Prince William misses King Charles’s birthday celebrations after sending message with Kate
The Prince of Wales visited Northern Ireland today for two key engagements focused on tackling youth homelessness and supporting the creative industries sector.
Prince William’s first stop was The Foyer, a temporary accommodation service operated by Simon Community, where he discussed initiatives to prevent homelessness among young people leaving care.
He later toured Ulster University’s creative facilities, exploring their virtual production capabilities and learning about plans for the £72m Studio Ulster project.
The Homewards programme, which Prince William champions through The Royal Foundation, aims to tackle this pressing issue by developing innovative housing solutions.
William’s appearance in Northern Ireland comes on King Charles’s 76th birthday.
During his visit to The Foyer, the prince met with young people to hear their personal stories and discuss the support they’ve received.
The facility operates as part of Simon Community, a leading homelessness charity and member of the Homewards Northern Ireland local Coalition.
In Northern Ireland, approximately 140 young people each year leave care and present as homeless.
Simon Community’s Housing First For Youth service focuses on preventing homelessness by providing stable accommodation and wraparound support for vulnerable care leavers.
The Homewards Northern Ireland Coalition aims to reduce youth homelessness by scaling up successful approaches and sharing learnings across locations.
Ulster University has played a central role in growing Northern Ireland’s creative industries over the past decade.
The sector contributes £1.4bn to the local economy and employs more than 24,000 people.
Through its Ulster Screen Academy, the university works to train and develop skilled workers for the industry..
The academy also focuses on widening access to creative careers by taking training into communities and connecting industry leaders with grassroots organisations.
During his visit, Prince William joined a training workshop where young people from local community groups learned to operate software for games, animation and virtual production
The participants will receive financial support to replicate this training in their communities, creating new pathways into creative careers.
The Prince then toured the university’s state-of-the-art Virtual Production Studio, where students demonstrated their skills using LED walls to create virtual sets.
This technology is increasingly used across film, broadcast, animation, gaming and visual effects.
The Prince concluded his visit by learning about Studio Ulster, a £72m studio complex set for completion in early 2025.
The project, supported by Belfast Harbour and Northern Ireland Screen, will be one of the world’s most technologically advanced studios.
Prince William met with Belfast-born actor James Martin to discuss the sector’s growing success in Northern Ireland.
Studio Ulster will integrate virtual production with traditional film processes while supporting research and development of visual effects capabilities.