After conducting a six-day visit to Nepal with his wife, it was back to undertaking engagements in the UK for Prince Edward
The Duke of Edinburgh visited The Branch Trust in Chipping Norton to hear about the work they do in providing services to up to 200 people in rural Oxfordshire every week.
HRH conducted a visit to The Branch. (Stefanie Calleja-Gera)
The visit saw Prince Edward meet community chef Nick Pullen and discover how he pivoted his business to now deliver ‘Branch Out and Cook’ to young people who are struggling to access education. Since partnering with the Branch to cook 46,000 meals during the pandemic, Pullen and the Branch is giving young people the opportunity to cook using mobile kitchen units, which enables them to learn new life-skills and build their self-esteem.
The Branch Trust is addressing ‘critical service gaps’ in west Oxfordshire, where 61% of residents live in rural areas and often struggle to access essential important support services. The organisation also offers spaces to a number of business including, Citizens Advice, Oxfordshire Mind, OXPIP, CAP Debt Centre and Oxfordshire Discovery College to ensure people can access the services needed instead of having to travel great distances.
Prince Edward heard how young people are being supported through cooking classes. (Stefanie Calleja-Gera)
The Prince met local primary school children. (Stefanie Calleja-Gera)
His Royal Highness also spoke to local primary school pupils from St Mary’s Church of England Primary School and sat down with people young and old who were playing a variety of table top games.
At the end of the visit, the Prince unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit. After visiting The Branch, His Royal Highness said, ‘Thank you very much indeed for inviting me to come and visit The Branch to see the amazing project that you have managed to bring to fruition. I would like to congratulate you on not just having the vision but actually seeing it all the way through. It has obviously been quite an adventure to get to this point and evidently also, just by seeing the sheer number of people you have engaged with, has been something which has been much desired and is doing some fantastic work’.
Prince Edward unveiled a plaque to mark the visit. (Stefanie Calleja-Gera)
Emma Kennedy, CEO of The Branch Trust said: ‘We were absolutely delighted to receive a royal visit today from the Duke of Edinburgh. It was great to be able to show his Royal Highness just some of what we do at The Branch and to show the power of collaborative working, and also highlighting the importance for market towns and rural settings to have that hub where people can access the support they need rather than having to travel into a city or into a larger town, which is a massive barrier.’
