Kate Middleton and Prince William come to Coventry

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Coventry last Tuesday to celebrate its future as the 2021 UK City of Culture, as well as to open the new £59m Science and Health Building at Coventry University.

The royal couple was welcomed by the crowds at the ruins of the Coventry Cathedral, stayed in the city centre for more than three hours and made multiple stops during the tour.

Upon their arrival, hundreds of people were cheering for Kate and William, who chatted with their supporters, including pupils from Coundon Primary School. The couple then walked through the ruins of the Coventry Cathedral and took part in the Litany of Reconciliation. They also made a stop at the Rising Cafe, a business which directly funds Betel – a Christian charity offering free help for people with drug addictions.

The royal couple also visited Coventry University’s Science and Health building, which was built to facilitate trainings of nurses, midwives, paramedics and other health professionals.

This marked a new phase in our commitment to offer some of the finest healthcare teaching in the UK

They looked at one of the community houses, which was designed to realistically portray the work within people’s homes. Inside they saw a fictional care of a patient with a deep arm cut. At the end of their visit, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge officially opened the building, although it has been in use since October last year.

Coventry Universtiy’s vice-chancellor John Latham stated: “Their Royal Highnesses opening the building marked a new phase in our commitment to offer some of the finest healthcare teaching in the UK. This was an important day for our staff, students, our partners and the city of Coventry.”

Their last stop was at the Positive Youth Foundation, a non-profit organisation providing help for young people from Coventry who are facing difficult life circumstances. The Daily Mirror’s royal reporter, Victoria Murphy, recorded the events inside and shared videos on Twitter of the couple watching a dance show organised by the members, as well as Kate joining a discussion about mental health and well-being.

Image: Coventry City Council / Flickr

Although the visit left a generally positive impression, there was some backlash among locals. Prior to their arrival, the Birmingham Mail and Coventry Telegraph shared some opinions of local residents, many of whom were skeptical of the royal family’s genuine interest in the ordinary people and homeless communities of Coventry.

In fact, 2015 figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government showed Coventry to be the 46th most deprived area in England. Furthermore, a recent survey published on the city council website revealed that just under a third of Coventry’s children live in poverty.

Warwick students had a range of attitudes towards the visit:

First-year Politics student Gabor Puskas said: “I think that there being different pressuring issues does not mean that others should be neglected. Coventry being chosen for City of Culture is an amazing achievement and I do believe that a royal visit to Coventry is beneficial – not only because it’s an honour to the city, but because having the royal family visit Britain’s multicultural City of Culture is a great show of unity.”

I think it is a great opportunity for the city to draw in some investments

Postgraduate Life Science student Zofia Garajova added: “It is part of their job, they are doing what they are supposed to do and I think they are an outstanding representation of the country.”

Meanwhile, first-year Economic student Jeremy Chen said: “I think it is a great opportunity for the city to draw in some investments, so I don’t consider it to be a negative thing.”

However, some were less positive about the visit. First-year Psychology student Sean Dolan commented: “Coventry is historical, but the way the city looks like must have been disappointing for them.”

Louis Ammon, a first-year Chemistry student, added: “As long as they didn’t get stabbed, I don’t really care.”