Prince William made a “surprise visit” to Belfast, Northern Ireland on Thursday. For a second, I wondered if this trip was something thrown together at the last minute because William has been loudly criticized in some quarters after his Cape Town trip bombed so badly. But then I remembered… royal visits to Northern Ireland are almost always a “surprise.” They’re rarely announced ahead of time, although some reporters were obviously given a heads up, and some rota people even traveled with William. It’s just the way it is and probably always will be – the Windsors have to take extra precautions whenever they’re in Northern Ireland.
Still, I doubt many people in Belfast knew the heir would be in town on Thursday. So while there were few crowds, there were also no large-scale protests. And yet, there was one small-scale protest at Ulster University. William was booed entering and leaving a building on campus, and apparently the protest was made about of about thirty pro-Palestinian protesters. GB News claimed there were about 100 students waiting for a glimpse of him, but that he still got a “muted response” from them. Still, nothing beats the reception given to William whenever he’s in Aberdeen. I swear, the Scottish people in Aberdeen simply refuse to give him one iota of attention.
As for why William even went to Belfast… he visited some homelessness project or shelter and he visited the university, where he did a photo-op with a motorcycle. It was actually a staged thing at the Virtual Production Studio at Ulster- students basically learn how to greenscreen and such. The background was supposed to look like Arizona, and William was especially keen, because he loves motorcycles. He also loves hanging out with college coeds, doesn’t he?
The Prince of Wales, Prince William has arrived at @UlsterUni Belfast. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/q6Ksgwj77A
— Kurtis Reid (@kurtisreid_) November 14, 2024
A less than warm reaction to Prince William as he departs @UlsterUni in Belfast this afternoon. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/jTJ2cLmUri
— Kurtis Reid (@kurtisreid_) November 14, 2024
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.