Here are more photos of Prince William’s outings on Thursday. He visited a school in Birmingham and then traveled to Woodgate Valley Urban Farm, which basically has a petting zoo with a mental-health program. While William’s events were actually good in the sense of “he was highlighting interesting local work on mental health,” the fact that he scheduled these events for Anzac Day and he, the heir, did not do anything for Anzac Day was incredibly strange. While his uncle Edward took on the Anzac Day events, William was at a petting zoo and telling kids that they should spend time listening to their polo ponies breathe. A real man of the people!
The Prince of Wales told children it is important to talk to sheep as he toured a city farm that supports young people with mental health challenges. The Prince also revealed that he used to lie down next to his horse and take comfort from its deep breathing.
The Prince shared the insights into his love for animals during a series of engagements in Birmingham focused on mental health. The Prince then dropped in at Woodgate Valley Urban Farm, just outside the city, which is dedicated to supporting children and young people struggling to access education and those experiencing mental health challenges. As he met some of the children who use the facility, he chatted about his love of animals, revealing that he has guinea pigs at home as well as chickens, which like to eat dried fruit.
The Prince told one boy that he used to enjoy lying next to his horse, taking comfort from its deep breathing. And he said he thought it was “very important” to talk to the sheep and other animals, asking them how they are feeling. He described the farm as “a wonderful little tranquil space” and said there were “so many places in the country that could do this”.
The Prince sat down with Esme Zarifeh, 10, and her mother, Gemma, to stroke and groom two guinea pigs called Chris and Snowflake. He said he found that stroking animals gave people a chance to “calm down and breathe.”
“These guys are pretty cool,” he told Esme. “We’ve got guinea pigs at home and they’re not like this. I spend my life cleaning out the guinea pig cage because the children forget to do it. Then they run off, because you have to handle them all the time, that’s why (these ones) are so calm. The ones we’ve got at home, they’re off. You have to keep them constantly stroked and looked after.”
Next, the royal visitor was shown into the sheep enclosure, bending down to stroke one of them as he chatted to Mrs Hawkeswood’s son, Alfie. “I can see why you love it here,” he told him. “You might have to be a farmer one day, I think. I bet there are not many of your friends who can get this close to sheep.”
William cleans the guinea pig cages at his house? He talks to sheep and listens to his horses breathe? Sure. I mean, if he came up with this stuff on the spot, it’s not half-bad. Animals like to be talked to (one of my cats yells at me and I yell back) and all of that. He even managed to make the horse remark sound somewhat relatable, even though none of those kids have their own polo ponies or horses.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.