Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will travel to Birmingham next month to attend an event encouraging young women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects.
Harry and Ms Markle’s trip to the midlands falls on International Women’s Day and they will join female secondary school students taking part in a range of activities from speed networking opportunities with local businesses to a panel discussion.
The visit is the latest leg in the regional tours the prince and his fiancee are undertaking in the run-up to their May wedding, and follows trips to Edinburgh, Nottingham, Cardiff and Brixton in south London.
Harry and Meghan meet members of the public following a visit to youth-orientated radio station, Reprezent FM, in Brixton, south London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
The events are giving Ms Markle a personal education in the issues faced in parts of the UK and nationally, and complement the private visits she is regularly making to organisations as she gets to know the UK charity sector.
During their visit to Birmingham, Harry and his fiancee will chat to the young women as they take part in building apps and touchpads, before hearing more about their motivations to pursue Stem subjects.
Hosted by social enterprise Stemettes at Millennium Point on March 8, the event will also offer information on work experience, apprenticeships, A-level choices, and university degrees in Stem topics.
Later the couple will tour Nechells Wellbeing Centre to join Birmingham’s Coach Core apprentices as they take part in a training masterclass.
Prince Harry during a visit to West Ham United’s London Stadium, to attend the graduation ceremony for more than 150 Coach Core apprentices (Arthur Edwards/PA)
The Coach Core apprenticeship scheme was designed by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry to train people aged 16 – 24 with limited opportunities to become sports coaches and mentors within their communities.
During the year-long apprenticeship, which now operates in 10 cities across the UK, the young people learn technical sport skills alongside an inclusive and holistic approach to coaching, with an emphasis on employability and mentoring skills.
Ms Markle is due to become the fourth patron of the Royal Foundation when she marries the prince and the couple will chat to the apprentices about their experiences of the programme, launched in Birmingham in March last year, before joining them in the sports hall as they deliver practice training sessions.