The Prince of Wales made a surprise trip to Belfast where he met actor James Martin and hopped on a motorbike – but avoided a planned walkabout following a muted reception.
William visited homeless charity the Simon Community before touring Ulster University.
The trip had been scheduled for May but was postponed because of the general election.
At the university, the prince admired An Irish Goodbye star James’s MBE medal as the pair were introduced, remarking “I recognise that.”
William visited the Ulster Screen Academy and the university’s state-of-the-art Virtual Production Studio.
The future king took a rare turn behind the camera as he was shown around the facility, practising moving a video camera along rails while talking to the students.
He couldn’t resist climbing on the motorbike as part of the in-camera visual effects stage, commenting: “I need to sit on the motorbike”, and continued to chat to the students while flexing his fingers around the handlebars against a backdrop of an arid scene in Arizona.
Still entranced by the motorcycle, he commented: “I feel I should take this for a spin, does it come off the gimbal at all, feels like you could have quite a lot of fun with that.
“Brilliant bike, love the exhaust.”
William went on to tour the rest of the city centre campus to which he had been welcomed by Secretary of State Hilary Benn, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and Belfast Lord Mayor Micky Murray.
He met some students gathered in the foyer as he prepared to leave.
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One young woman admitted she was late for her lecture, to which William laughed, replying: “You can blame me”, and motioned to all gathered: “You can all blame me”.
However, arriving at the university, the prince had been greeted with jeers and boos as he entered the building, primarily from a small pro-Palestinian rally gathered outside.
Some of the protesters were heard shouting “shame” and accused the Prince of Wales of “hiding” from them.
Then, on leaving the university, William was met by further shouting, and did not part take in a planned walkabout to greet some students outside.
Watch: Prince William booed as he arrives in Belfast
Students Annie Simpson and Lucy Matthews were excited by the royal visit to their place of study, but admitted the reaction to his arrival was “a bit dull”.
“It’s really good for the university, I love the royals, but it was a bit dull,” said Annie.
“I was expecting a bit more, but I am a big fan of them, it’s really good for here,” added Lucy.
Their fellow students Maya O’Neil and Lucy Browne were impressed by the royal visitor.
“We’re first years, we study politics and international studies so we’re excited that he is here. It’s important and it’s very good for the university,” said Maya.
“A lot of people want to see him here, there was so much buzz on Wednesday about it, all speculating who was coming,” said Lucy.
However their excitement was not shared by others.
Sharon Alfred noted that she was “paying thousands of pounds for a class she couldn’t get to.”
Before visiting the university, the Prince’s first stop was at The Foyer, which provides temporary accommodation and support services for young people experiencing homelessness.
It is run by the Simon Community, part of the Homewards Northern Ireland Coalition and part of the Prince’s UK-wide Homewards initiative.
William met young people to hear about their journeys and the support they have received.
He also discussed some of the work being delivered in Northern Ireland to support young people leaving care, and the role Homewards can play in developing new solutions.
During his visit to the Simon Community, the Prince spoke with 21-year-old Stuart, who has been supported by the charity’s Housing First for Youth service.
Stuart described meeting the royal as “surreal” and said he was very interested in his story.
“It was really helpful to speak to him,” said Stuart, who has been in and out of foster care since he was a child, but now with the Simon Community’s help has a tenancy and a full-time job.
“I am a fan of the royal family and he seemed really interested in what I had to say. He was listening to me and also asking lots of questions about my journey, so that was very nice.
“He seemed genuinely interested.”
Later, William met James Martin at Ulster University, with the actor sharing his delight at meeting the royal. “It was a great pleasure to meet Prince William, the Prince of Wales, again. He presented me with my MBE at Windsor Castle in May,” he said.
“The creative arts are very important to us all providing opportunities to have fun and explore important topics. It is so good to see this industry doing so well in Northern Ireland and Ulster University playing a big part in that.”