The Prince and Princess of Wales’s third and final “event” in Scotland on Tuesday was a stop by a community-run pub in Stirling. The pub’s government name is The Gothenburg, but locals call it The Goth, which is hardcore. William had “half a pint of cider” and Kate did not drink. William did go on and on about how much he loves pubs. The elephant in the room is that William loves to drink, not necessarily in pubs. But at least he’s turning his drinking into an actual “cause,” especially as pubs are dying across the UK.
The Prince of Wales has pledged to help British pubs, describing them as “crucial” for human contact and the beating heart of communities. The Prince, who ordered half a pint of cider at a pub in Stirling, Scotland, said he “absolutely loves pubs”, which were “so important” for people to get out and spend time with friends and neighbours.
Separately, The Telegraph has launched a campaign to save Britain’s pubs. Landlords have said their establishments are on the brink because of rising costs, including business rates changes announced in Rachel Reeves’ Budget. An estimated one pub a day closed permanently in England and Wales during 2025. Since 2000, 15,000 pubs in the UK have closed their doors. The Government has said it is working on relief for pubs affected by the changes, which have resulted in some having their tax bills double overnight. However, it is yet to publish details of what this relief will look like.
During a trip to Scotland, the Prince and Princess of Wales paid a visit to The Gothenburg pub in Fallin, a former mining village four miles east of Stirling.
Prince William said: “I want to help pubs. This is the best place to come and get to know each other.” He called the local pubs “the heart of the community”. “I grew up in pubs. I absolutely love pubs,” he added.
Hearing about the social benefits the pub brings to the village, Prince William added: “It’s crucial. It’s the human-to-human contact, isn’t it, rather than just being on the phone or watching TV.”
Speaking to a group that included publican Rob Donaldson, 57, William heard about the banter and “slagging off” that can go on between friends. The Prince laughed and joked: “A bit of slagging off – we all need that occasionally. It brings us back down to earth.”
The Princess, who did not order a drink, spoke to teachers at a separate table and was given a crochet bunny for her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
As they were about to leave, the Princess looked at her husband’s unfinished drink and said: “You need to finish that.” Prince William laughed and replied that he wanted to stay on “best behaviour”.
As they arrived, the Waleses were heckled by a member of the public, who shouted: “How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein? Have you been covering up for Andrew?”
Eh. I get it, pubs can be a hub of community and pub culture is part of Britain’s national identity. Do I also think that William should say less about how much he loves pubs? Yes. “I grew up in pubs.” Bitch, you grew up IN KENSINGTON PALACE.
I’m including the video of William and Kate getting heckled outside the pub. While being heckled at a local pub is definitely a bad look, watch the video carefully – look at how few people were actually waiting to see the heir and the Tweedlekeen. There are more cops there than royal fans. But I thought they were the most popular royals ever?? I thought every emotional support poll showed that William and Kate are simply untouchable! Surely they could have gotten more than literally twos of people to come out?
🚨🚨 BREAKING NEWS: William has been heckled during a visit to Stirling. The public are still demanding the royals address the Andrew scandal! #AbolishTheMonarchy #Epstein pic.twitter.com/z6tASPaJYS
— Republic (@RepublicStaff) January 20, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Britain’s William, Prince of Wales and Kate, Princess of Wales meet people at ‘The Gothenburg’, known locally as ‘The Goth’, a community-run pub in the former mining village of Fallin, near Stirling, Scotland, Britain, January 20, 2026.,Image: 1067703056, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Russell Cheyne/Avalon
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- Britain’s William, Prince of Wales and Kate, Princess of Wales meet people at ‘The Gothenburg’, known locally as ‘The Goth’, a community-run pub in the former mining village of Fallin, near Stirling, Scotland, Britain, January 20, 2026.,Image: 1067703099, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Russell Cheyne/Avalon
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- 20/01/2026. Scotland . The Prince and Princess of Wales visit The Gothenburg Pub in Fallin, near Stirling, to shine a spotlight on unique Scottish heritage traditions and how they are continuing to connect communities and inspire new generations.,Image: 1067746568, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 20/01/2026. Scotland . The Prince and Princess of Wales visit The Gothenburg Pub in Fallin, near Stirling, to shine a spotlight on unique Scottish heritage traditions and how they are continuing to connect communities and inspire new generations.,Image: 1067746739, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 20/01/2026. Scotland . The Prince and Princess of Wales visit The Gothenburg Pub in Fallin, near Stirling, to shine a spotlight on unique Scottish heritage traditions and how they are continuing to connect communities and inspire new generations.,Image: 1067746779, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 20/01/2026. Scotland . The Prince and Princess of Wales visit The Gothenburg Pub in Fallin, near Stirling, to shine a spotlight on unique Scottish heritage traditions and how they are continuing to connect communities and inspire new generations.,Image: 1067747322, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 20/01/2026. Scotland . The Prince and Princess of Wales visit The Gothenburg Pub in Fallin, near Stirling, to shine a spotlight on unique Scottish heritage traditions and how they are continuing to connect communities and inspire new generations.,Image: 1067747474, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 20/01/2026. Scotland . The Prince and Princess of Wales visit The Gothenburg Pub in Fallin, near Stirling, to shine a spotlight on unique Scottish heritage traditions and how they are continuing to connect communities and inspire new generations.,Image: 1067747529, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever., Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace/Avalon
“I grew up in pubs. I absolutely love pubs”
Like you already mentioned, Kaiser, Bulliam grew up in palaces.
What’s noteworthy though: it’s Prince Scooter’s clumsy, inelegant way of admitting he’s more than just a social drinker. He’s a habitual day-drinker, but we’ve known that for years.
What a formidable (future) head of state, a raging alcoholic!
