01 March 2024 , 12:38
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Prince William pulled pints, downed a shot of whiskey and cracked jokes with Hollywood royalty on a visit to Wrexham for St David’s Day today as wife Kate continues to recover from surgery at home.
William travelled solo to North Wales and met US actor Rob McElhenney, one half of the celebrity owners of the town's football club, and spoke to fans at The Turf pub next door to the Racecourse ground. The Turf, which features in the hit show Welcome To Wrexham, is the oldest pub at any sports stadium around the world. There he met staff, members of the local community and representatives of charitable organisations to hear about how it plays a key role as a hub for the local area, and the support it provides to local causes.
William and Rob enjoy a drink together at The Turf (Getty Images)McElhenney, along with fellow movie star Ryan Reynolds, bought Wrexham FC, nicknamed the Dragons, three years ago. They have since made the club world famous thanks to their Disney+ documentary, 'We are Wrexham,' which charted the club’s emotional bid for promotion to the Football League last year after 15 years.
The prince told Mr McElhenney that he and Reynolds were creating an "amazing culture" at Wrexham FC and had managed to 'energise' the town, which gave hope to other teams and places that they too could "reclaim former glories". Referring to Wrexham's status as the third oldest football club in the world, William said: "You picked one of the most historic teams."
Mr McElhenney, who jetted in from Los Angeles especially for the royal visit, replied: "That was done by design. We wanted to find a team and a town that had history, but also one that was full of people that we could identify with. When I came here I recognised the people as being like people I grew up with, my dad came and said the same thing. There's something very emotional about that."
Ryan Reynolds mispronounces name of new Wrexham signing in hilarious video
The TV star and tenant landlord Wayne Jones also took William behind the bar and he tried to pull a pint of the popular Madri lager. His first effort was all foam and declared 'horrendous' by the prince and his second was not much better. "Still got a horrible head on it, that’s why I don't work behind the bar. That might settle in about an hour, talk among yourselves,” he quipped. The Hollywood star suggested his own blended American whiskey brand, Four Walls, and the pair each knocked back a shot.
William tried to pour a pint of Madri in The Turf pub (PA)He told the prince his co-owner Reynolds had wanted to be present for the visit, but couldn’t make it because he was busy editing the latest instalment of his Deadpool movie series. "Because Ryan’s not here you can tell him I think Hugh Jackman is funnier," the prince joked.
He also met old school chum, Humphrey Ker, who he attended Ludgrove School and Eton with, and who is now executive director of the club. After greeting him warmly, William asked: "Have you still got pugs?" Mr Ker replied he had just one, a pug dog named Hilda. "She's the queen," Mr Ker joked as he showed a laughing William a picture of the dog on his phone.
The documentary series about Wrexham has won the club thousands of new American fans and turned the town into a global tourist destination. One such fan was Californian toddler, Florence Boyle, three, who presented the heir to the throne with a daffodil and blew him a kiss as he met crowds outside the pub.
William is presented with a daffodil from three-year-old Florence Boyle (Getty Images)
The pair high five after Florence blew him a kiss (Getty Images)The tot's parents, Katie and David Boyle, originally from Orange County, were thrilled to unexpectedly encounter royalty after deciding to visit Wrexham because of the documentary. "We tried to get tickets for the match tomorrow but it was sold out, so instead we thought we would come down to the club shop and pub today,’"Mrs Boyle, 35, whose engineer husband, David, 37, is currently working in Germany, said. "My husband had a work meeting in Manchester, so Florence and I flew over yesterday to be with him.
"We had no idea Prince William was coming, it was only when someone said we couldn’t go into the pub because of a special guest that we decided to hang around and see what was going on. It was amazing to meet him, that's a moment Florence will be able to treasure and we’ll never forget."
Later, William visited sgol Yr Holl Saint/All Saint's Primary School in Wrexham to take part in St David’s Day celebrations including traditional Welsh folk dancing and baking Bara Brith. While at the school he also heard about the work pupils have been carrying out to learn about the Gresford mining disaster in partnership with the Wrexham Miners Rescue Station.
William at Ysgol Yr Holl Saint/All Saint's School in Wrexham (PA)William wore the national flower, a daffodil, pinned to his suit for the visit and many of the children donned traditional costumes to mark the day. He commented on the outfit of four-year-old Esme Dale, who wore a collar-sized daffodil around her neck, telling her: "I like your daffodil, that’s amazing."
As he left, after posing for a group photo with the school, students gave him three Welsh dragon toys to pass on to his children George, Charlotte and Louis. He said: "The children will like these when I come home with these guys." Accepting a bouquet of flowers, he added: "I'll pass those on to Catherine."
Afterward he visited the Gresford Colliery Disaster Memorial, which remembers one of the most serious disasters in British coal mining history, to recognise the 266 men who lost their lives 90 years ago.
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William meets Alan Jones chairman of Gresford disaster memorial during a visit to Gresford Colliery Disaster Memorial (PA)More than 500 men were trapped underground following the explosion in the mine in the early hours of the morning, with the number of workers on site much larger than usual as many had doubled their shifts so they could watch a Wrexham football match later that day. At the memorial, William met relatives of those who were killed in the disaster and heard from committee members who have been key in setting up the memorial and preserving the history of the colliery.
William held hands and chatted to 92-year-old Ruby McBurney, who was aged just two when her father, William Crump, 36, was killed in the Gresford disaster, and spent years campaigning for a permanent memorial to the men who lost their lives.
Today's trip to Wales comes a day after William returned to royal duties - just two days after pulling out of a major royal event at the last minute citing a "personal matter".
Yesterday, he visited the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in Central London, where he chatted with young ambassadors of the Holocaust Educational Trust who are advocates against hatred and antisemitism, as well as Holocaust survivors and said he and wife Kate were concerned about the rise in anti-semitism. The visit was the second engagement in which William has been learning about human suffering caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East and the subsequent conflict in Gaza, as well as the rise of antisemitism around the world.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday morning, William had been scheduled to be at a memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece but mysteriously did not attend. Kensington Palace did not elaborate on William's absence but it is understood not to be in relation to the Princess of Wales' continued recovery at home in Windsor from abdominal surgery last month. A source said at the time: "The Princess of Wales continues to be doing well."