Prince Charles chatted with engineers and entrepreneurs yesterday as he arrived in Caithness for his annual stay.
The prince, known as the Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, arrived in Wick yesterday for engagements that saw him visit a company that explores the depths the ocean before and then move on to meet young business minds.
In the first event of the day Prince Charles visited Imenco which acquired the business which was started locally from Kongsberg Maritime at the end of June.
It manufactures underwater cameras and harsh environment CCTV systems for subsea applications that can function thousands of metres beneath the surface.
There, the Duke had the chance to meet staff and view the production process and encountered a familiar face in machine technician Andrew Simpson.
Mr Simpson’s father Charlie, as head of the Caithness branch of the Royal British Legion and a former “heavy” competitor himself, organised the Mey Highland Games for many years.
Mr Simpson said: “My father met him when when HRH was the judge of the Tug o’ War at the games – so he gave him a few pointers.”
An important local employer in Wick, the business was started by local entrepreneurs who set out on their own, and now employs a lot of former Dounreay staff who started with apprenticeships.
Mechanical technician Graham Bain said: “Prince Charles asked me if I had received a gold watch after all those years, I told him “no, I am still waiting for it.”
After around an hour spent at Imenco, Prince Charles then went to a Caithness Chamber of Commerce event at Mackay’s Hotel which was set up to help new start-ups and young entrepreneurs along the road to success.
With his long-held interest in helping young people through his own Prince’s Trust, HRH spoke with those present with great interest about their plans and future ambitions.
Again his Royal Highness came upon a familiar face, this time that of gin maker Martin Murray the owner and director of Dunnet Bay Distillers.
Mr Murray said: “HRH visited us on our first birthday as a business and so he has seen significant changes since then.
“We were talking about what has changed in the last four years and he was interested to hear about the tasting room and the shop. He was delighted to hear how far we have come in a short period of time.”
Chairman of the Caithness Chamber of Commerce Stephen Sutherland said: “We are always delighted to see anyone of the Duke of Rothesay’s stature coming up to visit us.
“With the young entrepreneurs and young businesses we got to show what we can do in Caithness. We have a very vibrant business community up here and we had lots of business mentors here, lots of networking – so it was a great day.”