The King's coronation: Charles was 'almost shocked' at the need for a food bank in Caithness
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Caithness Foodbank volunteer Pat Ramsay remembers how the future King was "almost shocked" at the need for such a service in the county.
The then Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, visited the food bank's Wick base in the Carnegie library building on July 29 last year, just six weeks before he acceded to the throne.
The royal visitor met volunteers including Pat and her husband Grant Ramsay, the chairman, to hear more about the support they provide to those in need.
Charles also gave a donation of items the food bank was short of.
Pat recalled: “He was quite compassionate about the needs of the people, and almost shocked at the need for a food bank in Caithness.
“He was very supportive of the work of all the volunteers and spoke to everybody in a very personal way.
“He wasn't focusing on the food bank, he was focusing on the individual.
“The volunteers felt he had a lovely sense of humour, and that shone through. His interaction with us was very personal.”
Grant said: “He was so nice and very understanding, and he wanted to know what we were doing – the ins and outs of it."
The future monarch was introduced to representatives of a number of other community groups in a different part of the building.
“When he went next door, all the other volunteers were quite taken with him," Grant added.
"He was interested in everything they said. I think he spent longer than he needed to with all the different volunteers that were there.”
