The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Borough Market (Image: Royalrota) This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
The Prince and Princess of Wales made a surprise visit to London’s Borough Market today, touring the stalls in the iconic food market and even serving crumble and custard to unsuspecting shoppers. The previously unannounced visit saw the couple spend time at an award-winning cheese stall, a coffee shop helping homelessness and a famous dessert business.
They were put to work chopping cheese, making coffees and serving crumble and custard to customers. Londoners and tourists grabbing an early lunch couldn’t believe their eyes when they spotted William and Catherine walking around the market on Thursday morning, with dozens surrounding them and stopping to say hello and ask for selfies.
The Princess wore dark straight-leg trousers, a blue blouse and a checked blazer and her long brunette hair down and crowds thronged around them as the royal couple walked through the market without security barriers.
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The Prince and Princess of Wales served customers crumble and custard (Image: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace)
Their visit to one of London’s oldest and most renowned food markets is the first of a series of visits in the capital today. There is another underwraps visit as well as an engagement at RNLI tower station on the River Thames.
The programme was built around the river, designed to illustrate how it remains at the heart of London communities and trade.
At Borough Market, they first visited Trethowan Brothers, an award‑winning family cheesemakers producing small‑batch traditional cheeses whose stall has been part of the market since 1998.
William gestured to a tall tower of cheddar, asking questions of owner Todd Trethowan and happily agreeing to a taste test.
Both the Prince and Princess tried their hand at slicing the Pitchfork Cheddar with some cutting wire, and Catherine asked which cheese was the most popular.
Mr Trethowan said afterwards that they were “big cheese fans”, telling him “that’s lunch taken care of!” when he gave them cheese and chutney to take away.
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Asked about their cheese cutting skills, he said: “They were naturals”. They were particularly interested to hear about the “blossoming” success of the British cheese industry, he said, after he told them many young people are now getting into the job.
Walking through the bustling market, occasionally stopping to greet people and waving as they moved, the Prince and Princess then stopped at Change Please, a social enterprise supporting people experiencing homelessness through barista training and wrap‑around support.
100% of their profits help people experiencing homelessness in the UK and Ireland. Last year, the Prince’s Homewards programme funded Change Please to run an employability scheme in Northern Ireland.
William told staff he would bring the coffee into the royal palaces’ cafes palaces, naming Windsor Castle in particular. “It’s fantastic,” he said.
The Prince and Princess of Wales slice some cheese (Image: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace)
The Princess was keen to learn more about coffee grinding, asking “can you show me how to do it” as she darted inside the stall to try her hand at making a cappuccino.
After taking a few minutes to work the machines, froth and pour, she held a coffee cup out and said “William, I made you a coffee!”
Appearing to know he would not drink it, she conceded “it’s not decaf” and he suggested: “They [stallholders] can sell it!” In the end, she carried it around the market herself, taking a sip.
Their final stop was at Humble Crumble, the London dessert business that grew from a single market stall into multiple locations and a large social‑media following. The Princess greeted founder and creative director Kim Innes enthusiastically, telling her she had watched her on Masterchef last night.
The couple then donned aprons and stepped behind the till to serve up pots of fresh crumble and custard.
NEW: The Prince and Princess of Wales made a surprise visit to London’s Borough Market today, touring the stalls in the iconic food market.
The previously unannounced visit saw the couple spend time at a cheese stall, a coffee shop helping homelessness and a dessert business. pic.twitter.com/1mMLCfkN1E
— Emily Ferguson (@emilyinpalace) March 12, 2026
The Prince took charge of ladling the fruit and crumble, while the Princess was tasked with the embellishments: pouring custard, piping pink marshmallow fluff, and sprinkling toppings.
Gabriel Unger, the CEO of the company who placed the first order from the royal visitors, proclaimed “taste test: very good”.
He joked that they would “pass their trial shift” easily and be offered a job, if they wanted. “It’s completely surreal,” he said, adding that Catherine in particular had done a “brilliant job”.
Hundreds of people, most holding up phones for photographs, thronged close to the couple but watched respectfully as they got to work. Afterwards, the Prince and Princess stopped for selfies and shook hands with those in front of them.
They will now make a second stop at an undisclosed location, before travelling upstream by boat to the RNLI.