The Prince of Wales called for pubs to be protected when he pulled a pint and tried jerk chicken at the aptly named Prince of Peckham.
The Prince of Wales called for pubs to be protected when he pulled a pint and tried jerk chicken at the aptly named Prince of Peckham.
William said “I could stay here forever” after meeting regulars and newcomers at the popular bar in south London that is working to bring the community together over a cup of tea with its “Chatty Patty” programme.
As he spoke to residents getting to know each other as they sipped tea, he told one group: “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.”
William visited the up-and-coming area of Peckham that is a social hotspot for young people, is known as “little Lagos” because of its residents of African heritage, and counts Hollywood actor John Boyega as a local boy.
He also toured the nearby Pecan charity providing support to those experiencing loneliness, a lack of job opportunities and runs a foodbank service that received a financial donation from William after burglars 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: “Oher 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.”
