King Charles joins Irish drummers and asks for hip-hop dance lessons in Belfast
Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla embraced Irish culture during a lively visit to Belfast on Tuesday, where the royal couple joined traditional musicians in a bodhrán drum performance and even requested hip-hop dance lessons.
The visit took place at Thompson Dock, one of Belfast’s most famous landmarks and the last place where the RMS Titanic stood on dry ground before setting sail on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912.
The royal couple surprised performers when they picked up bodhráns traditional Irish frame drums and joined in during a musical performance organised ahead of the upcoming all-Ireland Fleadh festival.
“We happened to have a couple of bodhráns sitting on the seat, and the king and queen realised they were there, and they decided to join in with us at the end,” Irish music specialist Niall McClean said.
“It was wonderful.”
McClean, who works with the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann cultural organisation, said the royals showed genuine enthusiasm for traditional Irish music and instruments including the bodhrán and the uilleann pipes.
The performance formed part of celebrations promoting the Fleadh festival, regarded as the world’s largest celebration of Irish traditional music and culture.
The event, which will take place in Belfast from August 2 to August 9, is expected to attract more than 800,000 visitors.
The king and queen also spent time chatting with young dancers and musicians taking part in the showcase.
Irish dancer Sarah McGarry described the interaction as “lovely” and said it was special to introduce the monarch to elements of Irish culture.
Later during the visit, the royal couple watched a hip-hop performance by a group of young students, where King Charles reportedly expressed interest in learning the dance style himself.
“He wants us to teach him how to do hip-hop,” said King’s Trust ambassador Jamie Fagan.
“He wants a royal hip-hop lesson, in his words.”
Despite rainy weather and unusually chilly temperatures, crowds gathered to welcome the royal couple during their engagements across Belfast.
During the trip, Charles also met Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill and representatives from organisations supported by his King’s Trust charity, which helps young people develop employment skills and confidence.
Meanwhile, Queen Camilla visited Fane Street Primary School, known as one of Northern Ireland’s most culturally diverse schools.
The school’s 285 pupils collectively speak 47 different languages, reflecting the region’s growing diversity.
The visit comes as King Charles continues treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, though he has maintained an active public schedule in recent months.
Charles has visited Northern Ireland numerous times both as monarch and previously as Prince of Wales before ascending the throne following the death of Elizabeth II in 2022.
The Belfast trip also follows news that Irish President Catherine Connolly has invited the king to make an official visit to Ireland next year.
If the visit takes place, it would mark only the second official visit by a British monarch to Ireland since Irish independence in 1921.
Queen Elizabeth II made a historic state visit to Ireland in 2011, widely regarded as a milestone moment in relations between the two countries.
