Prince William given birthday cake during King's Lynn bakery visit
There were early birthday wishes for Prince William when he visited a Lynn bakery today.
The Duke of Cambridge was presented with a cake, ahead of his 38th birthday on Sunday, when he met staff of Smiths the Bakers this morning.
The business, which has held a Royal warrant for the past 30 years, re-opened its High Street shop on Monday, the first day that non-essential retailers were allowed to open following the coronavirus lockdown.
The Duke spoke with the shop's owners, Paul and Teresa Brandon, about how the pandemic had affected their business, which saw 80 per cent of its wholesale customers shut their own operations.
He heard how the business had to furlough a number of staff members but also how it adapted its business model during lockdown by operating a delivery service to local residents, and selling new lines of products to meet the demand for baking ingredients such as flour and sugar.
And, in addition to his birthday cake, Prince William, who carried out his first public engagement since lockdown earlier this week, bought a range of goods while doing his bit for social distancing and using a contactless form of payment.
The visit came just a day after the Duchess of Cambridge conducted her first socially distanced public engagement since lockdown, when she visited Fakenham Garden Centre.
The site re-opened last month after a seven-week closure due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
The Duchess met the centre's owners, Martin and Jennie Turner, along with staff, and heard more about the measures which the centre has implemented to ensure that customers are able to visit and shop safely.
The visits came as The Queen, who is Patron of the British Chambers of Commerce, sent a message of support to business communities as they continue to re-open.
