It’s a scene many parents can relate to, you’re in the car and at the worst possible time you hear those dreaded four words ‘I need a wee’.
That is exactly what happened when Kate was with her daughter Princess Charlotte while driving in London.
And to the shock of punters, the royal pair chose to make a surprise stop at a pub in south London to use the toilet.
The third in line to the throne nipped into The Phoenix in Stockwell to use the ladies after she was caught short while travelling on the busy A3 trunk road.
Regulars and staff were taken aback by the visit with one punter joking at the time: ‘It just goes to show that the royals are like any other family. When your kid needs to go to the loo, they got to go!’
Princess Charlotte, who was three at the time, was led into the local boozer 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 use the toilet
A plain-clothed female detective from the Royal Protection Squad went into the pub a few minutes ahead of the royal pair 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, totally normal. Princess Kate was holding her daughter’s hand. Princess Charlotte was just any other little girl.’
Widow Maggie, 76, a regular for the past 26 years, added: ‘The Phoenix is a lovely little pub, very friendly.’
A plain-clothed female detective from the Royal Protection Squad had gone into the pub a few minutes ahead of the regal pair to check the toilets. Pictured: Princess Charlotte o0n Christmas Day in 2022
Regulars and staff were stunned by the visit with one punter joking: ‘It just goes to show that the royals are like any other family. When your kid needs to go to the loo, they got 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) getting out of a black Range Rover which was parked on a side road.
‘Then her daughter Princess Charlotte got out and they walked to the pub. A man in a suit stood by the side of the car. I couldn’t believe it.’
Neither the manager of the Phoenix or a spokesman for Backbar Pubs and Bars Ltd which owns the bar would comment on the unofficial visit.
But a third regular described how the royal protection officers stayed by the bar to wait for the mother and daughter.
‘A plain-clothed woman police officer came in first and checked the toilets,’ he said.
‘Then the Duchess of Cambridge walked in holding Princess Charlotte’s hand. The little girl went to the loo and then they left.
‘The police woman sat by the bar while Princess Charlotte and Princess Kate were in the toilet.
‘The diplomatic protection officer warned customers not to take any pictures so no one got their phones out.
‘No one really knew what was going on until one guy recognized Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Ms McKinney said: ‘The little kiddie just trotted in with her mum, went to the toilet and then trotted out. They could not have been in the pub for more than ten minutes. They seem very nice, totally normal’
‘They had parked their Range Rover outside. There were other police officers inside. But it was only the female police officer who came inside.
‘The pub staff have been told not to tell anyone about it. It was about a quarter to two last Thursday.
‘There were only a few of us in the pub at the time. No one noticed to start with, but when Princess Kate came in we started to look up.’
