Kate Middleton and Prince William beam and make Welsh cakes during first joint engagement in more than a year
The Prince and Princess of Wales have arrived in Pontypridd ahead of St David’s Day on 1 March and learn how the community is coping following recent devastating flooding. Prince William and Kate Middleton were greeted by cheering crowds when they arrived at the town’s indoor market where they began their visit by meeting stallholders.
Kate looked beautiful in a red Alexander McQueen coat over a checked Gucci skirt and brown turtle neck jumper. She later swapped her jacket for a dark green blazer, while she wore her brunette hair down in her signature bouncy curls. The princess, 43, has carried out a series of royal engagements in recent weeks as she makes a gradual return to public duties since completing her bout of chemotherapy last summer.
The pair's visit, delayed by almost an hour due to train disruptions, was the couple’s first to Wales since Kate announced last March she had begun cancer treatment, a development which followed King Charles' cancer diagnosis.
READ MORE: Prince Harry's ‘alarm bells’ amid Meghan Markle’s surprise move with royal children
READ MORE: Henry Kelly dead - Going for Gold TV presenter dies as family pay emotional tribute
When Storm Bert struck in late November it brought serious damage to Wales, with the River Taff bursting its banks and bringing widespread flooding to Pontypridd, which had been badly hit by Storm Dennis in 2020.
Then a few weeks after Bert, Storm Darragh brought extremely high winds to the region.
William and Kate stopped at The Welsh Cake Shop, a popular retailer in the town’s market that has been a focal point for shoppers and traders for generations. The shop owned by Theresa Conner, 46, is well known for its Welsh cakes and the other traditional Welsh tea-time treat of bara brith or speckled bread.
The royal pair went head to head in a Welsh cake-making challenge - both taking off their coats and putting on aprons and to tackle the task. They rolled out the dough, made ahead of time, as William asked shop owner Theresa Conner, who had shown the couple the process: “Is it thick enough?”
Their skills were honed when they appeared with TV baking queen Mary Berry on A Berry Royal Christmas show, and William praised her influence. With flour stuck to the sleeve of his maroon sweater, William smiled and said: “Well I don’t know, my stunning baker skills, Mary Berry taught me everything I need to know.”
The couple - who are parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – cooked their cakes on a hot plate, keeping a watchful eye on them and turning them after five minutes, and Madison Conner, daughter of the shop owner, gave them the seal of approval.
She said: “They’re perfect, they’re great – they’re bangin.”
