The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined children from troubled backgrounds today for an afternoon of outdoor adventure on their trip to Northern Ireland.
First the couple raced each other in Canadian kayaks and later Kate tried her hand at archery while William clambered round a rope obstacle course.
“I am like Tarzan!” he joked as he made his way round the low ropes course.
Then, when someone suggested that he was moving like a ballerina, he said: “Just like a ballerina! I have had many experiences of ballerinas.”
Then, when he spotted that a couple of photographers had turned up to record his efforts, he said: “All the press has turned up now. I’d better stop. Go and watch Catherine!”
The couple were at the Roscor Youth Village on the shores of Lower Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, which provides activities for more than 2,500 children and young people a year, all referred to the centre by social services.
The couple took to the waters of the lake to race in kayaks lashed together to form eight-person rafts.
Demonstrating their love of competition - and willingness to get involved in outdoor water sports - they joined a group of youngsters in a race which was won by the duke’s team. At the end the duke, who like his wife was wearing a hard hat and life jacket, whooped and high-fived his crew mates, and said: “Well done guys.”
While William talked to youngsters about the tree at the heart of the centre - one of their challenges is to climb the tree, clamber along a branch and ring a bell at the end - Kate helped children put up a tent and talked to them about the joys of campfire cooking.
Nikhita Neill, 12, from Omagh, said the duchess asked her friends what they liked doing. “Cormac said he liked football. Nathan said he liked farming. I said I liked climbing trees. She said she liked climbing trees when she was younger.”
During the visit they had a private talk with some of the youngsters using the centre, with the media and other onlookers excluded.
Charlie Mack, the chief executive of Extern, the charity which runs the centre, said: “It was an opportunity for them to listen directly to the young people. They were on their own. They specifically asked that they wanted to engage directly with them.
“For them to be listened to directly by the duke and duchess is tremendous. We deal with marginalised people. Today they did not feel marginalised. They are socially excluded, but today they have been included. The duke and duchess listened, and genuinely engaged.”
Mr Mack said the young people who come to the centre have “challenging backgrounds”. Some have mothers who have suffered domestic abuse, while others might have families with issues around drug or alcohol addiction.
“We help them find confidence and resilience to enable them to return back into their community.
“We give the young people a break from the trauma and crises that they are currently experiencing.”
