Douglas City Council will welcome Her Majesty Queen Camilla to the capital on Wednesday (March 20) to formally confer City Status upon the island’s capital.
Queen Camilla will preside over a ceremony at Douglas City Hall and be hosted in the Mayor’s Parlour, after which she will unveil a commemorative plaque to mark her visit before meeting well-wishers outside the building.
We took to the street to find out what the Manx public think about the first Royal visit to the island since 2021.
Duncan Donald, from Colby, said that he will not be attending the visit on Wednesday but has had past experience of seeing the Royals.
He said: ‘My wife was recovering from cancer, and she wanted to get something in the diary for us to do. We booked to attend King Charles’ coronation!
‘We got there at roughly 5am in the morning, and waited until he went past going towards Westminster Abbey. Then we went back to our hotel and watched the rest of it on TV. It was a wonderful atmosphere.
‘I can’t go on Wednesday as I’ll be playing pickleball, but I’m glad she’s coming. I would say I’m a royalist and I think they do a great job for the UK.’
Jackie Bannister and Patrick Torphy, from Onchan and Douglas, said they’re ‘not interested’ in the Royal visit.
Patrick said: ‘I’m Irish, so I couldn’t care less about the royal family to be honest.
‘I’m not against them, but I’m not going to go out of my way to see them.
‘I remember that William came over for the TT once, but I didn’t see him.
Jackie added: ‘I’m more concerned about the bus availability and the road closures! I’m the same in that I’m not really bothered.’
Ed Graham, from Douglas, said: ‘I’m not too fussed that they’re coming but I do recognise that it’s probably good for the island.
‘I do have a good friend who’s a royalist and very excited about the visit. He’ll be there to see her with his girlfriend.
‘I walk to work so I won’t be affected by the road closures - unless there’s too many people in the crowds which I won’t be able to get past!
‘Broadly, I’m in favour of the monarchy and I do think they’re a net positive, especially for diplomacy. The visit will bring good community spirit, and it’s nice to feel part of something bigger than the Isle of Man.’
Debbie Kelly-Banks, the owner of ‘Bon Fabrics’ in Strand Street, will be displaying a cardboard cut-out of King Charles in her shop window during the Royal visit on Wednesday.
She said: ‘I think it’s thrilling for the Isle of Man to have a visit as it’s been a little while. I hope she has good weather for it!
‘Apparently Camilla is an avid knitter, so I hope to be able to present her with some of our pure Manx Loaghtan wool that we have in store.’