Prince William paid his first official visit to Cornwall in his capacity as Duke of Cornwall this week, visiting a community orchard and meeting local volunteers.
At Newquay Orchard, William saw how various parts of the operations support and benefit the local community, and its Chief Executive praised the Prince for choosing his venue for his first visit to the Duchy.
Luke Berkeley told reporters that William’s visit follows that of his father’s a couple of months ago and said: “We feel enormously privileged to be thought of in this way.
“We have had a lot of support from the Duchy, which we are very thankful for. The King has always been very supportive, and clearly, without him, we would not be here.”
According to Kensington Palace, the Orchard is located on seven acres of Duchy of Cornwall land and supports the community by providing community events, employability training and environmental education.
The Prince of Wales visited with the ‘A Lowarth’ group, a gardening group that teaches people gardening skills while also improving their physical and mental health before moving on to an employability training area where people are taught cooking and other practical skills so that they can be transferred to job skills.
Finally, William visited the sustainable Canteen at the Orchard to meet with the staff.
Kensington Palace shared on social media: “By the community, for the community, @NewquayOrchard isn’t just about sustainable – and tasty! – produce, it supports its volunteers and local people with everything from environmental education to employability training, and physical and mental wellbeing.”
Before departing, William also paid a visit to the Duchy of Cornwall offices to meet the staff as he continues his takeover of the portfolio.
The Duchy of Cornwall is the official portfolio of land and business endeavours that funds the office of the heir to the throne. For over 70 years, this was King Charles, although, for the past several years, Prince William had been increasingly involved in managing the day-to-day affairs and attending meetings to prepare for his inevitable takeover.
Prince William became the Duke of Cornwall automatically upon the accession of his father on 8 September. It is a subsidiary title to that of the Prince of Wales.
