The Duchess of Cornwall visits north London

The Duchess of Cornwall got a hands-on demonstration of the coronavirus vaccination roll out during a visit to north London. But she had to confront her fear of needles as she helped mix doses of the vaccine during a tour of a Tottenham vaccine centre.

Camilla was given a tour of the Lordship Lane Primary Care Centre which has been administering the jab to the local community as the programme to get all adults in the UK vaccinated in the coming months continues. During her visit the Duchess, who has admitted to her phobia before, jumped slightly as she came face to face with a large needle. One of her hosts, Dr. Russell Hearn, offered some reassurance, telling his royal guest not to worry as ”it’s going nowhere near you.”

Dr. Hearn also got the Duchess involved in the process of mixing vaccines ready for distribution. He showed her how phials are prepared for distribution with Camilla then taking a turn at gently tipping the glass tubes gently as part of the process. The centre is about to administer its 50,000th coronavirus jab and the Duchess was given an overview of the work going on throughout the facility as she met staff and patients.

It was part of a series of engagements for Camilla in the London Borough of Haringey on April 7th 2021, focusing on how local communities are supporting each other during the pandemic. She was welcomed by Mayor Adam Jogee who told her ””It’s a real pleasure that you are here to find out more about how we are getting our people safe.”

Her time in Haringey also took her to Wightman Road Mosque which held the first pop-up vaccination centre in Haringey as part of a push to ensure everyone in the area gets the jab. Camilla was welcomed to the mosque by Sister Bibi Khan, President of the London Islamic Society, which is based there.

As well learning about the vaccination work going on at the mosque, the Duchess of Cornwall met many of those involved in projects that have been offering continuing support to the community over the past months. She heard about work to distribute food parcels as well as counselling and health initiatives. The centre currently helps over 30 different nationalities and has offered support to communities outside the borough throughout the pandemic.

With preparations for Ramadan continuing, Camilla added gifts including stickers and corgi keyrings to Iftar boxes for child refugees being prepared at the centre. Iftar is the meal eaten to break the fast observed between sunrise and sunset through the four weeks of Ramadan.

After being presented with a copy of the Qu’ran, inscribed to her and her husband, The Duchess of Cornwall promised to return to the centre soon with Prince Charles, saying ”“I hope I shall be back again.”