Sweet treat for Prince Harry in royal visit to Haribo in Castleford

A sweet treat awaited Prince Harry when he visited Haribo's newest factory today as he was given his very own Harry-shaped jelly candy.
7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry is presented with some specially produced 'Harry-Mix' during a visit to the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry is presented with some specially produced 'Harry-Mix' during a visit to the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees
7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry is presented with some specially produced 'Harry-Mix' during a visit to the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees

The young prince visited the factory on Castleford’s Whitwood Common Lane as part of his two-day whistle-stop tour of West Yorkshire.

He was given a guided tour of the £92 million factory, which opened in 2015, by Haribo UK managing director Herwig Vennekens, and chatted with workers.

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He was also then given his own box of personal Haribo - Harry Mix - made up of jelly sweets in the mould of his face.

7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees
7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees

A batch of the sweets, which will not be put into production, were made just for the day.

“He tried a few sweets and we gave him his own personal box of sweets, you could see he was very surprised by it,” said managing director Herwig Vennekens.

“The day went brilliantly, a lot of people were happy and excited to meet him.

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“He took the time to meet them and talk with them and you could tell by the workers’ reactions how they felt.

7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees
7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees

People say he is very down to earth and he was. He was very genuine.

“We only learned he was coming here recently so we had to quickly make sure it was a fantastic day, and it was.”

When the prince was given his own box of sweets he joked: “You realise you’ve got far too much time on your hands!

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“Thank you very much, I will do my best to eat them all, it would be a bit weird sharing these I think!”

7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees
7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees

The popular prince also made quite an impression on staff members.

Machine operator Morag Bland, from Featherstone, spoke with him for a few minutes. She said: “He is amazing, really down to earth.

“He just seemed so approachable, he wasn’t stand-offish or anything like that, you could really talk to him.

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“I asked him what his favourite sweet was and he said it was difficult but if he had to choose one it would be the cola bottles.”

7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees
7 July 2017..........HRH Prince Harry visits the Haribo factory in Castleford. Picture Scott Merrylees

Chris Ward, also a machine operator, from Pontefract was equally impressed.

“It was like talking to one of the lads, one of the workforce, he was brilliant.

“He was really interested in how it all works and asked us if we had any children and whether we took sweets home for them.”