Charles in Trafford

As Prince of Wales, King Charles III made many visits to the Trafford area. Whether it was to open new facilities or commemorate special occasions, each visit has been well reported and enthusiastically received by the public. Each visit involved meeting large amounts of residents, workers and dignitaries from the borough.

On May 22^nd 1974 a young Charles visited Kellogg’s factory in Trafford Park, Stretford; taking time to talk to Packing Line Operators, look at the manufacture of corn flakes and see packing, printing and warehousing operations. The visit was quite an informal one and the Prince found time to chat with many of the employees. Before leaving, the prince signed the visitor’s book, sampled a glass of Rise & Shine (a powdered orange drink) before boarding the Queen’s Flight helicopter to take him to the next stage of his journey.

In October 1992 Prince Charles officially opened the ship he had commanded in the Royal Navy, HMS Bronington as a floating museum moored in Trafford Park. Reportedly HMS Bronington was the only ship on which Prince Charles suffered from seasickness, visitors to the museum could listen to his tales of life aboard ship. One memorable tale involved trying for 12 hours to raise the anchor, only to find that it had got caught on the main undersea telephone cable that ran between Britain and Ireland. On the same day, in his role as President of the Princes Trust, he met with young people who had received grants from the Trust to hear about their stories and funded projects.

Poignantly Prince Charles’s first public engagement since the death and funeral of his first wife Princess Diana took place in Manchester on 19 September 1997. He spoke publically for the first time since her death, particularly about his children and how proud he was of them. He spoke of that pride to local dignitaries "I am unbelievably proud of my children. They have been quite remarkable and I think they have handled an extraordinarily difficult time, as I am sure you can all imagine, with quite enormous courage and the greatest possible dignity.”

No walkabout had been planned, but Prince Charles took the opportunity to shake hands with the grieving people along the barriers and take bunches of flowers that were offered to him. The whistle stop tour included visiting multiple organisations and venues across the city including a visit to Manchester United’s Old Trafford football ground. The main purpose of the visit to Trafford was to launch a new initiative for the Princes Trust. This involved Premier League clubs working with the Princes Trust to help young unemployed people in the area. In the evening Prince Charles attended a Gala at the Opera House in Manchester to celebrate the 21^st anniversary of the Princes Trust. In the 1970s Prince Charles set up the Princes Trust to try to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people in the UK. Many of his visits to Trafford have been connected to this work.

On December 8^th 2000 Prince Charles became a soap star on a visit to the Coronation Street set. Technically more of a cameo than a starring role, Prince Charles appeared in a TV clip with Audrey Roberts, shown in the show. He did however, receive a credit for his appearance.

On 28 April 2003 Prince Charles visited Altrincham Grammar School for Girls to officially open the new £250,000 Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Library dedicated to his late grandmother. His visit included sitting in on maths, French and computer skills classes and watching a drama workshop of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream facilitated by the Royal Exchange Theatre. After chatting with pupils, staff and dignitaries the Prince of Wales was fascinated to discover “that the first head teacher was the governess-cum-history teacher to the Princess Royal, my (Prince Charles) Aunt Mary.”  Staff at the school commented on how well informed the Prince was about the school. The Prince of Wales schedule also included officially opening Bowden Synagogue later that day.

In February 2010 it was Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall who visited Coronation Street and received a brooch modelled on the flying ducks that used to grace Hilda Ogden’s wall. During this same visit Prince Charles and Camilla toured John Rylands Library. He visited M & I Materials in Trafford Park which had received the Queen's Award for outstanding achievement in International Trade and Export. He returned to Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground where he attended a celebration of Sufi Muslim culture. He was entertained by dancers and met with artists, religious leaders and musicians.

The now King Charles III returned to Trafford and the Kellogg’s Plant in January 2023 to celebrate 100 Years of Kellogg’s in the UK. Once more he was given a tour of the facilities, including the ‘Culinary Centre’ where attempts are underway to limit salt and sugars in their cereals. King Charles was presented with a commemorative plaque at the end of his visit.

Later that day King Charles met Gareth Southgate, an ambassador of the Princes Trust at Norbrook Community Centre in Northern Moor. They discussed the impact of the work that Marcus Rashford has done outside of football. Queen Camilla particularly praised Rashford for his donation of books to his former youth club.

From public records, photographs and newspapers it has been possible to chart the the passage of the young Prince of Wales to King Charles III on his visits to Trafford.