Prince William will make a Skype call to two Glaswegian youngsters as part of a charity visit to Quarriers Stopover in Scotland on Thursday. "It's brilliant – I'm very excited," said Dylan Howie, one of the pair who will speak to the prince. "I never thought that when I came to Quarriers Stopover that a few months later I would be speaking to The Duke of Cambridge."
Dylan, 18, and 21-year-old Lyn Buchan were formerly residents at Quarriers Stopover, a short-term crisis accommodation centre in the south of Glasgow. They are now taking part in an exchange programme in the Netherlands organised by the centre. They will to get the chance to talk to William via Skype about their experiences in Holland as well as what it is like being homeless. In tandem with the centre's Netherlands-based partner, the exchange programme provides them with work experience. In exchange, the Dutch residents visit Glasgow and take up work placements in social care with Quarriers. It is just one of the future king's engagements on the first day of his official visit to Scotland with his wife Kate Middleton who is now six months pregnant. The couple will join Prince Charles to open the new Tamar Manoukian Outdoor Centre at Dumfries House.
"Their Royal Highnesses will be greeted by children from the uniformed youth services represented by Youth United," Clarence House announced. "Each unit will demonstrate skills and compete in an obstacle race and the event will conclude with a fly past by three Typhoons of 6 Squadron RAF Leuchars." William and Kate, who hold the Scottish titles The Earl and Countess of Strathearn, will take a tour of Glasgow's Emirates Arena, one of the sites for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. They will watch cyclists in the velodrome and see netball and badminton demonstrations. The prospective parents will also visit the Donald Dewar Leisure Centre in Drumchapel to launch a project for their Royal Foundation called Coach Core, which aims to inspire and train young sports coaches. This is part of the wider Greenhouse charitable initiative that was launched last summer by Kate, William and Prince Harry.