It’s a scene many parents can relate to: You’re in the car and at the worst possible moment you hear those dreaded four words “I need a pee.”
That’s exactly what happened when Kate was driving around London with her daughter Princess Charlotte.
And much to the shock of the punters, the royal couple decided to make a surprise stop at a South London pub to go to the toilet.
The third in line to the throne, The Phoenix in Stockwell entered to use the ladies after she was caught driving on the busy A3 trunk road.
Regulars and staff were surprised by the visit with a gambler joking at the time: ‘It just goes to show that the royals are just like any other family. If your child has to go to the toilet, he or she has to go!’
Princess Charlotte, who was three at the time, was led to the local pub by her mother, the Princess of Wales, who held her hand.
Princess Charlotte added an extra royal engagement: an unexpected visit to a South London pub to go to the toilet
A plainclothes female detective from the Royal Protection Squad entered the pub a few minutes before the royal couple to check the toilets.
Maggie McKinney, a regular at the friendly street corner pub, told MailOnline: “I was sitting in my usual chair and when I looked up I saw Kate Middleton, I mean the Duchess of Cambridge (now the Princess of Wales) and her daughter Princess Charlotte.
“They seem very nice, completely normal. Princess Kate held her daughter’s hand. Princess Charlotte was just a little girl.”
Widow Maggie, 76, a regular for 26 years, added: ‘The Phoenix is a nice little pub, very friendly.’
A female plainclothes detective from the Royal Protection Squad had entered the pub a few minutes ahead of the royal couple to check the toilets. Pictured: Princess Charlotte on Christmas Day 2022
Regulars and staff were baffled by the visit, with one gambler joking: ‘It just goes to show that the royals are just like any other family. If your child has to go to the toilet, he or she has to go!’
Another regular, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I was on my way to the pub when I saw the Duchess of Cambridge (now Princess of Wales) get out of a black Range Rover parked in a side road .
Then her daughter Princess Charlotte got out and they walked to the pub. A man in a suit stood next to the car. I could not believe it.’
Neither the manager of the Phoenix nor a spokesperson for Backbar Pubs and Bars Ltd, which owns the bar, would comment on the unofficial visit.
But a third regular customer described how the royal protection agents waited at the bar for the mother and daughter.
“A female plainclothes police officer came in first and checked the toilets,” he said.
Then the Duchess of Cambridge entered, holding Princess Charlotte’s hand. The little girl went to the toilet and then they left.
“The policewoman sat by the bar while Princess Charlotte and Princess Kate sat on the toilet.
“The diplomatic protection officer warned customers not to take pictures so that no one would pull out their phones.
“Nobody really knew what was going on until one man recognized Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Mrs. McKinney said: ‘The little child just trotted in with her mother, went to the toilet and then trotted out. They couldn’t have been in the pub for more than ten minutes. They seem very nice, completely normal’
‘They parked their Range Rover outside. There were other police officers inside. But it was only the female police officer who entered.
“The bar staff have been told not to tell anyone about it. Last Thursday it was about a quarter to two.
“There were only a few of us in the pub at the time. No one noticed to begin with, but when Princess Kate came in we started to look up.’