The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall have officially made their first joint visit to the Duchy since assuming the titles last year, with a visit to Falmouth.
William and Catherine—who use these titles whilst in Cornwall, as William is the heir and eldest son of the monarch—paid a visit to the National Maritime Museum on February 9th 2023. They announced their visit on Twitter with a quick: “Good afternoon Cornwall!”
The royal couple’s visit was billed by Kensington Palace as a way for them to “learn more about the rich maritime history of Cornwall and how the Museum is working to highlight the relevance of maritime issues to the present day.”
During their visit, William and Catherine toured the Museum workshop to see the refurbishment work on the ‘Kiwi’, a 14-foot sailing dinghy that was given to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as a wedding present in 1947.
They also took the opportunity to do riveting work on a 1940s dinghy, with William quipping, “If she sinks we were never here, you never saw us.”
Next, the royal couple met with young people participating in the ‘Young and Talented Cornwall’ scheme. According to Kensington Palace, this fund provides financial support to young people across Cornwall as a way to help them achieve their dreams, and has doled out nearly £350,000 to 275 individuals over the last decade.
Imogene Dowse, an 18-year-old musician, told reporters afterwards that she had discussed music and mental health with the royals. “We spoke about how music has life-changing benefits on mental health and educational development — we were talking about the benefits of music.”
Poppy Huxton, another young person, said that she spoke with Catherine about how her children go out on dinghies as well, and revealed, “She was saying she really thinks sport and getting outdoors is great for children.”
Before departing, William and Catherine watched a model boat race between students at a local school.
During their walkabout outside the Museum, Catherine ran into an old teacher of hers, Jim Embury, who taught her history in school in the mid 1990s. The Duchess gave her former teacher a hug and said, “Oh my goodness, I do recognize you. Are you based here now? And you are volunteering here? Wow. That is such a small world.”
She then added, about Princess Charlotte, “I’m trying to teach my daughter all the things you probably taught me.”
Mr. Embury told reporters afterwards that Catherine was a fantastic student, “It was a great class and she was a great participant and a great kid. It was 25 years ago.”
Of their visit, William and Catherine shared on social media: “Here in Falmouth the @nationalmaritimemuseumcornwall isn’t just the home of maritime history but also a superb educational hub transferring skills and knowledge between generations.
“Of course it got a bit competitive too…
“And what a brilliant place The Dracaena Centre is! With everything from wellbeing support services to early childhood groups, spaces for all sorts of sport and other activities, you can really see why the centre is so special to the community.”
This is the couple’s first joint visit to Cornwall, but William visited last November, stopping by the Newquay Orchard to discuss environmentalism and community support.
