The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall began their annual Welsh tour this week with a visit to Pembroke Dock. The royal couple spent four days fulfilling public engagements spread across much of the country and the traditional summer visit included a number of destinations supported by the Prince's charities. The Royal couple first visited the Garrison Chapel, an historic Georgian Church, which has recently been restored by the Pembroke Dock Townscape Heritage Initiative. After meeting civic dignitaries, they also met the craftsmen who were involved in the renovation. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, president of The Prince's Trust, accompanied by his wife, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, also visited The Prince's Trust Cymru's Activity Centre, Cleddau Reach. The centre is a hub of excellence for the charity's work with disadvantaged young people from Pembrokeshire who are facing barriers in their lives. During the visit, Their Royal Highnesses met a group of young people from the Pembrokeshire area who are involved in The Trust's Team programme. This programme works with unemployed young people to give them the skills, confidence and qualifications that employers are looking for. They also met young people from West Wales involved in The Trust's Get Into Construction programme - funded by Dragon LNG. This programme seeks to instil vocational skills in unemployed young people in the Pembrokeshire area. The royal party then went on to meet young people and staff involved in the activity delivery side of the centre, and in doing so met a group of young people, who although at risk of exclusion from school, are working with The Trust to overcome the barriers that they face. These young people were canoeing. The royal party then went on to meet supporters of The Trust, and staff of The Trust's centres in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, both of which have been operational for 20 years. The centre in Pembrokeshire offers support for 500 young people per annum from the area, along with residential experiences for young people from all over the UK. Later in the day, the royals visited Cardigan Castle and St. Dogmaels, where they presented a plaque in recognition of the village's achievements in last year's Calor Gas Village of the Year competition in which it won three awards, and also attended a special service to celebrate the Queen's 80th birthday at St. Peter's Church.
