William and Kate meet young people during Belfast visit

The Prince and Princess of Wales have been making their seventh joint visit to Northern Ireland.

First stop for William and Catherine was a former church on Belfast's Ormeau Road, The Commons, which has been transformed into a community centre.

The royal couple met employers, frontline organisations and young people involved in the New Employment Opportunities Network (NEON).

The initiative was launched by the Royal Foundation under William's Homewards programme, which works to try to end homelessness.

NEON helps young people at risk of homelessness overcome barriers through employment and support networks.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were greeted on Friday by Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Belfast mayor Róis-Máire Donnelly and south Belfast MP Claire Hanna.

Shaking hands in the rain, Little-Pengelly joked to Prince William that the weather "wasn't playing ball".

They also spoke to David and Jill Hines, who are directors of The Commons, before being taken on a tour of the regenerated church building.

A number of local craft groups were set up inside, including Flourish and Sew-cial Circle.

As the couple left, they were greeted by hundreds who had waited in the rain outside.

William and Catherine shook hands and took selfies with the crowd, with William making a FaceTime call to the mother of one of those waiting.

The royal couple then visited the Ikea store on the outskirts of Belfast.

On arrival, they were greeted by Michaela Quinlan, store manager, and Ian Magill, operations manager.

The store remained open throughout the afternoon visit with arriving shoppers surprised to see the large security operation around the store – and then the royal couple inside.

Teenagers from nearby Sullivan Upper School in Holywood were among those shocked to see the heir to the throne and his wife strolling through the building.

Some of them were later served in the customer restaurant by William and Kate as they helped out briefly at the tills.

William and Catherine were aided by workers Séamus McBrearty and Sophie Russell at the tills during their 50-minute visit.

The store has recruited young people through NEON and the royal couple met one of them during their visit.

They also met representatives from businesses including Specsavers, B&Q and Howdens, who have committed to joining NEON.

The programme is built on the principle that when young people have access to opportunities and a sense of belonging, they are more likely to build stable and fulfilling careers.

The royal couple last came to Northern Ireland a year ago when they visited a training college in Cookstown for fire-fighters.

Their first trip to Belfast was in 2011, a month before their wedding, when they went to City Hall.

They also visited a youth charity in the city, before having lunch with the then Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson at Hillsborough Castle.