Prince William says pubs must be protected as he chats with locals and pulls a pint
The Prince of Wales pulled a pint and declared his love for pubs, saying that they must be supported and protected.
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Sampling jerk chicken and speaking to locals at the Prince of Peckham in south London, William was overjoyed and expressed that he could “stay here forever.”
The pub is putting community spirit first through its “Chatty Patty” initiative, encouraging pub goers to connect over a cup of tea.
“I love pubs”, he said. “I want to do as much as I can to support them because I love the community.”
“We need to protect our pubs.”
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Almost 2 pubs closed a day during the first three months of the year, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). With approximately 2,400 job losses, half of which are younger workers’ jobs.
The BBPA have linked this decline to the Autumn Budget, saying that tax increases and rising labour costs caused pubs to make these difficult decisions.
Following criticism of her budget, Rachel Reeves announced pubs would receive business rates support to help stay afloat.
The owner of the Prince of Peckham, Clement Ogbonnaya, set up the pub in 2017 as an inclusive “public house for all.”
Mr Ogbonnaya, who was made an MBE in the New Years honours, is community focused, saying that pubs were “very underused spaces” that were key to bringing communities together.
He said William had "come down here and put something like Chatty Patty on the map".
"We want Chatty Patty to exist not just in Peckham but all around London,"
He added, "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."
William put in a shift and pulled a pint with Mr Ogbonnaya, and said that the jerk chicken: “blew my mind. I’m hoping Deliveroo can deliver this to Windsor.”
He also visited and showed his support for a local charity called Pecan, who provides support to people experiencing unemployment and loneliness.