During an unplanned walkabout in Belfast on Thursday, the Princess of Wales was heckled and told, “Ireland belongs to the Irish.”
The unnamed lady was among the gathering on Antrim Road in north Belfast, where the Princess of Wales and Prince William had gone to see a suicide prevention organization.
While shaking hands with the princess, the woman said: “Nice to meet you, but it would be better if it were when you were in your own country.”
The Princess graciously smiled before going on to the next well-wisher.
The incident, which was recorded on video, occurred in a largely nationalist part of Belfast, although such involvement was rare.
The Waleses were met outside the Public Initiative for Prevention of Suicide and Self Harm (PIPS) organization with a warm welcome.
It was the first of three engagements on the couple’s unexpected trip to Northern Ireland.
They were met with a rousing reception in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, where a crowd of over 3,000 gathered on the beachfront to greet them.
The Prince and Princess spent almost 40 minutes shaking hands, posing for selfies, and conversing while being showered with flowers, candy, and photographs.
Previously, William triumphed over his extremely competitive wife when they were taught mixology at Trademarket before competing to see who could prepare the fastest cocktail.
The pair eagerly accepted the challenge before heading behind the bar and paying close attention to the directions.
To William’s giggles, the Princess shouted, “He’s started,” and began herself, carefully putting quantities of the various beverages into a cocktail mixer to produce Up the Lagan in a Bubble.
William was proclaimed the champion after mixing the ingredients, pouring the cocktail over ice, and adding a sprig of mint.
“You could see by his face that he was determined to win that one,” one observer claimed.
But there were no grudges as the pair clinked glasses before savoring their creation.
The drink was named for the River Lagan in Belfast and a local idiom meaning “I wasn’t born yesterday.”
It was made with components from one of the collective’s merchants, Brew & Yaki. It contained gin, fruit tea cordial, sherry, umeshu, a Japanese plum-liqueur, and lime and passionfruit bobas, tapioca starch ‘pearls’ found in Taiwanese bubble tea.
Will Neill, the creator of Trademarket, stated, “We have a fantastic collective here.” There is also a bar and a cocktail menu with cocktails named after the vendors. The prince and princess chose a drink by spinning a wheel. It was a lot of fun.
“William technically won and I say technically as he started a little bit earlier, to be fair. I asked [whether it should be a draw] but was told a win’s a win!”
Neill founded Trademarket to showcase new enterprises and improve foot traffic in a less frequented region of the city center.
“They were extremely excellent sports and, aside from who they are, were simply great, lovely people,” he said of the visit. Having them here is a boost to what we’re trying to achieve here.”