The Prince of Wales Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are to make a State visit to Ireland next month.
The three-day visit from March 23rd to March 25th was announced by the British embassy in Dublin, which said it is part of the Royal family’s spring tours to mark Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee year.
It is the first overseas visit for the prince this year and comes as he and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall are recovering from Covid-19.
The visit will focus on Co Tipperary, and an undisclosed second county .
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It is expected Prince Charles will visit Cahir Castle and the Rock of Cashel while a visit to nearby Coolmore Stud owned by John Magnier is also being discussed.
While it is a State visit, the couple are not expected to have any engagements in Dublin and there has been no announcement of a visit to Áras An Uachtaráin to meet President Michael D Higgins.
The prince has previously expressed a wish to visit every county in Ireland.
On previous visits to the country, the prince and the duchess separated to visit places of particular interest to themselves. In May 2019 Prince Charles’ itinerary in Co Wicklow took in Glendalough and the botanic gardens at Kilmacurragh, while the duchess visited Avoca Handweavers in Avoca and a women’s refuge in Bray.
There is some speculation the prince and his wife might stay at Cahir Castle, which is managed by the OPW and is one of Ireland’s largest and best-preserved castles. It is located on a rocky island on the River Suir. Lismore Castle in Co Waterford has also been mentioned.
The castle is the property of the Duke of Devonshire, a wealthy British aristocratic family which was also related to family of American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. President Kennedy stayed there in 1963.
Prince Charles’ mother visited Cashel on her Irish tour which took place in 2011.
Both the Department of Foreign Affairs and the embassy said a more full note of the couple’s itinerary would be announced at a later date.
