Prince Charles has added royal approval to the £11m refurbishment of Belfast City Hall.

Following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, George V and Queen Mary whose horse-drawn carriage cavalcade helped highlight the original in 1921 - when they came to Belfast to open the first Stormont Parliament - the Prince of Wales visited Belfast City Hall on Thursday to view the results of the building's massive refit.

Prince Charles was welcomed to the city landmark by Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Naomi Long, alongside Dame Mary Peters in her role as Lord Lieutenant and the Chief Executive of Belfast City Council, Peter McNaney.

As well as meeting Belfast City councillors and their spouses and partners, His Royal Highness met representatives from various groups and organisations across the city.

The Lord Mayor said afteerwards: "We brought together a wide range of people from both the private and public sector as well as representatives of communities from all parts of the city for this special visit today.

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"Our aim is to show all that is good about our 'new Belfast' - a city with a shared future, a vibrant city full of opportunity, inspiring enterprise, creativity and change," she added.

The Prince of Wales met architects, crafts people and technicians involved in the City Hall refurbishment project.

He also spoke with adult volunteers, representatives from Titanic Signature Project, Connswater Greenway, Belfast City Council's Youth Forum, apprentices from Belfast City Council's 'Step up to Work' project, and students at Belfast Metropolitan College.

Belfast's renaissance came under the spotlight with refurbishment and new building projects across the city featured too including St Malachy's church, Ulster Museum, the library at QUB, Ulster Hall, Lyric Theatre and the MAC.

Those who work closely with Belfast City Council's Good Relations Unit and organisations involved with the council's 'Renewing the Routes' initiative (to enhance areas around main roads leading into the city) were also represented.

Belfast City Hall reopened in October 2009 following its two-year closure for major refurbishment.

The £11 million project involved the replacement of heating, mechanical and electrical systems as well as asbestos removal, re-roofing, drainage improvements, and the installation of computer network systems.

Originally, the first stone was laid in 1898 and Belfast City Hall opened its doors eight years later on 1 August 1906 during a time of prosperity.

Belfast City Hall was actually built by local firm H&J Martin, following a design from Alfred Brumwell Thomas, who won a public competition with his classical Renaissance design.

Funding for the new building was raised from the profits of Belfast Gasworks for which Belfast Corporation (now Belfast City Council) was responsible.

In total, Belfast City Hall cost less than £500,000 to build.

(BMcC/GK)