News Story

The Princess of Wales showed off her barista skills making a coffee for her husband during a visit to London’s Borough Market but the brew was turned away for not being decaf.

Kate was guided through the art of creating a cappuccino when the couple toured the foodie paradise, meeting tourists and shoppers.

When they stopped at Change Please, a social enterprise supporting the homeless by training them in coffee retail, she got behind the counter and rolled up her sleeves.

She handed the finished drink to her husband, saying “I’ve made a coffee for you, William”, but when he asked “is it decaf?” and she replied “no”, he suggested it should be sold.

Kate carried the coffee with her when they carried on with their tour of the popular attraction that has been a focus for food lovers for decades.

Staff member Lorent Maliqi had guided Kate through the cappuccino making process and said afterwards: “She did really well.

“I was surprised, she got the texture of the milk right on point it was a great effort.”

William and Kate were hands-on throughout their visit, which began at the Trethowan Brothers stall where award-winning cheese made from their farm in north Somerset has been sold since the beginnings of Borough Market almost 30 years ago.

They sampled the hand-made Pitchfork Cheddar, made with unpasteurised milk, and the Gorwydd Caerphilly cheese, and told Todd Trethowan: “That’s lunch taken care of.”

The couple then moved behind the counter, with William cutting a wedge of the Caerphilly cheese under Mr Trethowan’s guidance before Kate used the string to slice some of the cheddar, which was bagged and handed to the couple’s aide for later.

At one point William put his hand on a larger wheel of cheddar cheese and asked “does any one come in and ask for one of these?”. When told they do, he replied: “I’m so impressed by that.”

They couple’s presence soon attracted dozens of onlookers, with members of the public holding up smartphones to capture the moment.