Charles and Camilla’s Visit to the Irish Republic, Day Two

On their second day in the Republic of Ireland, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the town in which one of the Royal Family’s close relatives, the Earl Mounbatten of Burma, was murdered in a bomb attack the late 1970s.

In Mullaghmore, a seaside village in County Slingo on the Irish coast, Charles and Camilla walked the village’s main street with Timothy Knatchbull, the grandson of Lord Mounbatten and brother of Nicholas, who was also killed  in the attack. A number of local turned out to welcome the royal visitors.

The Prince and the Duchess were present at a civic reception at the Model Arts Centre prior to the visit, where Charles gave an emotional speech that recalled the grief both he and others who lost loved ones in battle between the Irish and the British had suffered. “At the time I could not imagine how we could come to terms with the anguish of such a deep loss, since for me Lord Mountbatten represented the grandfather I never had,” he said, before stating that “recent years have shown us though that healing is possible, even when the heartache continues.”

Earlier, the couple were amongst 160 people who attended a peace and reconciliation service led by the Very Reverend Arfon Williams at St Columba’s Church in Drumcliffe. Among those present was John Maxwell and Mary Hornsey, the parents of young Paul Maxwell who was a crew member on Lord Mounbatten’s boat the day it was blown up, Afterwards the Prince and the Duchess planted a tree in the presence of the former Irish President, Mary McAleese. They also visited the grave of poet WB Yeats.

Charles and Camilla, who will move on to Northern Ireland tomorrow, finished their day at the Slingo Races, where they presented the winning jockey in the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall Mare Maiden Hurdle with a trophy.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Ireland, Louis Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Official Visit, President McAleese of Ireland, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Prince of Wales, Timothy Knatchbull.