The Prince of Wales has called for the protection of Britain’s pubs, making the call during a visit to the aptly named Prince of Peckham where he pulled a pint and sampled jerk chicken.
William expressed his delight, stating “I could stay here forever,” after engaging with both regulars and newcomers at the popular south London establishment.
The pub is actively fostering community spirit through its “Chatty Patty” initiative, which encourages residents to connect over a cup of tea.
Speaking to a group participating in the programme, he emphasised his passion for local pubs: “I love pubs. I want to do as much as I can to support them because I love the community. We need to protect our pubs.”
The royal visit took place in Peckham, a vibrant, up-and-coming area known as a social hub for young people and often referred to as “little Lagos” due to its significant population of African heritage. It is also the hometown of Hollywood actor John Boyega.
During his time in the area, William also toured the nearby Pecan charity. This organisation provides crucial support to people experiencing loneliness and a lack of job opportunities, alongside operating a vital food bank service.
The Prince made a financial donation to the charity after burglars recently stole stock.
William got behind the Prince of Peckham bar and pulled a pint of Jamaican lager Red Stripe under the watchful eye of Clement Ogbonnaya, who established the pub in 2017 as an inclusive “public house for all”.
After his host poured a drink and confessed he had not done a shift behind the bar, it was William’s turn – and after finishing pouring he commented “not bad” and put his effort next to the pint pulled by Mr Ogbonnaya and said: “I think that’s pretty good.”
The pair clasped hands and bumped shoulders as the invited guests applauded.
Mr Ogbonnaya, who was made an MBE in the new year honours, said later about William’s attempt: “The pressure was on, I’m not going to lie. He can’t beat me, he can’t pour a better pint than me, but it wasn’t too far off.”
He said William had “come down here and put something like Chatty Patty on the map, because we want Chatty Patty to exist not just in Peckham but all around London”.
He added: “Other public houses are, in my opinion, very underused spaces and they can be used more for communities.
“The key thing he was talking about was how do we, because there are a lot of disenfranchised young black Britons in the country, how do we address that – how do we get more of these spaces with all of this energy, all this love and enthusiasm throughout the whole of London.”
Before leaving, William had a private lunch of jerk chicken and plantain and as he left he told guests “The jerk chicken, it blew my mind. I’m hoping Deliveroo can deliver this to Windsor.”
At the Pecan charity, which has been serving people in the London Borough of Southwark for more than 35 years, William packed a box of groceries in the foodbank warehouse with the help of volunteer Evelyn Oakley.
The prince is understood to have donated several thousand pounds after the warehouse burglary in 2024, with the cash enabling staff to replenish stock donated by local supermarkets.
When he first arrived, William spoke about the burglary, telling trustees he imagined “you guys coming in one morning and seeing that and how it made you feel” and that he “tried to work out how we could help”.
He also met staff, volunteers and clients during a laughter-filled chat around a table, and told the group: “This feels like a very happy family, that family point and that caring is so important – it’s the magic ingredient that every good charity (has) when it’s getting it right.
“It’s a hard dynamic to get right and when you do get right, it is gold dust.”
