Prince William was taken down memory lane during a visit to a Welsh village, where he reminisced about a part-time job he had as a young boy selling CDs from a ‘dodgy car boot sale’.
The Prince of Wales was reminded of his old role by Rod and Helen Wyatt during a visit to Skenfrith to learn about its flood defences.
‘First time I met you, you were this high,’ Mr Wyatt said, holding up his hand waist high. ‘In Glanusk Estate – you sold me a CD from a bric-a-brac stall.’
William laughed and replied: ‘Dodgy car boot sale, yes I remember that.’
Mr Wyatt joked: ‘Still doing that?’ and the future king replied: ‘No, I don’t sell… it’s dried up a bit that one, perhaps I should reopen it.’
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Mr Wyatt’s wife added that they could not remember the title of the CD and the prince confessed: ‘I got up to a lot… we had some fun round there.’
William was visiting the area to learn about how communities have been affected by recent flooding and what measures are being taken by local authorities and other agencies to mitigate future incidents.
Skenfrith has faced four major floods in six years but the most recent last winter caused the biggest impact there after the River Monnow swept through the village after Storm Claudia brought a month’s rain in 24 hours to parts of England and Wales.
Mr Wyatt, who has lived in his home for 10 years, made light of the experience when he told William at one point ‘we had to give up really, we got two bottles of Prosecco and went to watch Strictly upstairs’.
William replied: ‘It must be so demoralising for you now, the worry each year you’ve got to go through that again, potentially, is becoming more frequent.
‘They keep talking about a one in 50-year event, it doesn’t make sense anymore.
‘It might be in the researching and scientific point of view – it’s happening every year now, it’s mad.
‘So, it’s trying to understand how we can do a better holistic view of the whole catchment area, so we’re dealing with the whole problem.’
He listed a number of ideas from ‘slowing the water down’ using farming landscaping remedies, tree planting and better monitoring ‘so we know when things might be getting worse’.
William discussed the ideas in detail during his next visit on Thursday, meeting representatives from environmental charity Stump Up for Trees at Great Tre-Rhew Farm in Monmouthshire.
The charity, founded in 2020, aims to plant one million native trees across south Wales and the Bannau Brycheiniog, formerly known as the Brecon Beacons.
William joined volunteers harvesting seeds from a field maple tree and planted a sessile oak tree – designated as the national tree of Wales.
The prince spoke to Kate and Jim Beavan, of Great Tre-Rhew Farm, and Jenny Knight, the director of Stump Up for Trees.
After the visit, Dr Knight paid tribute to William for ‘looking at not just the problems but the solutions as well’.
Representatives from the Duchy of Cornwall also joined the visit to share learning about nature recovery, climate-resilient forestry and to start a long-term partnership.
Dr Knight described how that ‘knowledge exchange is so valuable’ and said working together across different areas would have a greater impact.
At the end of the conversation, William discussed his enjoyment of cider – which is made on the farm.
‘He said “one pint a day keeps the doctor away”,’ Dr Knight added.
William ended his visit by travelling to Monkhall Farm in Herefordshire to meet 25-year-old Harry Davies, the incoming tenant of the Duchy of Cornwall’s first regenerative farm business tenancy.
Regenerative farming aims to restore soil health, increase biodiversity, and improve the water cycle rather than depleting natural resources.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.