Prince William and Catherine Middleton visit Northern Ireland

The Prince and Miss Middleton spontaneously celebrated Shrove Tuesday with the crowds by tossing a pancake

Prince William and Catherine Middleton have spent the day in Northern Ireland on an unannounced visit.

The visit follows on from their engagements at Anglesey in Wales and St. Andrews in Scotland.

In Belfast today Prince William and Catherine were greeted by well-wishers outside City Hall.

The Prince and Miss Middleton spontaneously celebrated Shrove Tuesday with the crowds by tossing a pancake or two with children who were taking part in the activity to raise money for the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund.

After taking part himself, Prince William passed the frying pan to Miss Middleton and urged her to try, which she did, to the delight of onlookers.

Later the couple met Lord Mayor Pat Convery, Dame Mary Peters, the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, and Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson.

The Prince and Miss Middleton then held a private meeting with Mr Paterson at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down, followed by a lunch.

During the day, they also met young people from the Protestant and Catholic communities at Youth Action NI which provides training in areas including youth work and the performing arts.

They chatted with many of the students about their experiences and Prince William presented them with graduating certificates.

The Youth Action charity is a charitable organisation funded by groups including the International Fund for Ireland.