prince Charles discovered a wonderful smelling jar of peanut butter that he took along with him, while Camilla was gifted a rug made from possum fur, merino and silk.
In the afternoon, Prince Charles dropped by Nelson’s Cawthron Institute, where he got a glimpse into the world of science and sustainable seafood. Having donned a lab coat, His Royal Highness watched two-day old baby mussels under a microscope, and even met Camilla, the first female scampi bred in captivity, who was named after The Duchess of Cornwall in honour of the Royal visit.
Before the visit, Cawthron chief executive, Charles Eason, spoke about his pride at being able to host Prince Charles. “It’s not every day you get a royal visit, so we want to make sure it’s one the Prince remembers and, most importantly, enjoys,” he said.
While her husband spent time with algae and invertebrates, Camilla paid a visit to the World of Wearable Art (WOW) museum, where she was welcomed by the museum’s creator and founder, Dame Suzie Moncrieff. WOW is an annual competition to create artwork that can be worn by people, and began in 1987.
The Duchess met with a few models, including Sophie Pentley, who was wearing the “Baroque Living Room”, Victorian inspired artwork featuring a lampshade headdress, and Lucy Aitcheson, a model wearing the “Frockatoo”, a dress made of cockatoo feathers.
“She loved the technical side of it and she found the Frockatoo amusing,” Dame Suzie said. “She had a giggle and said it was well made. She really enjoyed herself. I found her really lovely, genuine and down-to-earth. She was really interested in the garments she viewed and the materials used. She said she’d never seen anything quite like this.”
Having attended their individual events, the Prince and Duchess were reunited for their final engagement of the day – a food and wine event at the Mahana Vineyard and Winery. The royal couple were offered a taste of some of the region’s best delicacies, and chatted with owner Glenn Schaeffer and winemaker Michael Glover.
The event showed off some of the region’s freshest produce, grown using sustainable production methods. Mahana events manager Jj Luck said that the food and beverages served to Their Royal Highnesses were a “fantastic way to showcase the wonderful things we have from the region.”
Mahana was the last stop for Prince Charles and Camilla, who departed from Nelson at about 3pm, with Camilla heading back to Wellington and Prince Charles flying on to Westport for another day of royal visits.
Photo credit: Governor-General NZ (@GovGeneralNZ) via Twitter
