Prince William believes "we need to protect our pubs".

The Prince of Wales paid a visit to the Prince of Peckham in south east London on Wednesday (03.06.26), where he stressed his belief that public houses serve as "the glue and fabric" of a local area because they are a "place for the community to come together".

He told a group of regulars at the bar: "I could stay here forever.

"I love pubs. I want to do as much as I can to support them because I love the community.

"We need to protect our pubs.

"It's the people - the team - around a pub that make it."

The 43-year-old royal praised owner Clem Ogbonnaya.

He added: "It's a family business which is good, because that makes the pub."

William surprised residents at the pub, who were there for the weekly Chatty Patty breakfast club, which aims to tackle loneliness and offers free tea for locals, and told them he "grew up in pubs".

During the visit, William received a round of applause and declared his efforts "really good" when he pulled a pint of Red Stripe with the owner, before tucking into jerk chicken and plantain.

He said of the dish: "It blew my mind. I'm hoping Deliveroo can deliver this to Windsor."

Clem believes pubs are "very underused spaces" that can play a key role in bringing communities together, and praised the prince for having "come down here and put something like Chatty Patty on the map".

He added: "We want Chatty Patty to exist not just in Peckham but all around London.

"The key thing he was talking about was how do we, because there are a lot of disenfranchised young black Britons in the country, how do we address that - how do we get more of these spaces with all of this energy, all this love and enthusiasm throughout the whole of London."

This isn't the first time William - who has children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, with wife Catherine, Princess of Wales - has pledged his support to pubs.

During a trip to Scotland in January, William and Catherine spent time at The Gothenberg pub in former mining village Fallin, where the prince ordered half a pint of cider.

According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, William told a table of local men, including publican Rob Donaldson: "I want to help pubs. This is the best place to come and get to know each other.

"[Pubs are] the heart of the community.

"I grew up in pubs. I absolutely love pubs."

William was told how the pub is set up to put profits back into the local area, including subsidising rental flats for young people, and is a centre for various social activities in the village.

He added: "It's crucial. It's the human-to-human contact, isn't it, rather than just being on the phone or watching TV."

The 43-year-old royal was also told about the banter and "slagging off" between pals who visit the pub.

He laughed: "A bit of slagging off - we all need that occasionally. It brings us back down to earth."

It is estimated one pub a day closed permanently in England and Wales last year, with 15,000 establishments shutting down since 2000.