Ulster University students out in hundreds to welcome Prince William during Royal visit to new Belfast campus

​Prince William put in a lunchtime visit to the university’s Belfast campus on Thursday, inspecting its £364m new buildings that opened two years ago.

He met with students and staff centred around the creative industries in Northern Ireland, in particular young people eager to enter film, TV and video game production.

In addition to the delighted crowds inside the campus, he also drew a couple of hundred well-wishers lining the street outside.

Mainly students at the university, security preparations the previous day had tipped them off that a VIP was coming – but they were still surprised to find the heir to the throne on their doorstep.

Royal fans Emma and Jodie said they’d spotted an online photo of Prince William snapped at his visit to a homelessness charity earlier that day, and were delighted to realise he was heading their way.

“There’s been such a lot of excitement about the university today, everyone’s here for him,” said Emma.

The prince isn’t Jodie’s first Royal, as she’d previously seen King Charles. But as she admits, she certainly has a preference between father and son. “Son, yes,” she smiled. “Definitely the son.”

Fellow student Gabi admitted she was mainly there for the celebrity aspect of the visit, rather than being an avid Royal-spotter.

And while she was very happy to see the prince from a distance, she’d have preferred an up close and comfortable visit. “I’d have liked a photo,” she said. “Just a wee selfie would’ve been nice.”

The crowd was overwhelmingly student aged, making the few older people very conspicuous – such as Ryan, an English tourist.

Over from Bournemouth on a city break with his wife, he was surprised to find himself caught up the glitz of a Royal visit.

"We come to Belfast quite a lot, we love the city,” he said.

"But we were just walking down the street, saw a bit of a commotion, and thought we’d check it out – and now we’re seeing Prince William.”

Inside the campus, which was sealed off by a ring of steel, the heir to the throne visited the university’s £1m Virtual Production Studio, a facility involved in cutting-edge teaching for the screen industries.

He took part in a scene curated and produced by students, hopping on a 1950s motorbike to virtually ride through the Nevada desert.

He also met James Martin, acclaimed actor and the first person with Down’s Syndrome to win an Oscar – the first time they’d run into each other since the prince awarded James an MBE in Windsor Castle in May.

“It was a great pleasure to meet Prince William again,” said James.

"The creative arts are very important to us all providing opportunities to have fun and explore important topics.

"It is so good to see this industry doing so well in Northern Ireland and Ulster University playing a big part in that.”

The Prince also took part in the celebrations of the 175th anniversary years of Belfast School of Art, which is incorporated into the university.

That included an introduction to Colin Davidson, world-renowned artist and Ulster University Chancellor.

Professor Paul Bartholomew, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, said it was wonderful to be able to show their new Belfast campus to Prince William, following on the heels of his trip to their Londonderry site three years ago.

“We demonstrated our leadership in supporting the evolution of the creative industries in Northern Ireland, introducing the prince to our work in virtual production and providing a glimpse of university life,” he said.

"Across all of our campuses we are feeding the creative industries – not only developing the skilled workforce that powers the sector, we are also undertaking the research and innovation projects to drive opportunity.

"We are connecting industry leaders to grassroots organisations to raise aspirations, and we are ensuring that our communities are benefiting from the economic, social, cultural and education benefits that arise.

“This has been a momentous year, as we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Belfast School of Art with the help of our artistic alumni and our nomination for Times Higher Education’s University of the Year, so it was an honour to welcome Prince William to mark the special occasion.”