His parents did not take William and Harry to pubs as kids. He did not “grow up” in pubs.
In Baldemort’s defense, I believe Charles created a pub on the Highgrove property for William and Harry.
Apparently, Charles left his sons to their own devices when he was going to Scotland with Camilla.
Pubs seem to be the only place he is comfortable. Gee I wonder why lol!! He needs the alcohol to get through things. He is still awkward but he is very happy. I didn’t know the Palaces where he grew up had pubs in them lol!!
i noticed the same thing. he looks relaxed and that smile looks genuine. no anxiety about when he can have his next drink
Having the hecklers threatened with arrest for asking a question about Andrew and Epstein is not a good look at all by WanK, by the looks of the crowd in the video these two have lost the support of the public and the crowds of supporters are nonexistent no matter what they want you to believe with the fake popularity polls.
The Telegraph saved the heckling for the last paragraph 🤣🤣🤣 treading lightly I see 🤣🤣🤣
Maybe they should be taxing the royal family rather than pub owners.
Right? Then William could really help the pubs.
Now there’s a thought. Willy broke with tradition established by the late Queen and Charles, and he doesn’t release his tax returns. We don’t know what tax rate he pays–if any–or whether he’s writing off stables or worse as “expenses” like Charles did. Imagine the help Willy’s tax revenue could do for pubs and, you know, social safety net programs.
Honest policy question – with the new proposed drink driving rules lowering the limit below even one drink, how do they expect pubs outside of major cities to survive? I don’t drink so I don’t mind going to the pub with my partner and being the designated driver but I’m the exception not the rule. I don’t see mates meeting up at the pub to not drink? I love my mocktails but I have more disposable income than most. I don’t see most people being willing to pay high enough margins for pubs to survive on non alcoholic drinks.
No lie. I love British pubs too. I lived in the uk for 6 months when I was twenty and especially loved the really old ones. Of course, it was also exciting bc I was allowed to drink at 20 in the uk. The issue here though is that William possibly has issues with alcohol.
Scooter is not a “man of the people” since he took property away. He is ultra privileged. What a come down for the Keens to get booed, after all the over praise they get by the media.
I saw another one from a different place (perhaps from their second visit) and there were many people there..Kate and William actually took a selphie together with one woman. There’s a video of them from their back (which I found rather staged) and William seemed to touch Kate…but on closer look and from a side camera, it’s clear that William doesn’t even touch Kate’s back and his hand is literally on the air while the photo was taken…but all the bots were praising the love they share!!!
Reminds me of Lance Bass and Topanga’s prom picture.
It looks as if the authorities have learned not to put barriers up to keep out the fans. waste of time.
I wish more places in the US would sell half pints. I don’t want a whole glass of beer! It’s not my favorite and it gets warm and unappetizing before I can finish it, and because of that, it feels like a waste of money and so I never order it. But a half pint would be perfect! Listen up, restaurants and bars, because I guarantee a profitable number of your “I’m good with water” customers would go for a tipple if you offered smaller portions.
Counterintuitively, beer bars (and brewery tasting rooms) almost always offer 3oz pours so you can do a flight with different options. I love that. Also many beers (rare and/or higher abv) are often sold in 8 or 10oz pours.
I learned to drink beer in Belgium, I like the fancy glasses too 🙂
well this can be William’s new cause then. he’s ended racism, fixed the Middle East, ended mental health struggles, and also ended homelessness. What’s next for a royal prince? Why, the pubs, of course!!!
But seriously….now he’s going to make “saving pubs” his new thing and he’ll go to a few different pubs every week and call it work.
It’s the both of them trying so hard to be relatable, and just comes across as stiff, pretentious, and crusty. Not happening Pegs. That pub remark isn’t going to let you magically seem like one of the guys. But you do look quite comfy with that glass of beer. Only times I think I’ve seen you with a smidgen of authentic emotion.
Interesting the heckler is English not Scottish.
KC3 got raked over the coals for underage drinking back in the 1960s.
We know William has been drinking since he was least 12-13 (mentioned in Piers Morgan’s book The Insider). But if he grew up in pubs, we sure as hell never heard about it. 😒
William is such a lightweight.
William’s drinking at these events reminds me so much of my friend’s ex-husband. He is very socially awkward, especially in large groups of people. So he drinks to “loosen” up. Unfortunately he takes it way too far and next thing you know he gets too loud, too grabby ( women and men), says wildly inappropriate things, and more often than not picks a fight with someone. Not to say that William takes it to this extreme but to a certain degree I wonder if it’s a coping mechanism for him when he’s expected to do these meet and greets (and the social anxiety may also explain why he clearly doesn’t like to do the meet and greets.)
Has anybody run this past HIS crisis manager? Public engagements based at pubs combined with him aggressively punching the air repeatedly at football matches, looking like a well refreshed yob? Relatable or troubling given his overall lack of serious engagements?
I read that speaking out about pubs, as well as the farm visit, is William’s way of signaling support for the right wing/Reform political side which I guess has taken this (loss of pubs) up as their cause, and a cudgel to use against the Labor government?
I don’t know how true it is but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Kaiser, Tweedlekeen is taking me out.
I love Irish and English pubs, and agree that they’re an important part of the fabric of each country. But William can’t even praise pubs without making himself ridiculous — as everyone’s pointing out, he did NOT grow up in pubs. He’s just such a failson.
What does Kate always find so incredibly funny? There has to be something wrong with her.
Well Wilbur ain’t no day at the beach so Katie just LURVES laughing at everything when she’s allowed out of Forrest Lodge!
Her mother gurns and overdoes it as well, it’s part hereditary part learned IMHO.
“I grew up in pubs.” Oh, reallllyyy? Dew tell, Willie-boy.