Two days out from King Charles’ coronation, Prince William and Kate Middleton have delighted fans in central London with a surprise visit to a historic pub.
The Prince and Princess of Wales caught the swanky new Elizabeth Line train service to Soho’s Dog and Duck pub early on Thursday afternoon, local time, where the couple chatted happily and took selfies with excited members of the public.
Melbourne woman Anne-Michel Greenwood, 49, was one of the lucky handful who caught up with Kate as she made her way through the crowd.
“I feel like this is the best day of my life. I saw my opportunity and said, ‘I’ve come a long way from Melbourne, Australia,’” Anne-Michel told news.com.au. “She said ‘Oh my gosh, did you come for the coronation? And I said, ‘Yes, I’ve only come for this.’
“She asked me, ‘What else are you doing?’ And I said, ‘Nothing, I’m following you around all weekend.’ And she laughed. She’s very tall and more gorgeous than what I expected – and so friendly. She was lovely.”
William and Kate were visiting the centuries-old tavern – a former favourite watering hole of Madonna and Guy Ritchie, first established in 1734 – to meet with local business owners ahead of the UK’s coronation bank holiday.
The royal couple thanked the city’s hospitality workers while chatting with them about their plans for the weekend, before William tried his hand at pulling pints behind the bar.
Texas-based Bobbie Gibson, 52, also shared a lengthy chat with the Princess of Wales, who was looking typically glamorous in a red coat dress.
“She touched me!” Bobbie gushed to news.com.au.
“She asked me if I was here for the coronation, and I said, ‘Of course.’ And then she asked if I was going to go to The Mall (the long road up to Buckingham Palace). And that was it, then she went her way,” she said.
“[She is] Beautiful. Beautiful. Like, beautiful.”
One royal fan visiting from Toronto – William and Kate’s sister-in-law Meghan Markle’s former hometown – told news.com.au the Prince of Wales had admitted to her that he was worried about the grim weather forecast for the coronation weekend.
“I told him I’m visiting from Toronto and if he’d ever been, and he said it had been a while. So I told him to come and visit again,” Neha Rastogi, 39, said.
“He said we’re praying for good weather this weekend, but he said as a Canadian, we’d be pretty OK with a bit of rough weather.
“He was very sweet. It was honestly surreal, I was just walking around and just stumbled upon it. I did not expect to meet royalty today.”
William also made a cheeky jibe about the media, joking to onlookers who were asking questions: “You’ve all got hidden microphones, I’m watching you!”
He added: “Lots of media hidden in here.”
Two royal aides arrived at least an hour before William and Kate, where they co-ordinated with the press and police officers before scoping out the pub and making last-minute changes to the arrival plan.
As the press group swelled, one royal staffer joked to a photographer: “They’ll see this (media pack) and want to go to the other side (of the road).”
William and Kate’s arrival was met with cheers from a large crowd, before they stopped at the pub entrance to greet staffers.
Hilariously, the regal moment was briefly interrupted by a passer-by who unwittingly walked straight past without realising that two of the world’s most recognisable people were mere centimetres away.
Even Kate seemed a little taken aback, taking a sideways step to peer around the corner after the unexpected visitor was moved on by security.
In the hours before their arrival, a huge security outfit which included members of the Metropolitan Police, royal protection officers, and surveillance helicopters swept the scene.
Barricades were erected before 8am, with curious onlookers slowly drifting in to observe what was going on, before excitedly grabbing a spot after realising Britain’s most popular royals were about to turn up.
It is reportedly the last expected sighting of Kate and William before Saturday’s coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
They were photographed on Wednesday joining King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla and their three children, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, at the Abbey for a rehearsal ahead of the big event.