Prince and Princess of Wales visit RNFI

The Prince and Princess of Wales spent the day along the Thames yesterday. 

Prince William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, undertook several engagements yesterday in London. The day started with a very special surprise for many.

The Prince and Princess first paid a visit to London’s iconic Borough Market. Unsuspecting members of the public had a chance to be served breakfast by the future King and Queen, handing out coffee and crumble desserts.

The couple visited Trethowan Brothers, which produces small-batched traditional cheeses at a dairy in North Somerset and has had a stall at the over 1,000-year-old market since 1998. The Princess of Wales served a cup of coffee to the Prince from Change Please, an organisation that helps people without housing through barista training and a dedicated support network. It’s worth noting that Change Please also received funding from the Prince’s Homewards initiative, which works to combat homelessness around the United Kingdom. The final stop at Humble Crumble saw the royals piping marshmallow custard over the fruit crumble, surprising Londoners and tourists.

Picture by Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace

The royals then visited London’s Bermondsey Beer Mile. At Southwark Brewing Company, the Princess of Wales, who had turned Brewmaster, had a hand in stirring the brewhouse kettle with large rubber gloves. “This is hot! Wow, look at that,” the Princess quipped on top of a ladder.

On a more serious note, the Princess was asked about her own alcohol consumption during the tasting of their brewing skills. “Since my diagnosis, I haven’t had much alcohol. It’s something I have to be a lot more conscious of now,” Catherine remarked, per the Sun. The Prince of Wales said, “You do like cider, don’t you? I’m a cider man, I like cider. I grew up on cider in the West Country.”

Picture by Ryan Jenkinson / Kensington Palace

Their Royal Highnesses then visited Fabal Beerhall, an independently female-owned brewer of speciality beers founded by Hannah Rhodes. The brewery utilises raw British honey, from independent beekeepers, as a core ingredient.

The final stop of the day was at the Royal National Lifeboats Institution (RNLI) Tower, one of four lifeboat stations along the Thames. RNLI Tower’s new station, opened in 2023 and based in the heart of London, is RNLI’s busiest lifeboat station.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity that saves lives at sea and along the River Thames. The RNLI consist of 238 lifeboat stations across the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as beach lifeguards providing seasonal patrols on over 240 beaches. The visit yesterday comes as the RNLI Lifeguards celebrate 25 years of keeping Britain’s beaches safe since 2001.

Kensington Palace said in a statement,

For centuries the river has been at the heart of London’s life, shaping its communities, its trade and the stories people tell about the city, from folk traditions through to modern London. Today’s engagements will bring together people and organisations from across the capital whose work continues to support the life of the river and the communities around it.

The Prince and Princess met with Station Manager Kevin Maynard, who introduced the crew. The royals received an insight into rescue operations that are conducted at Tower, as well as the training and support the charity offers.

The royal couple donned lifejackets and rode with the crew under Tower Bridge along the Thames.

William and Catherine also met RNLI Lifeguards, who are themselves preparing to support the University Boat Race—a sporting competition between Oxford and Cambridge dating back to 1829 and described as the “epitome of amateur sport.”

The Prince and Princess’s visit provided an opportunity to meet and thank the crew and many volunteers for their work, particularly across the challenging winter period.

Prince William visited RNLI Tower Station’s former premises in 2016 and previously visited RNLI Lifeguards in Cornwall as well as the RNLI Lifeboats in Anglesey.

There was a small touch which many eagle-eyed persons noted. Already 15 years have gone by since the Princess of Wales carried out her first official engagement launching the RNLI lifeboat Hereford Endeavour alongside Prince William.

In February 2011, the world’s press descended on Anglesey—where the couple had lived at the time —to catch a glimpse of the future Duchess of Cambridge, now Princess of Wales, at Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station. Lifeboat’s Operations Manager, Aubrey Diggle, said at the time, “It’s an honour to have Prince William and Miss Middleton at our naming ceremony.”

Prince William served as an RAF search-and-rescue helicopter pilot in Anglesey from 2010 to 2013, conducting 156 search-and-rescue missions, during which 149 people were rescued.