The Prince and Princess of Wales have shared a sweet moment together during their surprise day-long visit to Northern Ireland today.

In a touching moment, Kate was spotted gently placing her hand on Prince William’s back before the royal couple, both 43, joined a fire truck ride and observed trainee firefighters participating in drills.

The duo, looking perfectly synchronized in matching brown suede shoes, were visiting the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service’s new Learning and Development College near Cookstown, County Tyrone, as their first stop of the day.

William and Kate, wearing the custom Alexander McQueen forest green coat she originally premiered in Bradford in 2020, seemed thrilled to embark on their day-long journey, displaying affection as they frequently exchanged smiles and laughter.

For their next event, the Prince and Princess visited Mallon Farm, a flax farm in County Tyrone, where Kate enthusiastically attempted an ancient linen-making technique.

Switching from her designer midi coat, the royal embraced country chic with a brown skirt and grey jumper, complemented by a chic green Barbour jacket and shamrock earrings, for her second lively engagement of the day.

The Princess spoke of her recent visits to textile manufacturers and said it was ‘fascinating’ to see the ‘whole journey”. 

The royal couple concluded their visit at Long Meadow Cider, a renowned family-operated farm located in the heart of County Armagh, Northern Ireland’s Orchard County.

Earlier at the firefighters’ college, William and Kate watched as emergency workers simulated rescuing a casualty from a fast-flowing river and toured a warehouse space where others practised high-rise rope and ladder rescues and tested breathing apparatus. 

The couple were shown around the £50million site, which opened in May, by Chief Fire & Rescue Officer Aidan Jennings, walking past a replica village into a training warehouse where the drills were taking place.

They also met two recent graduates of the 18-week training course, firefighters Piarais McCaffery and Caoimhe McNeice, to hear about their experience of training at the 50-acre site, which is set in the countryside.

Elsewhere, William and Kate took part in a flood rescue drill, from the safety of the bank. Each attempted to throw a line attached to a float to rescue a ‘casualty’, played by an instructor, but didn’t manage to reach him as he was swept past by the current. 

World class facilities include a flood water rescue simulator – one of only two in the world at a Fire service training facility – and, after watching hose drills outside the warehouse, the Prince and Princess boarded the fire appliance to head there and watch the simulated floodwater rescue. 

The college is the largest investment ever undertaken by the NIFRS and is a training centre for all NIFRS employees. Training with other emergency service workers and partner agencies also takes place there. 

Kate joked that she wanted to drive at full speed with the ‘sirens on’ as she and the Prince rode in the back of a fire engine but the driver was told strictly no, according to newly qualified firefighter Caoimhe McNeice, who joined the royal couple for the ride.

‘The Princess was saying, “I’d love to drive at the real speed and have the sirens on,” but they were getting to the water rescue [area], it was just a bit of banter,’ she added.

‘She was wanting the Prince to drive, but no, the driver got us there safely anyway,’ added Caoimhe. 

Caoimhe, 25, and her fellow graduate Piarais McCaffery, 32, were chosen to spend time with the royal visitors after passing out as graduates in June.

‘They were both lovely, great, down to earth people. It was great to showcase our Learning and Development College to them, and they were blown away by it,’ said Piarais.

He said William and Kate were ‘very, very genuine and interested, especially with the water facility.’  

Caoimhe said: ‘It was an absolute honour and privilege to be here today, as Piarais said, to represent the service today, and also it was an incredible experience being in the back of the appliance with the Prince and Princess of Wales.

‘They were very intrigued by everything, asking questions all about the facilities, but also they were very interested with my career and myself, and asking questions about how I was getting on.

‘It was a brilliant experience. I was taken aback and starstruck, but I had to keep my calm and keep relaxed and enjoy the moment.’

Piarais said: ‘The Princess had said about how ahead of the game we are, whenever we go out on live fires, we know what to do. 

‘It’s a lot safer for firefighters across all services.’Trainees practice going into live and simulated fires, gaining experience of lots of different scenarios as part of their 18-week training.

‘It’s a safe environment that you’re allowed to make mistakes if you need to, and learn from your mistakes and make you feel that you’re fully ready for when you do go out,’ said Caoimhe.

