Prince Andrew Meets Injured RIR Soldiers

There's a royal visit underway this afternoon with news that Prince Andrew has flown into NI.

The Duke of York was guest of honour at the annual garden party in the grounds of Hillsborough Castle, hosted by the NI Secretary of State, Owen Paterson.

He met bereaved Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) family members, injured RIR soldiers and PSNI personnel after being greeted by David Lindsay, Lord Lieutenant of Co Down and meeting the Secretary of State along with Hugo Swire, Minister of State for Northern Ireland and Hilary Jackson, Director General, Northern Ireland Office.

He then met Matt Baggot PSNI Chief Constable and a number of officers and their guests in the Rose Garden and then went on to meet Brigadier Edward Smyth-Osbourne, Commander 38 (Irish) Brigade and a number of personnel serving in Northern Ireland and their guests.

Arriving in the main garden the National Anthem was played by the Band of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and HRH was invited to plant a tree assisted by Hillsborough Castle Financial Administrator Nikki Edgar to commemorate the visit.

HRH went on to meet around 2,000 invited guests including bereaved family members and injured personnel of the Royal Irish Regiment.

Later this afternoon, Prince Andrew was also welcomed to the Island Civic Centre in Lisburn and has undertaken a number of engagements meeting representatives from the RIR Museum, Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) and the UDR Memorial Trust. The Duke also visited the recently dedicated UDR Memorial in Lisburn City Centre.

His Royal Highness was greeted on arrival at Lisburn City Council buildings by Alderman William Leathem, Deputy Mayor, and Norman Davidson Chief Executive. HRH went on to meet Jeffery Donaldson, the DUP MP for Lagan Valley.

HRH, the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Industry was then welcomed by Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive of Invest NI and was invited to join him and his senior management team for a working lunch and presentation on trade and investment.

His Royal Highness then went on to meet Lt Colonel (Retired) Wesley Duncan who presented representatives of the UDR Memorial Trust. The regiment had around 50,000 men and women from all walks of life serve in its ranks from its formation in 1970 until it was merged with the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992.

Larne Accolade

Earlier, the Duke of York's first engagement of the day was at FG Wilson in Larne, one of Europe's largest diesel generating set manufacturer.

The Duke then opened the site of a multi-million dollar investment at FG Wilson which it is hoped will boost the local economy.

The $26m investment in the Engineering Centre of Excellence aims to reduce the time and cost of new product development, as well as improve the performance and efficiency of generating sets.

FG Wilson began life in an old textile mill in Belfast and today is one of Northern Ireland's top exporters.

The company is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar and provides employment for more than 3,000 people across four sites in Northern Ireland.

With global facilities in Brazil, China, India and the USA the company exports to countries throughout the globe and sits comfortably within the UK's top 100 exporters.

The Duke of York, who is the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, was greeted by Joan Christie, Lord-Lieutenant of Co Antrim, and went on to meet Dr Mark Sweeney who accompanied HRH during the engagement.

Beginning the tour of the facility that spans an area of one million square feet, His Royal Highness met senior management and heard about the growth of the Company, which today manufactures products that are used to support key business sectors including the telecommunications, healthcare, tourism/leisure, retail and banking industries.

HRH was also told about how FG Wilson, as a Caterpillar subsidiary, shares in the success of the Fortune 100 Company that saw revenue of over $42.6 billion in 2010.

Later, in the near-by Engineering Centre of Excellence (ECE), The Duke met staff employed in the key areas of the operation, including Product Validation, Technical Development and Services Engineering.

HRH was Guest of Honour at a reception with around 150 staff members and guests, including customers, dealers, and safety and union representatives.

(BMcC)