Prince William visits bakery, picks up treats for children; reveals family baking sessions

Prince William revealed on Friday that his three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are "attacking the kitchen" as the family is quarantining together. The 37-year-old royal was visiting Smiths the Bakers in King's Lynn, which is a short drive from his Anmer Hall in Norfolk.

Prince William visited the bakery for a in-person public engagement, to hear how they were impacted by coronavirus and how they are getting back to normal. He picked up some treats for his and Kate Middleton's three children. "I've done a little bit of baking. The children have been attacking the kitchen and it's just been an explosion of flour and chocolate everywhere. Catherine's been doing quite a bit of baking," he said.

The family-run bakery, which serves the Sandringham Estate, reopened on Monday after 11 weeks of closure. The British prince sanitised his hands and entered the bakery.He heard how staff had been furloughed and owners had adapted their business by setting up a delivery service and selling flour and sugar to meet increased demand for baking ingredients.

"I was saying the other day about how I'm worried about the waistline of the nation. I think we've all eaten so many cakes and chocolate," William joked.

"All the NHS team, they're so grateful, all the local communities have been giving them loads and loads of sweets and chocolate which is great for them. They must be enormous now and brushing their teeth five times a day, with the amount of sugar," he laughed.

He asked the staff for five pain au chocolat but there were only four left, so he opted for an additional plain croissant. "Have you got any more by any chance? My children will not talk to me if I turn up without enough," William asked.

To make a contactless payment of £4.15 for the treats, he said pulled out his card and said: "I hope this works. Good, it's still working - first time out in a while!"

Smiths has a Royal Warrant and supplies goodies to the households of the Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and Prince Charles. They have been serving King's Lynn since1971.

William was disheartened that all bakery products come packed in plastic. "It's a shame because we were doing quite well on the anti-plastic and then this comes along and we have to protect the food. It's heartbreaking," he said.

Before leaving, he was presented with a vanilla sponge cake with white icing, cream and jam ahead of his 38th birthday on Sunday. "Happy Birthday Prince William from all at Smiths the Bakers" were piped in blue icing on the top of the cake. It was decorated with iced football boots, footballs and Union flags. He was also given a loaf of Norfolk crunch bread and a jar of Sandringham loose tea.