William and Catherine visit Wales

The Prince and Princess of Wales spent a day in Powys ahead of St David’s Day.

They received a warm welcome at all three engagements in Wales.

Their first stop was at the Hanging Gardens, which is dedicated to fostering creativity in the Llanidloes community. They viewed preparations for St David’s Day – an important holiday in Wales that falls on 1 March – and other workshops and activities.

Catherine called places like the gardens “a lifeline to so many people in the community.”

The Prince and Princess next travelled to the contemporary art gallery Oriel Davies. They viewed an exhibit created by the children before joining them for a workshop. They even practised their Welsh with a local learners group in the Gallery Café.

Picture by Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace

Picture by Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace

The last stop on their visit was to Hafan yr Afon to celebrate volunteers and community champions. The community land trust and social enterprise, Open Newton, operates the culture, community, and heritage hub.

While chatting with members of Mums Matter there, the Princess shared her passion for the mental health of mothers, for which the organisation advocates.

A volunteer with Mums Matter, Ella Hopkins, told the BBC, “[Catherine] definitely said that it’s something that she said felt passionate about, parents being able to be committed and devoted through their own stability.”

Even in rainy conditions, hundreds of people turned out to welcome William and Catherine to the country. Their Royal Highnesses were seen greeting crowds in the rain, shaking hands and taking selfies for 25 minutes.

Picture by Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace

The Prince and Princess received flowers and gifts from the crowd, but the sweetest moment came when a young girl gave Catherine a handmade necklace during an arts workshop at the Oriel Davies Gallery. The girl created the jewellery during a session of the Hand in Hand art project that supports local Syrian and Afghan families. The little girl then placed the pearl necklace around Catherine’s neck.

Catherine later thanked the girl on Instagram with a photo, saying, “Thank you for the necklace!”