Prince William had a charming reaction to hearing a memorable anecdote about his grandfather Prince Philip’s trip to the same Belfast mission where he was promoting his Homewards campaign earlier this week. On Tuesday the Prince paid a visit to the Skainos Centre – with Northern Ireland being unveiled as one of the six pilot locations for his five-year project to end homelessness – and was regaled with a tale of how the East Belfast Mission secured the funding to build the centre, thanks to a pointed comment by the late Duke of Edinburgh.
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On a visit to the Northern Irish capital in March 2008, the late Queen and Prince Philip were informed about plans to build the Skainos Centre, with the Prince asking why construction was not yet underway.
He was told there were not enough funds to put their plan into action, to which Philip turned to the politicians and said: “Why don’t you just give them the b****y money?”
The Methodist minister who told William the story admitted he had altered the story slightly, saying: “There was an expletive in there but I’m not going to say that. And three weeks later the money turned up.”
The Prince of Wales laughed in response and said: “That sounds like my grandfather!”
On a walkabout outside the centre William shook hands with well-wishers and chatted about his visit, saying: “The Reverend has been telling me stories about my grandfather.”
The royal was also filmed having a chat with a fan who appeared to be singing the praises of the charity’s on-site Refresh Cafe.
He asked the Prince: “Have you been for a fry-up?” to which William replied: “There’s a fry-up waiting for people! I’ve got to get out there.”
One royal fan appeared a little overenthusiastic as William came up to greet him as he seemed to attempt to playfully punch him in the face and touch his cheek.
The Prince of Wales did not appear bothered by the reaction and the man seemed to mean it in a joking and affectionate way.
He hugged and kissed other members of the public and posed for photographs, with one woman saying he “smells beautiful”.
The visit to Belfast came as part of his UK tour to launch Homewards, delivered by The Royal Foundation, which saw the Prince visit six locations around the country in 48 hours.
In Belfast William met initial members of the coalition being built through Homewards, and heard from representatives from the East Belfast Mission about their work to tackle homelessness and about their new housing development 240.
