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Hundreds of well wishers lined the streets of St Ives as King Charles and Queen Camilla visited Cornwall for the first time since the coronation in May. Holidaymakers joined local residents, children, babies and dogs as Charles and Camilla walked through the picturesque seaside town.
During the visit, Charles spoke of surfing at Constantine Bay, near Padstow, while Camilla described how she finds it peaceful to be by the sea. The couple arrived at the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Gallery, which is cared for by the Tate, on Thursday (13 July) afternoon.
They received applause and cheers from waiting crowds, who had gathered on the cobbled streets by the museum ahead of their visit. Anne Barlow, director of Tate St Ives, gave Charles and Camilla a tour of the property where Hepworth lived and worked.
“This house gave her absolute privacy, for her it was a real spiritual home,” Ms Barlow told them.
Dr Sophie Bowness, the granddaughter of the famous sculptor, told Charles and Camilla how she played in the gardens as a child. The couple walked through the gardens, which were planted by Hepworth and filled with large pieces including Four-Square (Walk Through).
As they stopped for a picture with one of the pieces, Charles joked: “I hope you’re not going to use any of these photos.”
Camilla spoke to young people from the Tate Collective, who work with the museum to organise events in the property and garden. After hearing how much they enjoy the setting, Camilla replied: “Yes, I can see that, especially with the sea and all the seagulls squawking away behind.
“It is always peaceful by the sea, isn’t it? It is really, really lovely here. I think anywhere by the sea is lovely.”
Charles spoke to the museum’s head gardener, Jodi Dickinson, whose career was supported by The Prince’s Trust, about plants including his delphiniums which the King said reached great heights. Mr Dickinson presented Charles and Camilla with rare seeds from a cineraria, planted by Hepworth, before the couple planted a penstemon shrub.
The couple then walked through St Ives harbour, where they shook hands and spoke with hundreds of well wishers who had gathered to meet them. Shouts of “God Save the King” and “God Save the Queen” could be heard, with people cheering as Charles and Camilla made their way through the crowds.
The choristers of Truro Cathedral, seven of whom performed at the Coronation, sang songs including Rule, Britannia! as the couple arrived. James Anderson-Besant, 25, the director of music at the cathedral, spoke of his pride at the choir who he described as “amazing”.
“They are just normal Cornish kids who do something amazing,” Mr Anderson-Besant said. “They are from a mix of backgrounds and the thing they love more than anything else is singing. This is our last event of the choral year before the school holidays.”
He described how the choir sings pieces linked to Cornish heritage, including those in the Cornish language. When asked about Charles, he said: “He was wonderful. He was asking them if I worked them hard. He really likes choral music. We were talking about his favourite composer, Hubert Parry, as we sang some of his music today.
“We sang My soul, There Is A Country, by Parry, and some of the pieces from the coronation including Prevent us, O Lord by William Byrd.”
Charles and Camilla then met members of the St Ives RNLI team, including beach lifeguards Alice Pritchard, 22, and Anthony Stewart, 30. The lifeguards told the couple about the charity’s Float To Live campaign, which teaches people to float on their backs when in difficulty in the water.
Mr Stewart said: “It was lovely to meet them both, they were very polite and kind.”
Ms Pritchard told how Charles spoke fondly of his days surfing on Constantine Bay, near Padstow. Rob Cocking, 47, coxswain of St Ives RNLI, met Charles and Camilla with wife Charlotte Cocking, 36, and their children Violet, eight and Ada, three.
Ada handed a posy of flowers to Camilla, who thanked the little girl and told her “I like your dress”. Mrs Cocking said: “They were very easy to talk to. The King asked me whether we live in town or on the top. I said the top and he said, ‘I bet that’s fun when he is called out, with all those cobbles’.
“I said sometimes he cycles or runs down. It has been a really special occasion.” Mr Cocking, who has served with the RNLI for 20 years, described the event as “amazing”. The couple were cheered as they left St Ives by car.
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