A group called Loughries Men’s Ukelele Ensemble serenaded the monarch and gave him a ukelele to play

The King played a ukulele and joined musicians for a jam as he toured allotments in Northern Ireland inspired by his own passion for gardening. Charles revealed he is a big fan of the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain and called them “fantastic” as he strummed along to a popular tune.

The King today visited Ards Allotments, created in 2006 by Maurice Patton, in the grounds of his farm just outside Newtownards, Co Down, on the northern shores of Strangford Lough. A group called Loughries Men’s Ukelele Ensemble serenaded the monarch and gave him a ukelele to play. The King held it up to his ear and strummed along with the band for some time.

“There’s a marvellous organisation called the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, it’s fantastic,” he told them afterwards.

One member shouted out: “Maybe you can get us into the Palladium!” The King laughed. “It’s such a great instrument,” he added. “Do you remember the words? Wait ‘til you get to my age.”

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King Charles III plays a ukulele while meeting members of the Loughries Men’s Shed Ukulele Ensemble(Image: Toby Melville/PA Wire)

“It was a great honour to play for you,” another member said. “You’re very kind,” replied the King.

Mr Patton, 72, was inspired by the then Prince of Wales whose visit 22 years ago to Vista Allotments in Dundonald, Co Down, a few miles down the road, was on the news.

“I thought, that’s not a bad business idea,” he told the King. “So I rang the owners up, who I knew fairly well, and he swore at me down the phone and with a second breath, I asked if I could send a girl up to do a business plan. We’re very friendly still, they’re not in competition with each other.”

“You were the instigator,” Mr Patton’s wife Judith Patton told him with a smile. Ards Allotments began with 20 plots and now has 104.

Mr Patton told the King he still “got a buzz” from gardening, describing the satisfaction of pulling up a carrot grown from seed, “wiping it off on your trousers” and eating it. “Oh yes, and they taste better,” the King agreed.

The monarch also chatted about the health benefits of gardening with a group running a plot on Bahamas of the NHS South Eastern Trust.

“It just makes such a a difference doesnt it?” He said. When he asked plot owner Trevor Rea, 77, if he was still managing alright, Mr Rea told him he was born in 1948.

“Join the club,” the King chuckled. He nodded enthusiastically as another plot owner said she encouraged everyone to do two things – to grow their own vegetables and “plant something for the wildlife”.

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla plant a Malus Royalty tree during a Royal Garden Party at Hillsborough Castle(Image: Henry Nicholls/PA Wire)

The King later stopped at a plot manager by Decorum NI, which supports military personnel who served during the Troubles. The women there were all wearing elaborate homemade hats. “The great thing is that I can’t miss you,” the King joked. “There’s always been a shortage of allotments,” he told them.

Mr Patton joked that he was “quite hard” on the plot owners and told them not to have any weeds. “Quite right,” the King said.

He then chatted all things potatoes with another plot owner. “Fantastic potatoes you’re growing, which ones are these?” he asked. Told they were Maris Pipers, he said: “I love a good waxy one.”

As he left, a member of the band shouted “three cheers for the King!” prompting a royal thumbs up.

Mrs Patton told him as he got into his car: “I love your aftershave!”

“Success at last!” the King laughed throwing his hands in the air in delight. “Citrus tones.”

The King is currently on a tour of Northern Ireland with the Queen, visiting communities across the region to highlight rural businesses and celebrate local heroes.

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Queen Camilla pulled the perfect pint of Guinness in The Parson’s Nose pub, in the village of Hillsborough(Image: Henry Nicholls/PA Wire)

The Queen on Wednesday pulled a perfect pint of Guinness during a visit to a village pub in Northern Ireland but insisted that the King was the real expert.

She was given a round of applause by staff as she held up the “superb” pint at The Parson’s Nose in Hillsborough.

At their last engagement of the day yesterday, Charles and Camilla also met around 500 guests at a garden party at Hillsborough Castle.

At the official residence of the monarchy in Northern Ireland, they also planted ‘Malus Royalty’ – purple crab apple – tree in honour of the occasion.

Camilla met with a group of officers from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles, based in Lisbon, of which she is Colonel-in-Chief. She was over-the-moon to meet them, revealing how pleased she was to seem them back from a recent tour of Iraq safe and sound.

SOURCE: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/king-charles-ukelele-northern-ireland-37187276