The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to the friendship between Ireland and Britain, speaking of his joy at returning to the “majestic land”.
Prince Charles restated his ambition to visit every county in Ireland, as he and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, enjoyed their first official joint visit to County Waterford.
Using a few phrases in the Irish language, he told a crowd gathered for a mayoral reception at Waterford City Hall that it was good to be with old friends again.
The couple enjoyed blue skies and bright sunshine as they were greeted at the start of their visit with a Viking re-enactment — a nod to the past of Ireland’s oldest city.
The pair watched as two actors embarked on a mock battle with swords and shields in front of a Viking longboat, something Prince Charles later said will “certainly live long in our memories”.
While Waterford’s official foundation as a permanent settlement dates back to 914, historians say there are a number of references to Viking encampments as early as 860.
Prince Charles and Camilla, who were given a tour of the city’s medieval museum, met members of the local community on a walkabout, as well as first responders who have helped throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The Prince of Wales also met members of the local Ukrainian community, something he said was “most moving” as he heard about Ireland’s efforts to support them.
In his speech, he said his thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine “as they continue to face such uncertainty and brutal aggression”.
“Such times as we are living through bring into sharp relief the importance of peace and friendship, which history tells us we can too easily take for granted,” he added.
“It is yet another demonstration of how our two countries are not just neighbours, but partners who, though at times we have travelled a troubled road together, have through reconciliation and understanding forged a future that has benefited both our peoples and the world.”
Speaking warmly of his fondness for the country, Prince Charles quipped: “It has long been one of our great ambitions to visit every county of this majestic land before senility totally overtakes us.”
Before his speech, the couple met with various members of Waterford’s community, including businesspeople.
Knitwear designer Christine Murphy, whose brightly coloured outfit was admired by Prince Charles, said the couple are “very welcome” in Ireland.
The 45-year-old businesswoman, whose Waterford-based Urban Aran business specialises in sustainable clothing, said: “He said to me, ‘I love the colours, is this your work? Are you a designer?’
“I thought he was very personable and giving of his time. I think it’s amazing for Waterford, which is Ireland’s oldest city, to have a royal come here and acknowledge that, given the history between Britain and Ireland.
“They’re very welcome by the Waterford people today.”
The warm reception from locals continued as Prince Charles went on an impromptu walkabout after visiting local social enterprise Grow It Yourself (GIY), where he worked alongside schoolchildren in a potato-sowing demonstration.
He was accompanied on the visit by Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and toured the site’s cafe as well as meeting community groups in the vegetable patch and frontline staff from the neighbouring hospital.
Before leaving, Prince Charles crossed the road to shake hands with bystanders who had come out to catch a glimpse of the heir to the throne, clapping and cheering on his arrival.
People shouted “welcome to Ireland” with one woman inquiring if he had had any lunch and appearing to jokingly offer him some lasagne.
Local student Laura Smith, 22, said she was “so excited” to meet Prince Charles and had not expected him to come out and greet her and her father, David.
“He’s lovely, he had time for everyone. The visit is such good publicity for Waterford,” she said.
While Prince Charles was enjoying visits appealing to his environmental passions, Camilla, a keen rider, went along to Henry de Bromhead Stables to see Cheltenham’s Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle and Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle-winning jockey Rachael Blackmore.
There, she was given a tour of the stables, spoke with staff and observed a lesson, and it was revealed that Camilla will present the winning trophy at this year’s Grand National.
Together, the couple earlier paid a visit to world-renowned glass company Waterford Crystal, seeing the production process for themselves and even trying their hand at engraving.
Thursday was the first of the royals’ two-day tour of the Republic, which comes after they spent two days in Northern Ireland.
There, they enjoyed a warm reception from crowds in County Tyrone and Belfast.
Their trip is one of several taking place as the royal family marks Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee year.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
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Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
