New royal power duo emerges as Prince William teams up with Duchess Sophie in rare moment
Prince William has teamed up with his aunt, the Duchess of Edinburgh, for a joint engagement in Cornwall.
Prince William revealed he has a penchant for whisky as he enjoyed shots of gin, pints of cider and pasties at the Royal Cornwall Show alongside the Duchess of Edinburgh this afternoon. William and Sophie were treated to an air display by parachutists and welcomed by hundreds of cheering well-wishers as they attended the annual event to celebrate the very best of Cornish heritage and tradition through agriculture, food and drink.
In a rare joint engagement, the pair enjoyed their booze-fuelled visit in the West Country sunshine as William teased his aunt about her alcohol intake. Inside the bustling food and drink tent, the royal pair sampled some local chutneys before moving out to try some shots of gin.
“We've come from the chutneys straight into booze,” the prince joked as he was shown a wide array of different flavoured gins. “I can see what today's going to be like."
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
After a bit more talking, William caught Sophie going for another sip and he joked to her: "You're not allowed to finish it. You've got to watch her." Laughing, Sophie responded: "He's learnt from the best."
William then joked back: "I've been caught out with whisky a few too many times. I think I can do that and then oh no I couldn't."
Ferguson Miller, 45, Amelia Jones, 25, and Alan Anderson, 69, of Anns Pasties also gave him and Sophie a hot pasty each, which William said he would save for later, explaining: “Trying to talk and eat is a nightmare."
They then moved to cider stand Healeys Cyder Farm, after stopping off to pet a dog.
William, who is also Duke of Cornwall, said: "Look at the Rattler selection, ah definitely I'm happy about that."
Head of hospitality Laura Clerehugh, 36, said, "I was going to say, you've had a rattler."
The prince responded: "Everyone remembers where they were when they had their first Rattler I can tell you that. You remember the first, you don't remember the last."
William then jokingly turned his nose up at the zero per cent alcohol option he was initially offered, and asked for the proper stuff instead.
He said: "Oh no, no, no. I need original. Someone bring out the big guns."
Earlier on Friday, the Prince and Duchess arrived at the show to loud cheers.
William is a patron of the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association (RCAA), the charity which organises the three-day show, while Sophie is the RCAA’s vice president and a patron of the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations.
They went straight into the food and farming tent together and then went off to different engagements.
The Duchess of Edinburgh went to Girl Guides, which she is patron of and asked about their work helping at the show.
She also spoke with representatives at LEAF, which she is also a patron of, before moving to see cows, pigs and sheep.
She handed a trophy to the Beef Team of Five Supreme for their winning cows and tickled one pigs foot and said “wakey wakey” when she peered over into one stye that had a sleeping pig.
And she joked to a dog in the next one: “You’re not a pig. I don’t care what they say, you’re not a pig.”
The pair enjoyed sampling local gin, cider and chutneys as they toured the stalls. They were also treated to an air display by parachutists with smoke devices.
It's not unusual for royals to attend the annual show, with the King and Queen paying a visit in 2022 - the first since the coronavirus pandemic - and Sophie previously visited in 2014.
William and Sophie have teamed up on royal engagements before, as they attended the screening of Rhino Man at Battersea Power Station together in 2023.
