Kate Joins Charles & Camilla to Visit the Prince's Foundation Project

In a rare joint engagement, the Duchess of Cambridge joined the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to visit the Prince's Foundation Trinity Buoy Wharf, a training site for arts and culture. Charles invited Kate to attend "in recognition of their shared interest and longstanding support of the arts and creative industries". Clarence House cited Kate's patronages of the Victoria & Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery and Royal Photographic Society as examples of her commitment to the sector. A spokesperson added, "The Duchess of Cornwall equally champions the work of the Prince of Wales and The Prince’s Foundation and herself, takes a keen interest in the arts and creative industries. Her Royal Highness is patron of the Royal School of Needlework, the Water-Colour World, Ditchling Museum and the Fan Museum."

A wave from the Duchess!

The royals arriving.

A rare joint engagement today for Prince Charles and Camilla with the Duchess of Cambridge to visit @PrincesFound training site at Trinity Buoy Wharf. Kate was invited by Charles because of their “shared interest and longstanding support of the arts and creative industries.” pic.twitter.com/XG1T0NtVLB

— Victoria Murphy (@byQueenVic) February 3, 2022

Charles, Camilla and Kate were warmly greeted upon arrival by representatives of the Prince's Foundation before posing for photos by the Thames against the backdrop of the magnificent London skyline.

Kate greeting well-wishers.

The trio met students from the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts who were working on mosaic, geometry, animation and photography. The royals visited the oldest part of the studio -- Future Textiles Studio and Pattern-cutting Studio. In a former life it served as the Hemp Store where dock-workers made rope from hemp.

Soukayna and Safiya showed Kate and Camilla their designs for jumpers they are making as part of the course. Kate said, "It's fascinating to see how the whole process works, it’s a great idea." Camilla joked, "I did it so long ago but I'm very bad at it now."

More from People:

'In the sculpture class, students were creating head shapes with wax.

"Kate talked about how hard it was to work the wax. I told her that it doesn't help when you've got really cold hands," Cara MacKay, 18, says.

Florence Harrison, 19, was another student on the foundation course between school and university.

"They were really lovely and really friendly," she said of the royals. "I spoke to Kate about the concept of translating a life drawing at school from 2D to this 3D shape. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly they were."

A spokesperson added, "Graduates and entrepreneurs from the Modern Artisan project, a collaboration between The Prince’s Foundation and YOOX Net-a-Porter Group discussed techniques behind traditional kilt production and silk smocking and demonstrated hand-sewing on to fabric.

"In the Clore Drawing Studio, Their Royal Highnesses engaged with tutors and students. Students on the Prince’s Foundation diploma year programme will be practising life-drawing (with a dressed model)."

The Prince's Foundation Diploma is a skills-based course described as "incredibly dynamic". Classes of up to 60 students study 5 days per week, focusing on the links between traditional skills, innovation and creativity.

Town & Country reports:

'“They were really interested in observing those skills and making sure that there is quality education like this out there for students to access,” said Daniel McAulifee, education director at The Prince’s Foundation. “The Duchess of Cambridge was very impressed with the quality of drawing and she really loved the textiles,” he added.

The trio stopped to chat with Nicole Christie, who founded luxury womenswear brand Ellipsis after studying on the Modern Artisan course run by the Prince’s Foundation and Yoox Net-a-Porter. After showing them her clothes and accessories, Nicole gave Camilla a pale green bag and Kate a cream one. She also gifted Princess Charlotte a pink scrunchie. “I just thought I couldn’t leave her out,” Nicole said. “It’s been such an honor for them to take time to talk to me about something I started in my front room. They were asking about my inspiration behind the collection. They wanted to know about my journey.”

The Mail said Prince Charles asked design student Hannah: "It must be very daunting when you have a blank page in front of you and a time limit. Where do you possibly start?"

More from the Mail:

'As the Duchesses continued to speak to the life drawing students, Charles appeared to spot a fossil like snail's shell sculpture on a table of work completed by the students and peeled off to speak to stone carving teacher Lily Marsh.

Ms Marsh, 38, said: 'The Prince spotted it straight away, he was fascinated by it.

'He said the snail's shell is one of those incredible creations of the natural world that has its roots squarely in the world of mathematics and geometry. He said 'it is a perfect example of nature and philosophy being interconnected in a holistic way'.

