The children at Newcastle's Stocksfield Avenue primary school were on best behaviour this week as Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall dropped by for storytime. And the royal dad-of-two had no trouble keeping the youngsters entertained when he read aloud a passage from Rudyard Kipling's How The Camel Got His Hump.
Charles had a rapt audience as he flexed his narrative skills during Wednesday's visit to the school, which has been involved in the Prince of Wales's Arts and Kids Foundation. The Prince and his wife also enjoyed a mini-play, entitled Jack And The Dancing Tree, which was created by pupils.
Lorna, eight, said she had been practicing hard for weeks in preparation for the royal performance. "It's going to be great," she said beforehand. "I've only ever seen him on the TV… I am a bit nervous but I think I'm more excited."
While his story-telling went down a treat, Charles faced a rather more adult challenge on Thursday when he stepped up to the bar to pull a pint at the Holly Bush, a rural pub in Greenhaugh, Northumberland. The couple have been enjoying a tour of the northeast, where they also visited an organic farm and butcher's shop.
While Charles and Camilla were providing some royal entertainment in the UK, the Japanese imperial family was doing the same on a rather grander scale. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko hosted their annual autumn garden party for some 2,000 guests, including new parentsPrincess Kiko and her husband Prince Akishino. Kiko gave birth to son Hisahito - the first imperial heir to be born in 41 years - in September.
Akishino's brother and next-in-line to the Chrysanthemum throne, Crown Prince Naruhito, attended the open-air event in Tokyo without his wife Masako. Although the former diplomat has resumed some official duties in the last 12 months, apparently she has still not completely shaken off the stress-related condition from which she has suffered for several years.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
