Princess Kate has revealed that she has been avoiding alcohol since her cancer diagnosis.
On Thursday, Prince William and Kate were invited to sample beers and ciders at the Fabal Beerhall, and also went behind the bar at the Southwark Brewing Company.
The venues are part of the Bermondsey Beer Mile, a well-known route of independent breweries and taprooms in London Bridge.
The Princess of Wales, who announced her cancer diagnosis in 2024 and is now in remission, asked Fabal Beerhall founder Hannah Rhodes about the availability of non-alcoholic beers.
Ms Rhodes responded: “We don’t yet, I’m afraid. I would love to do that one day but we would need quite a bit of tech to do it properly.”
While Prince William sampled some lager and cider, Kate chose not to, explaining hat she was “conscious” of consuming alcohol following her diagnosis.
Ms Rhodes told journalists that she asked Kate if she was a beer drinker, and “she said something along the lines of ‘since my diagnosis it has been best to avoid alcohol’”.
The princess also asked Ms Rhodes how the company uses raw British honey to brew its drinks.
William said that his wife keeps bees, jokingly warning Ms Rhodes: “Be careful what you say, you might be corrected.”
At the Southwark Brewing Company, the royal couple were declared the winners in a pint-pulling contest against the founder and managing director, Peter Jackson.
He suggested they compete to see who could pull the best pint, to which a grinning Kate said: “Oh no.”
Mr Jackson gave a demonstration and the princess told him “you make it look so easy” before she and the prince had a go.
He coached them through the process, and told them just before they put the finished products on the counter: “You know what, you can come back on Saturday for a shift.”
Assessing their efforts compared with Mr Jackson’s pint, William said: “I think they are both better actually.”
The couple then spoke to Mr Jackson’s son, also named William, over a video call to wish him a happy birthday, and the prince told him: “We’re just in here trying not to ruin his brewery.
“We’ve just beaten him in a pint-pulling contest.”
The couple also put on rubber gloves and dabbled in the brewing process. William poured hops into the mixture and Kate used a large wooden stick to stir the boil.
When they left, the princess waved to a small group of people who were waiting on the street outside to catch a glimpse of them.
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