Kate Middleton stuns shoppers on surprise market visit with William to Tik Tok sensations

The Prince and Princess of Wales surprised shoppers at London’s Borough Market today, where they met several stall holders, including one that has become a Tik Tok sensation

The Prince and Princess of Wales stunned shoppers in one of London’s busiest markets with a surprise visit. Prince William and Kate dropped by Borough Market today as part of an engagement to learn about people and organisations from across the capital.

The bustling food market is one of the oldest and most renowned in London and is known for offering high‑quality, sustainably sourced British and international produce. Among the stalls the royal couple visited was Humble Crumble, a London dessert business that grew from a single market stall into multiple locations and millions of followers of Tik Tok. It began in 2018 when founder Kim Innes started selling fruit crumbles from a farmers’ market stall in London.

The concept was centred on a single dessert style; crumble paired with custard and toppings, and quickly built a following through word of mouth. And William and Kate donned aprons and served up the treat to customers. By October 2018, the business expanded into multiple market locations, including Borough Market, Old Spitalfields and Camden, and later Covent Garden.

They also stopped by Trethowan Brothers, an award winning family cheesemakers, which produce small‑batch traditional cheeses whose stall has been part of the market since 1998.

Over the past 25 years, brothers Todd and Maugan Trethowan have been producing small-batch, traditional cheeses at their dairy in North Somerset with a focus is on artisanal quality. Their Borough Market stall opened in 1998, bringing cheeses such as Pitchfork Cheddar and Gorwydd Caerphilly to London, contributing to the market’s reputation as a destination for food enthusiasts.

Gorwydd Caerphilly, a raw milk cheese from Trethowan’s Dairy, has received multiple prestigious awards, including Super Gold at the 2022–23 World Cheese Awards, Best British Cheese in 2021, and regular gold medals at the British Cheese Awards.

The couple also visited Change Please, an award-winning social enterprise fighting homelessness through the power of social enterprise and great tasting coffee with all of their profits helping people experiencing homelessness in the UK and Ireland.

Change Please train people experiencing homelessness to become baristas and support them with everything they need to turn their lives around- a living wage job, accommodation advice, therapy, bank account and onward employment opportunities.

The Prince’s Homewards programme last year funded Change Please to run an employability programme in Northern Ireland, supporting young people through training and paid-placements through Homewards’ New Employment Opportunities Network. It comes as William and Kate will be carrying out engagements in and around the River Thames today.

Kensington Palace said: “Today’s engagements will bring together people and organisations from across the capital whose work continues to support the life of the river and the communities around it.”