Prince William and Princess Kate are spending the day in Northern Ireland as they spotlight organisations in the country.
The Prince and Princess’s first visit of the day was to the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service’s (NIFRS) new Learning and Development College in Cookstown, County Tyrone.
Opened in May 2025, the college is the largest investment ever undertaken by the NIFRS and is a training centre for all NIFRS employees.
The site offers opportunities for young people from across Northern Ireland to train to become the next generation of firefighters.
Prince William and Princess Kate are spending the day in Northern Ireland as they spotlight organisations in the country.
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Training and exercising with other emergency services and partner agencies can also be done at the site.
The world class facilities include a flood water rescue simulator (one of only two in the world at a Fire Service training facility), a replicated village, a training warehouse, a tactical firefighting facility and a barn and slurry pit.
During their visit, the Prince and Princess met with Chief Fire & Rescue Officer, Aidan Jennings and learn how the college equips trainees with the skills, resilience and expertise needed to help keep everyone in Northern Ireland safe.
Kate and William then engaged with two training scenarios: a warehouse space where there will be a variety of simulated incidents and drills ongoing, and the flood-water rescue training space to see a simulation of a casualty being rescued from a fast-flowing river.
During these scenarios, the Prince and Princess of Wales met some of the young, trainee firefighters, as well as those who had already graduated.
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During these scenarios, the Prince and Princess of Wales met some of the young, trainee firefighters, as well as those who had already graduated.
Princess Kate's second visit was to Mallon Farm, a flax farm in County Tyrone that is spearheading the revival of flax growing for linen as a blueprint for sustainable farming systems.
Inspired by Northern Ireland’s linen heritage and by the urgent need for diversification, Helen Keys MBE and Charlie Mallon are aiming to rebuild a short flax to linen supply chain in Northern Ireland.
The royals met with Helen and Charlie to learn about their process to produce linen from field to fibre to fabric.
Kate’s paternal ancestors were the owners of the woollen manufacturer and merchant, William Lupton & Co, which was based in Leeds.
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The Prince and Princess also visited the flax fields to learn about the growing and harvesting process, before viewing the restored heritage machinery that Mallon Farm uses for ‘breaking and scutching’.
The couple then viewed the final stages of the process – when the fibre is hand hackled, spun and woven.The Princess has long been passionate about the importance of the British textiles industry and its role as part of the UK’s cultural and creative voice.
Kate’s paternal ancestors were the owners of the woollen manufacturer and merchant, William Lupton & Co, which was based in Leeds.
In September 2025, the Princess of Wales visited textiles manufacturers in Suffolk and Kent to highlight the rich heritage of the British textile industry and celebrate the joy found in working in the creative industries.
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