News Story

The Prince and Princess of Wales were declared the winners in a pint pulling contest against the founder of a brewery, as they visited London’s Bermondsey Beer Mile.

William and Kate went behind the bar at the Southwark Brewing Company, situated along the well known route of independent breweries and taprooms in London Bridge in the south-east of the capital, on Thursday.

They were also invited to try beers and ciders brewed with raw British honey at the nearby Fabal Beerhall, but the princess did not partake after explaining she finds it best to avoid alcohol since her cancer diagnosis.

At the Southwark Brewing Company, founder and managing director Peter Jackson suggested the royal couple compete to see who can pull the best pint, to which a grinning Kate said: “Oh no.”

Mr Jackson gave a demonstration, with the princess telling him “you make it look so easy” before she and the prince took to pouring.

The brewery founder coached them through the process, and told them just before they placed the finished products on the counter: “You know what you can come back on Saturday for a shift.”

Assessing his and his wife’s efforts compared with Mr Jackson’s pint, William said: “I think they are both better actually.”

The couple then spoke to Mr Jackson’s son, also called William, over a video call to wish him a happy birthday, with the prince telling him: “We’re just in here trying not to ruin his brewery.

“We’ve just beaten him in a pint pulling contest.”

Mr Jackson added: “They did.”

The pair also donned rubber gloves and dabbled in the brewing process while there, with William pouring hops into the mixture and Kate using a large wooden stick to stir the boil.

They then walked a few minutes down the beer mile to Fabal Beerhall.

Kate quizzed the founder, Hannah Rhodes, on the honey and its part in the brewing process.

William referenced how his wife keeps bees, jokingly warning: “Be careful what you say, you might be corrected.”

At the bar, Kate asked Ms Rhodes whether they did any non-alcoholic beers.

“We don’t yet I’m afraid,” she replied. “I would love to do that one day but we would need quite a bit of tech to do it properly.”

While William sipped on some lager and cider at the venue, Kate did not take part in the tasting, saying she is “conscious” of drinking alcohol after her diagnosis.

Ms Rhodes told the Press Association that after she asked Kate if she is a beer drinker “she said something along the lines of since my diagnosis it has been best to avoid alcohol”.

Kate is in remission after being diagnosed with cancer in 2024.

Leaving the site, the princess waved to a small group of members of the public who were waiting on the street outside to catch a glimpse of the royal couple before she got into a car.