King shows off ukulele skills in Northern Ireland visit

Britain’s King Charles strummed his ukulele while the Queen munched on an Italian ice cream cone on the whirlwind final day of her visit to Northern Ireland.

Charles tried his hand at playing the mini-stringed instrument in an unusual place, joining a ukulele group of more than a dozen players in the town of Newtownards.

The King stepped up to the Loughries Men’s Shed Ukulele Society and appeared to be enjoying the moment as he held the ukulele almost in the style of one of its best-known players, George Formby.

Charles isn’t the only British royal with a passion for music; some of his grandchildren are learning to play instruments; Prince Louis is a drummer, Princess Charlotte is a budding pianist, and Prince George is believed to have picked up the guitar.

Charles and Camilla have spent the last three days touring Northern Ireland, ending their stay in Conway Square; here hundreds of people met with local artisans and retailers.

Michael Cafolla, an ice cream vendor whose business was opened by his Italian immigrant grandfather more than 100 years ago, handed the Queen a freshly made ice cream cone from a mobile cart that morning.

Camilla grabbed a wafer to dip into the vanilla-flavored treat and joked: “Can I stay here, can I stay and eat?” and said the cone was his “lunch.”