Prince William and Kate Middleton pay visit to famous amusement arcade on Barry Island
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge paid a special visit to Barry Island on Tuesday.
Prince William and Kate Middleton kicked off their tour with a stop at an amusement arcade where they spoke with owners and even had a go on some of the machines themselves.
The arcade's owner, Hillary Phillips said: "We'd already prepared the arcade to open with all the regulations with Covid-19. We were due to open today but it was a really good start to us opening, couldn't have been better."
No visit to Barry Island is complete without a trip to Marco's cafe, made famous by the TV series Gavin and Stacey. The pair dropped by and spoke to Marco himself.
"To have the future King and Queen here in my humble abode on Barry Island just blew me away. It's not your average Wednesday morning" said Marco.
He was joined by other businesses in the area who have been affected by the coronavirus lockdown.
William and Kate heard about the impact that closing has had on the businesses during a typically busy period for the seaside resort, which attracted 424,000 visitors in 2019, and the measures they have put in place to allow them to start reopening in a safe and secure manner.
Following their visit, Tidy Productions, the television production company owned by Ruth Jones who plays Nessa in the BBC comedy, tweeted to say she "appreciates" the royals covering her shifts at the arcade.
"Got called out today on a lifeboat shout. Thankfully these two were on staycation down Barry island and offered to take over my shift up the slots. (Bryn was beside himself.) Cheers your HRHs - I appreciates it. Tidy."
The visit had not been publicised because of Covid-19, but it didn’t stop crowds gathering to get a glimpse of the Royal couple.The pair finished their visit with a trip to the Barry Island beach huts which have been installed as part of the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s £6m regeneration project in Barry.
The pair then visited Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff where they spoke to some of the home’s staff, residents and their family members in the home’s garden.
One resident's blunt verdict on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's bingo-calling efforts left the couple in stitches.
Joan Drew-Smith, 87, did not hold back when she met William and Kate in person after the royals made a virtual visit to Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff a few months ago, to call out the numbers for their weekly bingo session.
At the time, the 87-year-old made headlines when she said the royal bingo game "wasn't as good as it should have been".
And when the duke introduced himself during a visit to the Cardiff home by saying: "Hello Joan, do you remember we did the bingo with you? You said we weren't very good!"
She replied: "Yes, you did a bloody s***** job."
The royal couple, briefly taken aback by her blunt assessment, roared with laughter.