SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By Hannah Furness
Moments after they arrived on the Isle of Mull, the Prince and Princess of Wales tried to confide to locals that they had, in fact, visited privately more than 20 years ago when they were students, young and in love.
“We’ve been here before, we remember it so well …” Prince William began, with the air of sharing a fond secret as the now-married couple returned to the island to celebrate their 14th wedding anniversary.
“We know,” the locals replied.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are on their first overnight working trip away from their children since Catherine’s cancer diagnosis.Credit: Getty Images
One recalls standing behind him in a Co-op supermarket; another still has the photographs she sent to her friends at the time. At least one neighbour, living near the rented cottages they stayed in back then, bounced on a trampoline to catch a glimpse.
The princess said she remembered walking up to a waterfall and buying two paintings from the local art gallery that still hang on either side of the royal couple’s bed in Norfolk. The prince conceded that he probably signed a guest book, and “might have had one or two ciders”.
The 2003 trip, which saw Prince William and the then Kate Middleton stay for a low-key weekend with friends when they were students, has been kept under wraps ever since by loyal locals, who are used to royal visitors: the late Queen and Prince Philip came, and Princess Anne is a regular when she sails around the islands off the west coast of Scotland.
On Tuesday, they returned to Tobermory as Prince and Princess of Wales – known officially in Scotland as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay and in Mull as Lord and Lady of the Isles.
Quick to laugh and tease each other, more tactile than usual, and with time to spare for every well-wisher who wanted to meet them, the couple looked as carefree and happy as any other emerging from a frightening period in their personal lives to take a moment of peace for themselves.
While their public engagements are usually tightly controlled, often with security barriers to keep crowds safe, here they walked the harbour-front street freely with curious locals and holidaymakers milling around them and popping into the shops.
The prince and princess are visiting Mull and neighbouring Iona for two days, leaving Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at home for an overnight working trip for the first time since the princess’ cancer diagnosis.
The Wales’ public engagements are usually tightly controlled, but they walked about the Tobermory harbour-front street freely with curious locals and holidaymakers milling around them.Credit: Getty Images
On Tuesday, they arrived by helicopter with the announcement of funding from their Royal Foundation for refurbishing a local community hall and a new soft play area for young children, which endeared them to residents immediately.
In the course of the afternoon, the prince and princess were given a paintbrush and a nail gun to help with the Aros community hall refurbishment, and asked to cook haggis on a barbecue.
The princess revealed that she had received a chainsaw as a gift for Christmas for her garden projects and has started keeping bees.
Prince William teased his wife about not pulling the nail gun trigger too early while adding wooden tiles to a small roof to go over a community food bank fridge, “otherwise our trip will be remembered for all the wrong reasons”.
When someone admired her prowess with the tool in front of the cameras, he gave a theatrical sigh and admitted proudly: “That always happens.”
Outside, as they walked the main seafront of Tobermory, they stopped for handshakes and photographs.
The princess had a deep conversation with James Thornton, who is on holiday with his family and introduced himself as “one cancer survivor to another”.
“I told her ‘well done, girl’,” he said afterwards, adding that they had talked about “how difficult it all was for us and for our families”.
Bikers, local chefs, teenage girls and tourists gathered around them eager for a word, with the prince and princess asking them about their time on the island.
Meeting locals on a two-day visit to the islands of Mull and Iona.Credit: Getty Images
When one little girl, aged around six, shyly told Prince William she would rather give her flowers to his wife, he ushered her encouragingly across the road so she could show Princess Catherine her party dress.
They were handed bags of soap, chocolate and chutneys from local businesses, sampling spirits made from whey and asking for advice on the princess’ new hobby of beekeeping.
“This is my summer project,” the princess told beekeeper Sheila Barnard at a pop-up market, asking which candle moulds were best for a beginner to use up the wax.
They were both fascinated to see a photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visiting in 1956, with locals of a certain age remembering it clearly.
The couple, who have been dealing with the princess’ cancer diagnosis and return to health for the last year, gave a glimpse of their future ambitions: Prince William said they want to “spotlight” volunteers and community leaders around the country who are the “glue” holding everything together.
The Telegraph, London
