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With no saucer or strainer in sight, it was hardly silver service. But a sweet mug of ‘builder’s tea’ from a market stall appeared to be exactly to Prince Charles’s taste yesterday.
He laughed and joked with cafe owner Maria Moruzzi before asking for ‘two sugars please’ and a spoon to stir his brew â€" which he proceeded to do with gusto.
The Duchess of Cornwall, meanwhile, opted for just one sugar and a little more milk in her £1 drink from Maria’s Market Cafe.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were happy to queue for a mug of 'builders' at a market stall
While Charles usually has his tea without milk and with a spoonful of honey, it seemed the visit to Borough Market in central London had got him in the mood to try new things.
But not all of them were quite, well, his cup of tea.
At one stall, he was offered a taster of olive oil in a small china bowl. ‘I have never been asked to drink it before,’ he said, before taking a slug â€" and immediately spitting it out, then collapsing into giggles and apologising profusely.
His wife, however, made up for his reaction by buying a £14 bottle of the top-quality oil.
The couple visited the market, which has been a site for food and drink sellers since 1014, to reopen its Victorian trading hall following a multimillion-pound refurbishment.
And the prince’s penchant for builder’s tea was not the only surprising revelation â€" after he admitted he has a phobia of lifts.
Earlier, he met teacher Shehnaz O’Mallie at a block of flats in Islington, North London. He asked her whether the lifts worked and she answered: ‘We always take the stairs.’
He replied: ‘So did I. I’m always terrified of lifts.’
The Prince of Wales tries some spicy olive oil as the Duchess of Cornwall enjoys a bunch of flowers
As the capital's oldest and most renowned food market, featuring more than a hundred traders selling everything from 'cannabis' cheese made out of hemp, to home made bread and even truffles costing £1700 per kilo, Borough Market attracts more than five million visitors a year.
Arriving to officially reopen the venue, the couple first encountered flower seller Sharon Crane at The Gated Garden who gave Camilla a £22 bouquet of roses for Valentine's Day 'just in case your husband forgot'.
The Duchess seemed to suggest that he had, but insisted that she 'hoped to get something later'.
Possibly trying to drop a hint she hung around the stall so long that Charles eventually had to drag her away with a good natured 'come on darling!'
The prince encountered a further nudge when they chanced upon So Chocolicious, where owner Hayleigh Bazelya had made the Duchess a giant milk chocolate heart.Â
Camilla's eyes lit up as she told her 'I shall have no problem in munching my way through that later!'
However the prince later revealed that his wife had, perhaps, been equally just as forgetful when asked by worker Dave Ruane whether he had got any Valentine's cards.
'No I don't think so,' he said somewhat forlornly.
Arriving to officially reopen the venue at Borough Market: The Prince and Duchess at a cheese stall
The market visit was clearly something of a fun engagement for the couple, who are both passionate 'foodies'.Â
Charles runs his own organic estate and has for many years championed British farming, setting up initiatives such as Mutton Week.
Camilla is the patron of British Food Fortnight and other healthy eating campaigns while her son, Tom Parker Bowles, is a noted food writer.
The duchess couldn't resist buying two Spelt croissants for £1.40 each as well as a £3 loaf of Spelt bread although she declined some garlic cheese, possibly as she still had several dignitaries to meet.
The future king laughed and joked with stall holder Maria Moruzzi, and even asked for a spoon to stir his tea
Charles also waved away the offer of a taste of a delicious chocolate brownie, saying he had given up sweets for Lent.
Charles was more in his element as he chatted to charcuterie owner Giuseppe Mele with whom he shares a supplier. Indeed the prince revealed that he had sent two of his rare breed pigs to Italy to be turned into a delicacy known as culatello di ziberllo, a type of cured meat.
Meanwhile Camilla was busy picking up something nice for their supper. After being given a goodie bag of meat by the West Country Farm Shop she turned to the Mail and joked: 'Well that's dinner sorted!'
Charles was equally taken with a £50 leg of wild boar given to him by another producer.
But it was clearly Maria's Market Cafe cafe that had the greatest impression on the two.
The characterful Maria is something of an icon at Borough Market - she does, apparently, the best bubble and squeak in South London - and has run a stall there for almost 50 years.
On duty: The Prince and Duchess ring a bell to officially reopen the Market
Greeting the couple warmly she asked what they would like. Camilla replied: 'I'd love a cup of tea.'
When the prince asked for a spoon to stir his brew with, Maria joked: 'I do like someone who does a bit of work.'
'Oh you'd be surprised,' the prince laughingly retorted, before traipsing off to a green and white checked table to sip his drink.
Donald Hyslop, chair of the trustees of Borough Market said: 'Borough Market has adapted to meet the needs of Londoners for hundreds of year and continues to do so.'
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