Prince and Princess of Wales' baking skills praised as they meet flood-hit community

Sky News

27-02-2025

Prince William and his wife Kate have had their baking efforts praised after they picked up some rolling pins to make some "bangin'" cakes in south Wales.
The couple went head-to-head in the Welsh cake-making challenge when they visited The Welsh Cake Shop, in Pontypridd, as it gears up for St David's Day celebrations.
During a visit to learn how the community has been coping after the recent devastating flooding, William and Kate were drafted in by the trader to help them out with orders as staff expects to work through the night this week to fulfil them.
William and Kate rolled out the pre-made dough as the future king asked shop owner Theresa Conner, who had shown the couple the process: "Is it thick enough?"
With flour stuck to the sleeve of his sweater, William smiled and said: "Well I don't know, my stunning baker skills, Mary Berry taught me everything I need to know."
The royal couple's skills were honed when they appeared with Berry on A Berry Royal Christmas show.
Madison Conner, daughter of the shop owner, praised their cakes saying: "They're perfect, they're great - they're bangin."
Ms Conner said about the couple: "They were very good at baking.
"I asked them if they had made Welsh cakes and they said they had never actually made them before.
"They were surprisingly good, they both were, you could tell they were good bakers.
"For us ahead of St David's Day, it's a real privilege to meet them and have them visit us."
The prince and princess had some of their cakes served at the neighbouring Fountain Cafe where they sat down and drank some tea as they spoke to market traders and other businesses about Storm Bert, which struck in late November bringing widespread flooding to Pontypridd.
The same town was also badly hit by Storm Dennis in 2020 and was also struck by Storm Darragh a few weeks after Bert.
One trader told their royal guests the regularity of the storms made them "feel like sitting ducks".
William and Kate, who has been seen more and more in public since revealing she had finished her preventative treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, also met dozens of well-wishers who had braved heavy showers to catch a glimpse of them.
Leanne Walsh, 41, said after meeting the princess: "Kate said it had been raining hard this week and she mentioned the floods, saying she hoped it doesn't happen again."
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The King and Queen, meanwhile, helped pack food donation boxes at an Indian restaurant in Soho, central London, ahead of Ramadan.
Charles and Camilla met a group of Muslim women at Darjeeling Express on Wednesday, including professional rugby player Zainab Alema and author Hajera Memon.
Camilla also greeted a mother and two of her daughters who are being supported by Doorstep, a charity which helps families by providing goods and services to make their lives more comfortable as they await permanent housing.