'It's no mistake, it really is geometric in its shape and design and for its success to survive, so he is exactly right.'

The Mirror reports Camilla told student Imogen Lewis: "I think I’d rather be doing the drawing with you! It looks such fun. How long do you have to do it?"

A brief video of Kate and Camilla speaking with artists.

The Prince of Wales invited the Duchess of Cambridge to join him and the Duchess of Cornwall for a rare joint engagement to a @PrincesFound training site for arts and culture at Trinity Buoy Wharf pic.twitter.com/gwMNKbo7n4

— Lizzie Robinson (@LizzieITV) February 3, 2022

The Prince's Foundation was created four years ago, in a merger of several of the Prince of Wales' charities: the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, the Prince’s Regeneration Trust, the Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust, and the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts. The ethos of the foundation rests on the pillars of sustainability, education, training and supporting communities.

More from the Foundation's website:

'We work nationally and internationally but at the heart of our organisation is the heritage-led regeneration of the Dumfries House estate and its wider community, where our principles and philosophies are explored and put into practice.

The work of The Prince’s Foundation is inspired by The Prince of Wales’s philosophy of harmony: that by understanding the balance, the order and the relationships between ourselves and the natural world we can create a more sustainable future.

For more than 40 years His Royal Highness has been at the forefront of championing sustainability. During the last decade the impact of natural resource depletion, climate change and rapid urbanisation has become evident and widely understood. The work of The Prince’s Foundation is inspired by the belief that only by taking a holistic view can we create a sustainable future to meet the needs of our world.'

Dumfries House was built between 1754 and 1759 and is considered one of Britain's most beautiful stately homes and best kept heritage secrets. With its sumptuous interiors and magnificent furnishings, all set in two thousand acres of land, there is something to delight and enchant visitors of all ages. Prince Charles has a strong history with the house. In 2007, the Prince headed a consortium of charities and heritage bodies to purchase the house so it could remain open and accessible to the public. The heritage-led regeneration of the estate is a cornerstone of the Foundation's work.

Most recently, there was an exhibition of Charles' watercolours -- representing the largest display of his work -- at the Garrison Chapel in Belgravia, the charity’s exhibition space dedicated to telling the story and conveying the focus of the Prince’s Foundation. Speaking about his work, Charles said, "I took up painting entirely because I found photography less than satisfying. Quite simply, I experienced an overwhelming urge to express what I saw through the medium of watercolour and to convey that almost 'inner' sense of texture which is impossible to achieve via photography. I very quickly discovered how incredibly difficult it is to paint well in such a spontaneous medium, and the feeling of frustration at not being able to achieve on paper the image that your eye has presented you with is intense!" The Prince added, "Looking back now at those first sketches I did, I am appalled by how bad they are. But, nevertheless, the great thing about painting is that you are making your own individual interpretation of whatever view you have chosen. Because it obliges you to sit down and make a careful observation of the selected subject, you discover so much more about it than by just pointing a camera and arriving at a result which is probably almost identical to somebody else’s photograph. As a result, you become increasingly aware of things that may have escaped your attention previously – things like the quality of light and shade, of tone and texture and of the shape of buildings in relation to the landscape. It all requires the most intense concentration and, consequently, is one of the most relaxing and therapeutic exercises I know. In fact, in my case, I find it transports me into another dimension which, quite literally, refreshes parts of the soul which other activities can’t reach."

The Duchess was in a familiar dress for the outing -- her grey belted Catherine Walker dress.

She first wore in 2019 for a joint engagement with Her Majesty at King's College, London. Given the rarity of joint engagements with HM and Charles and Camilla, I think it significant she chose it again today. Not only has it been worn previously, but it's associated with Kate's last joint event with the Queen.

The Duchess accessorised with a timeless Mulberry bag. The small Amberley crossbody in black soft printed croc has been sold out for some time. The Amberley is available in various styles and colours at John Lewis.

The Duchess wore Diana's sapphire and diamond earrings.

And Gianvito Rossi block heel shoes.

It was splendid to see a joint engagement -- I've long hoped to see more of them. It was equally fascinating to see the work of the Prince's Foundation in action.