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Unexpected Monarch in the bagging area

The Queen and members of The Royal Family visited Waitrose today during a visit to Poundbury, before making a stop at a pub.

The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall joined Her Majesty on the visit where they toured the supermarket aisles.

The royal party visited Waitrose to look at local produce and were each presented with individual hampers worth hundreds of pounds. Goods inside the hamper included dog treats and some alcoholic drinks.

Prince Charles said: “I can’t possibly thank Waitrose enough for their generous hospitality today.”

Whereas visiting a pub during work might usually get you into trouble with the boss, today was an exception as the royal party officially opened the Duchess of Cornwall Inn in Poundbury.

The pub’s namesake, The Duchess of Cornwall got behind the bar and poured a few glasses a new beer created specially to mark the occasion by Hall & Woodhouse.

The Queen inside The Duchess of Cornwall Inn (Photo credit: Richard Palmer @RoyalReporter via Twitter)

The Queen inside The Duchess of Cornwall Inn (Photo credit: Richard Palmer @RoyalReporter via Twitter)

The special drink will be sold in the pub for the foreseeable future but will not be available in any of the other 200 pubs owned by Hall & Woodhouse in the UK.

 

Before leaving, Camilla declared the pub fit for purpose, saying: “God bless her and all who drink in her.”

Later in the day, Prince Charles unveiled a statue of his grandmother, The Queen Mother in the centre of Poundbury. It was created by celebrated sculptor Philip Jackson who often acts as the Royal Sculptor. He has previously done works on the statues of King George VI as well as Queen Elizabeth II. Jackson, who met The Queen Mother has previously said that she was a “great spirit”. And that “When you look at the photographs and the footage, you seldom catch her without a smile on her face – it was so obvious that she had the spark of life in her.”

The statue is a replica of The Queen Mother’s statue which stands in the Mall in London. It was chosen by the Prince of Wales who described the statue as a “fitting tribute to my darling Grandmother”. The statue depicts The Queen Mother at the age of 51, although she did go on to live another 50 years.

Excitement built in Dorchester as the royal party toured the town. Poundbury is built according to architecture Prince Charles advocates following the idea that people should be given priority over cars. It is now home to 3,000 people and 185 businesses.

Poundbury is a 25-year project designed to build a classical urban town. The town honours The Queen Mother who Prince Charles was very close with.

Additional reporting by Jordan Cavell

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