William and Catherine visit Northern Ireland

Prince William and wife Kate showed off their soccer skills when the royal couple paid a surprise visit to Northern Ireland yesterday.The couple, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are on a two-day trip to the British province, with the focus yesterday on the benefits of sport and outdoor life on childhood development.They showcased their own skills during a kickabout at Belfast’s Windsor Park stadium, home of the Irish Football Association which runs programmes to encourage young girls to play the sport and to support clubs dealing with mental health issues.The royals, who were without their three children, also visited the Fermanagh to see the Roscor Youth Village, a residential centre for children referred by social workers, before returning to Belfast to attend a party celebrating inspirational young people at the city’s Empire Music Hall.The hastily-arranged visit comes as MPs argued over the terms of Brexit with just over a month to go until the scheduled departure date.Even though the royals tend to steer well clear of politics, their visits are often organised in conjunction with the government to assist Britain’s wider political and economic agenda at home and abroad.The shock result of the 2016 EU membership referendum has forced the royals into diplomatic overdrive.Not long after the referendum, William toured Canada, then Europe, in what was seen as a bridge-building exercise as Britain looks to retain old alliances with European and build new trade ties with the Commonwealth.Strategic royal visits have multiplied since then.But the trip to Northern Ireland, where the IRA fought a bloody campaign against British rule for three decades until 1998, is a particularly sensitive mission.Since the end of the conflict, residents of the province have become accustomed to a free-flowing border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state.Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU by 56% to 44% but the United Kingdom as a whole voted to leave.