Princess Kate Stuns Shoppers During Surprise Market Visit With Prince William

The Prince and Princess of Wales surprised shoppers at Borough Market today, serving crumble and custard to delighted visitors.

During their visit, the couple joined in with the stallholders’ work — chopping cheese and helping behind the counter. At one point, the Princess even made coffee for her husband, who joked that a market stall could easily sell it.

Crowds of Londoners and tourists quickly gathered, many appearing astonished to see the future King and Queen in such an informal setting. People surrounded them with phones raised, eager to capture the unexpected moment.

The Prince and Princess walked through the market on foot, mingling with the crowds without security barriers separating them. The visit marked the first stop of a day in London that includes several surprise appearances, ending with an engagement at an RNLI station along the River Thames.

The day’s programme was centred around the River Thames, highlighting its continued importance to London’s communities and commerce.

At Borough Market — known as one of the capital’s oldest food markets — the Prince and Princess stopped by Trethowan Brothers, an award-winning family cheesemaker that produces traditional small-batch cheeses. The business has had a stall at the market since 1998.

During the visit, the Prince pointed toward an impressive tower of cheddar and spoke with owner Todd Trethowan, asking questions and gladly agreeing to sample some of the cheese.

Both William and Catherine also tried slicing the Pitchfork Cheddar themselves. The Princess asked which variety proved most popular with customers. Later, Mr Trethowan shared that the couple were “big cheese fans,” joking that “that’s lunch taken care of!” after he gave them some cheese and chutney to take away. Speaking about their attempts at cutting the cheese, he added, “They were naturals.”

He also said the royal pair were keen to hear about the growing success of Britain’s cheese industry, particularly after he explained that many young people are now entering the field.

As they continued through the market, the Prince and Princess occasionally paused to greet members of the public and wave to onlookers. They later stopped at Change Please, a social enterprise that supports people experiencing homelessness by offering barista training and wider assistance.

READ MORE: Carole Middleton Makes a Stylish Statement at Cheltenham Festival Wearing Princess Kate’s Hat and a £50K Hermès Bag

Last year, the Prince’s Homewards initiative supported Change Please in running an employability programme in Northern Ireland. During the visit, Prince William told staff he would like to see their coffee served in cafés at royal residences, specifically mentioning Windsor Castle. “It’s fantastic,” he said.

The Princess showed particular interest in the coffee-making process, asking, “can you show me how to do it,” before stepping behind the stall to give it a try herself. After spending a few minutes grinding beans, frothing milk and pouring the drink, she held up a cup and joked, “William, I made you a coffee!”

Realising he likely wouldn’t drink it, she added with a smile, “it’s not decaf.” William responded by suggesting, “They [stallholders] can sell it!” In the end, Catherine carried the coffee with her as they continued around the market and even took a sip.

Their final stop was Humble Crumble, a dessert business that began as a single market stall and has since expanded to several locations, gaining a strong following on social media, particularly on TikTok.

The Princess warmly greeted founder and creative director Kim Innes, telling her she had seen her appearance on MasterChef the night before.

Ready to get involved, Prince William and Catherine put on aprons and stepped inside the market building to help serve customers pots of crumble and custard.

William took charge of spooning the fruit and crumble into the bowls, while the Princess handled the finishing touches — pouring custard, piping pink marshmallow fluff, and adding various toppings.

Gabriel Unger, the company’s CEO and the first to receive an order from the royal pair, declared “taste test: very good.” He joked that they would easily “pass their trial shift” and could be offered jobs if they wanted.

“It’s completely surreal,” he said, adding that Catherine in particular had done a “brilliant job.”

The couple have a go at pulling beеrs at the outhwark Brewing Company on the Bеrmondsey Beer Mile

Ms Innes praised the Princess’s piping technique, saying it was “fantastic.” She added, “She could teach the team, she’s a natural,” while noting that William “did a good job of the correct ratio of fruit to crumble.”

Hundreds of people gathered around the couple, most holding up their phones to take photos. Despite the excitement, the crowd remained respectful as the Prince and Princess helped behind the counter.

After finishing at the stall, William and Catherine paused to take selfies and shake hands with those nearby before heading to the Bermondsey Beer Mile, an area in Southwark known for its more than 20 craft breweries, taprooms and bottle shops.

Their visit there included a stop at Southwark Brewing Company, founded in 2014 by Peter Jackson. What began as a home-brewing project eventually grew into a full brewery.

During the tour, both William and Kate were invited to pour pints. They also climbed ladders to stir one of the brewhouse kettles and add malt to the mixture.

They later visited Fabal Beerhall, the newest project from Hiver Beers, an independent brewery run by women that produces specialty beers made exclusively with British ingredients.

The brewery was founded by Hannah Rhodes, who began with a simple yet distinctive concept: using raw British honey — sourced exclusively from independent UK beekeepers — as a key ingredient in the brewing process.

Afterwards, the couple boarded a boat and travelled along the Thames to the RNLI Tower Lifeboat Station.

RNLI Tower is the charity’s busiest lifeboat station, operating around the clock throughout the year from its new facility that opened in 2023. The team of staff and volunteers responds to emergencies along the River Thames and has already been called out 45 times so far this year.

Source