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Although the trip itself is yet to be officially confirmed (a statement is expected from Buckingham Palace early next week), Killarney is gearing up for the visit of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla with renovations already under way around the National Park.

Unconfirmed reports have suggested that the National Parks and Wildlife Service are spending upwards of €10,000 on the makeover, as efforts are well under way to ensure the royals are suitably impressed with their brief visit to our town. It has been suggested that Charles and Camilla will spend four hours in Killarney on Friday, June 15 before moving on their next port of call.

Any improvements to our park are, of course, always welcome and fair play for the powers that be for forking out the money to spruce it up a little, but there’s something a bit disconcerting about their reasoning.

Why does it take a royal visit for such an investment? Over half a million non-royals visit Muckross House annually during their stay in Killarney. Why are we making such a fuss over these two particular individuals, especially when they’re only here for a few hours? It seems a bit archaic to be honest.

I suppose the argument could be made that Prince Charles and Camilla’s visit will lead to an increase in British tourists coming to Killarney. But is that slightly overestimating the esteem in which the royal family are held in this day and age, even in their own country? Maybe not. Hopefully it does prove to be a great boon to our economy.

Either way, I suppose we should be grateful that our National Park got a nice little touch-up. Thanks Charles!