he Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are visiting Hillsborough Castle to mark

the completion of its five-year, �20m makeover.

The County Down site is the Queen's official residence in Northern Ireland and home
to the secretary of state.

It will reopen to the public on 18 April after an extensive refurbishment.

The Georgian mansion, dating back to the 1770s, is set within 100 acres of grounds.
It is best known for hosting royal garden parties and peace talks.

Hillsborough Castle's �20m royal makeover

�4.8m award for Hillsborough Castle
In 2014, the estate's management was taken over by the independent charity,
Historic Royal Palaces, which also looks after other royal sites such as Kensington
Palace, Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London.

The charity has led the refurbishment programme at Hillsborough, in a bid to open
up the grounds and make them more accessible as a tourist destination.

Image copyrightHERITAGE LOTTERY FUND

Image caption
The refurbishment of Hillsborough Castle was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund
It involved restoring a four-acre walled garden and building a new visitor car park
off the A1.

The project received millions of pounds of support from the Heritage Lottery Fund
(HLF).