‘The Princess was saying that it’s important that every firefighter that’s come through this recruitment should get the experience of seeing the real-life exercises, so that when you do go out to the station, you’re fully qualified to meet those emergency incidents.’

Piarais said the training had made the first call out to a live fire easier because it was ‘not a completely new, daunting experience.’

The royal couple appeared fascinated by the drills taking place, with William in particular asking lots of questions about the equipment. ‘There are so many toys,’ he said. ‘There’s so much kit!’

He and Kate watched as firefighters wearing breathing apparatus pulled a dummy from a smoke-filled ‘shop’ at the replica village and performed CPR on it. Inside the warehouse, they watched others climbing and securing ladders and practising lowering a stretcher secured with ropes from a replica rooftop.

They were also impressed to learn that the top of the main building at the college doubles as a replica of a ship’s deck, a train carriage nearby offers another realistic scenario, while a fake stretch of motorway behind it is used to train firefighters to rescue people from road traffic collisions.

‘Have you got any aviation?’ asked keen pilot William.

Before leaving, the couple were presented with three red ‘Bump’ caps for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Princes Louis – baseball caps with a reinforced inner layer usually worn to tackle wildfires.

NIFRS chief fire officer Aidan Jennings described the visit as ‘a proud and unforgettable day’ for the service. 

Aidan said: ‘With a one team ethos in NIFRS, our personnel work together to help make Northern Ireland a safer place. It was a privilege to have our royal visitors meet many people across our Service and recognise their commitment, dedication and enthusiasm in doing so.

‘I’m honoured that the Prince and Princess witnessed first-hand how the real-life scenario-based training facilities are revolutionising how we train and develop our people enabling us to meet the evolving needs of a modern-day Fire & Rescue Service. 

‘Our next generation of Firefighters currently undergoing their training at the college clearly demonstrated that today in their display of operational skills and capabilities.

‘I would like to sincerely thank the Prince and Princess for their visit, their kind words, support and recognition of the work of all our people in NIFRS dedicated to serving our community and keeping people safe.

‘I would also like to thank the Northern Ireland Office, the Executive Office and the Department of Health for their efforts and support in making this memorable visit possible.’

For the second outing of the day, Kate and William met with farm owners Helen Kerr MBE and Charlie Mallon, who are aiming to rebuild a short flax to linen supply chain in Northern Ireland.

They are growing flax on local farms, restoring heritage machinery and producing traceable natural fibre products that work for people, place and planet.

The Prince and Princess visited the flax fields to understand the growing and harvesting process, before viewing the machinery that Mallon Farm uses for ‘breaking and scutching’. 

They then viewed the final stages of the process – when the fibre is hand ‘hackled’, spun and woven.

The Princess has long been passionate about the importance of the British textiles industry and its role as part of the UK’s cultural and creative voice. 

Kate’s paternal ancestors were the owners of the woollen manufacturer and merchant, William Lupton & Co, which was based in Leeds. 

In September 2025, the royal visited textiles manufacturers in Suffolk and Kent to highlight the rich heritage of the British textile industry and celebrate the joy found in working in the creative industries.

During her time at Mallon Farm, Kate noted that consumers were increasingly interested in the provenance of their products and it was important that things were ‘made with love’. 

Meanwhile, William joked that he had ‘learnt lots of new words’ connected to traditional agricultural techniques during the visit. 

The Prince and Princess were thanked for ‘shining a light’ on the creative industries, and giving ‘credibility’ to efforts to revive traditional heritage crafts.

The couple donned outdoor boots to tramp through the family farm’s muddy fields as they were shown where the crops were grown, washed and softened before being processed though an old machine dating back to 1940 that has been rebuilt by Mr Mallon.

When asked if either of them wanted to have a go at a traditional method of ‘breaking’ the flax by hand, the Princess enthusiastically replied: ‘Definitely!’

She was shown how to break the flax by smashing it with a tool to release the fibres.

Asked later how he rated her skills, Mr Mallon said: ‘She did well, so she did, It’s physical work.’

The Prince and Princess were then shown the sprawling piece of machinery now used to do the work.

While William appeared impressed by Mr Mallon’s handiwork, the princess lightheartedly quipped that the machine resembled a ‘massive hairbrush’.  

