Prince William's Royal Pasty Shop Mix-Up with Customer Josie
A Cornish woman who telephoned her local pasty shop to place a lunch order was completely unaware that the exceptionally helpful staff member taking her call was none other than Britain's future king, Prince William. The Duke of Cornwall, as he is known in the West of England, was serving customers at Gear Farm Pasty Company near Helston when he answered the phone, leading to a charmingly humorous misunderstanding.
The 'Juicy' Misunderstanding
Prince William, with a furrowed brow of puzzlement, asked what name he should put on the order for five fresh and ten frozen pasties. When the caller responded, he repeated back to her: 'Juicy?' As the shop workers erupted into laughter, the prince quickly smiled and corrected himself, saying: 'Oh, Josie! Sorry Josie, I thought you said juicy, my apologies.' He then quipped: 'The pasties will be juicy, you're right.'
The woman, later identified as Josie Trounson who lives a twenty-minute drive from the farm, was due to collect her pasties at 1.45 pm after William and his entourage had departed to meet fire and rescue members at the nearby Helston community fire station. Upon arrival, she was informed about who had been speaking to her on the telephone.
Josie's Reaction and Free Pasty Reward
Josie Trounson expressed that she was 'flabbergasted' upon discovering the identity of the person who took her order. She remarked: 'I had no idea who was answering my call, but the person on the line was a bit incoherent. It's St Piran's Day, and I was really worried I wasn't going to get my pasties.' Apparently, she had been 'quite concerned' during the mix-up about potentially missing out on her special order for Cornwall's patron saint day.
The Gear Farm team presented her with the fifteen pasties free of charge as a thank you for being such a good sport about the entire situation. A source revealed: 'She said she'll be telling this story for years.' Josie was described as 'delighted' by the unexpected royal interaction.
William's Pasty-Making Struggles and Community Visit
Earlier during his visit, Prince William also attempted his hand at pasty-making and found the hand crimping technique particularly challenging. He admitted: 'This is not my finest hour,' as he struggled to fold the pastry, adding: 'This is where I need my wife. She would be all over this. It's really not easy.' The Princess of Wales did not accompany William to Cornwall, as Kate travelled to Leicester for a separate engagement.
William's trip to Cornwall coincided with St Piran's Day, the county's national day. During his visit, he learned how the community had rallied together during and after Storm Goretti on January 8, one of the most severe storms to hit Cornwall in recent years. Winds of up to 123 mph left approximately 50,000 homes without power, 15,000 without water, and major highways and rural routes blocked by thousands of fallen trees.
Meeting Emergency Services and Ukrainian Refugees
Emergency services and local volunteers worked tirelessly to clear debris, restore essential services, and protect isolated or vulnerable residents. Tragically, one local man in Helston was killed when a tree fell onto his caravan during the evening. William was briefed by Helston's on-call fire and rescue team about the struggle to remove the twenty-tonne tree from the caravan. A firefighter recounted: 'We did everything we could, but we couldn't safely get to him. We returned the next day and it took twelve firefighters and three tree surgeons to get to him. It was not a nice thing.'
William commended them, saying: 'Well done guys, good job and hopefully spring is here now.' Katherine Billing, chief fire officer for Cornwall Fire Service, responded: 'Then it's wildfire season, and you'll be back again!' The Duke took with him a large box of warm pasties from his earlier visit to share with the crews, as Gear Farm had hoped to provide some during Storm Goretti but had been blocked by trees on the road.
Additionally, William met Vasyl Lohvinova, a forty-two-year-old Ukrainian farmer and refugee who now works on Gear Farm growing vegetables for their pasties, along with his wife Nadia, thirty-eight, and nine-year-old daughter Lyuba. William told them: 'We are thinking about you all, all of the time. We hope and pray [the war in Ukraine] comes to an end soon.'
