As her two-day visit continued on Thursday morning, Camilla visited The Arcadia deli in Belfast, before visiting other family-run shops including Coffey’s Butcher and Knotts Bakery, where she was given bags of local produce to take away with her.
In the butcher’s — which is run by three generations of the family — she was impressed by the “great selection” on offer.
She said: “It’s wonderful, it’s all very tempting. It’s lovely to see you thriving.”
After being given some of the shop’s specialities, including beef sausages, Belfast pickle and vegetable rolls, she teased: “I shall take these back to my husband, he will really make the most of them.”
However, she was less keen on sharing after her visit to the bakery, joking she might not take the fruit loaf and iced madeira back with her.
Co-owner William Corrie revealed: “She said she’d eat some of them on the way home.”
Meanwhile, a recent report suggests the King wants to return to the spotlight to attend his official birthday celebrations in London in June.
A source told the Daily Mail newspaper: “There are a number of key events His Majesty would love to attend coming up in the diary and this [trooping the colour] is at the top of the list.”
Trooping the colour is a ceremonial event held annually to celebrate the monarch’s birthday.
It’s also known as the sovereign’s birthday parade and takes place in London with the monarch joining a procession of about 1200 soldiers and musicians and more than 200 horses.
Other aspects of the celebration include a fly-past, and an appearance by the monarch on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
