Prince William finds out crimping pasties is harder than it looks | News UK

Prince William made a Cornish pasty to celebrate St Piran’s Day in Cornwall after Storm Goretti damaged the region.

The storm, which struck in January, brought winds of nearly 100mph to the county and caused widespread damage, leaving around 50,000 homes without power.

William, the Duke of Cornwall, visited Gear Farm Pasty Company in Helston, run by Dave and Ann Webb and their children, Jemma and Michael, to celebrate the National Day of Cornwall.

The day is named for St Pirian, a 5th-century Irish abbot said to have been thrown into the sea by heathen Irishmen, only to float miraculously to Cornwall.

In Perranporth, a procession takes place across the dunes to St Piran’s Cross, where people dressed in black and white and carrying the Cornish flag place daffodils at the cross, representing the gold coins on the Duchy Shield. The procession is led by a band playing songs about St Piran.

And of course – by eating pastys.

As the prince spooned potatoes into the pasties in the bakery, he joked: ‘Don’t worry, I can take full criticism.’

William was then shown how to crimp a pastry by Miss Webb, who runs the bakery, commenting: ‘Everyone loves a trier.’

Admiring the finished pasty, William observed: ‘It looks like a slightly ill crab. It’s alright, passable. Yours looks so perfect.

‘It’s really not easy, is it? This is something machinery can’t help with. It all has to be handmade.’

William later joined the counter staff, selling pasties directly to customers at the farm. To much amusement from staff, he also took an order over the phone from Josie Trounson, who was buying 10 frozen pasties and five fresh pasties.

The prince told her, ‘Do you want me to take an order from you? Ten frozen pasties, and we have got plenty of cooked ones, just made some fresh ones now.’

Ms Trounson, who lives a 20-minute drive from the farm, did not find out it was William who had taken her order until she arrived to collect her pasties – half an hour after the heir to the throne had left.

She told local media: ‘I was flabbergasted when I found out. 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.’

At a local fire station, William handed over a box of 50 freshly baked pasties he had brought from Gear Farm to thank the emergency services for their work during Storm Goretti.

During the storm, the Webb family wanted to share pasties with the local fire station, but due to fallen trees blocking the roads, they could not make the delivery.

Two months later, the prince helped them make good on their promise with his very own royal mail delivery.

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