The Princess asked whether this part of the process was always done by hand and whether consumers wanted the product at different stages.

‘It feels very much like wool now,’ she observed, as she handled the soft fibres that had been through the machine.

Mr Mallon and Ms Kerr, who has an MBE for innovation and agriculture, described how they were trying to revive skills that were dying off.

In the 18th century, Belfast was dubbed ‘linenapolis’ because of its hugely successful linen industry but it was later killed off by mass production.

The couple are hoping to re-introduce the parts of the process that were successful and sustainable. Rather than scaling up, they are hoping that other small farms follow suit.

They then want to encourage collaboration with others involved in different parts of the linen-making process. 

The Princess asked Mr Mallon and Ms Kerr whether younger generations have a ‘revived interest in production’ and said she loved the ‘intergenerational story telling that comes with these crafts’.

Before they left, the couple met Amy and Joel Anderson who own a fashion company called Kindred of Ireland, which uses homegrown products from Northern Ireland and the Princess asked how important it was to know ‘the whole story’ of a specific piece of material.

Before they left, Mr Mallon said that he hoped the farm would be tidier on their next visit.

‘We don’t want it to be tidy!’ the Prince laughed. ‘It’s a working farm.’

William and Kate spent the day visiting organisations that showcase growth and investment in rural areas and demonstrate entrepreneurial and creative opportunities for young people.

Kate and William finished off their Northern Ireland trip with a tour of Long Meadow’s apple orchards before visiting Bramley Barn. 

While there, they tried the brand’s famous potato apple bread, sampled apple juice and craft ciders, and helped out with a local apple harvest.

They were welcomed warmly at the award-winning family run farm for Long Meadow Cider, in County Armagh, in Northern Ireland’s so-called ‘Orchard County’.

Long Meadow Farm has been owned by the McKeever family for three generations making cider, apple juice and apple cider vinegar since 1968

The royal couple saw how they are combining traditional methods with a forward-thinking approach to sustainability, innovation, and local heritage, as William remarked: ‘Here are the geniuses!’ 

The McKeevers have since diversified significantly, with the support of the younger generation of the family, and now produce craft ciders, apple juice and apple cider vinegar. 

Their products are being sold in major supermarket chains across Northern Ireland and Long Meadow is now also a thriving tourist destination for orchard tour experiences and produce tastings.

The Prince and Princess met members of the McKeever family and learnt how they built a resilient, multi-generational business by embracing innovation whilst staying true to their heritage and empowering the next generation. 

Owner Peter McKeever told them they had been running the family orchard for more than sixty years. 

The royal couple also observed the apple cider vinegar production process, before watching how the apples are pressed and bottled on site into their award-winning cider.

Kate said: ‘We tried this at home with a hand press. It was quite good fun with the children. It was very messy.’

They were given a glass of apple cider vinegar and both sipped it, and asked if they had tasted it before Kate replied: ‘I like that. I haven’t take it as shot like this before but I love to put it salads and things like that.’

The royals were asked to help out with the apple harvest, picking golden delicious and bramley apple varieties, as they accepted baskets. 

Kate, who filled hers up much quicker than William, joked: ‘Don’t drop the fruit William.’

Speaking to the owners Pat and Catherine McKeever, Willam said: ‘I was saying the trees are like something from Harry Potter.’

They then donned aprons to make potato apple bread, first rolling out the flour and potato.

Once again, Kate poked a bit of fun at her husband as she told William: ‘Try and keep it a circle.’

Looking down at his rectangular effort, Wills said to laughter: ‘A circle? Now you tell me! If you look this way it looks like a circle. This is a new variety!’

The royal couple began peeling their baskets of apples and halfway through his first effort, Wills looked at his fruit and turned to the McKeever family, joking: ‘If we are peeling every apple you are going to have to start helping. We’ll be here a while.’

Slicing apple to put inside the bread, Pat McKeever called out: ‘I like mine thick.’ 

‘You’ll get what you’re given,’ the royal quipped, before turning to Kate – who appeared to be lagging behind – and teased her: ‘Do keep up.’ 

Tuesday’s trip was the first time that the royal couple have visited Northern Ireland together since October 2022.