Football legend Paul Gascoigne showed his love to the Prince of Wales by giving him a kiss on the cheek in Pret.
Gascoigne, better known as Gazza, spoke to William who was at the branch in Bournemouth to discuss the chain’s plans to employ 500 homeless people.
After joking around with the heir to the throne in front of a crowd, the former England International chose to seal their new-found friendship with a kiss.
William later described his morning as ‘interesting’. ‘We even bumped into Gazza, he popped into [Pret],’ he said. ‘It’s been a very interesting morning.’
The prince’s visit to the south coast follows the launch of his anti-homelessness programme in June, this time shining a light on the role the business sector can play in tackling rough sleeping
During his whistle-stop day tour of Bournemouth, William was joined by Diary of a CEO host and Dragon’s Den’s Steven Bartlett, as he met local and national businesses to hear about their pledges.
Mr Bartlett, who is an advocate for the Homewards programme, said it was “100% possible” to tackle homelessness in five years and said William was “deeply passionate” about the cause.
The prince later visited AFC Bournemouth which is joining the programme by expanding its community outreach programme Bounce Back.
William spoke to players Lloyd Kelly and Katie Scadding at Vitality Stadium, Steve Cuss, the club’s communities sports trust chief and chief executive Neill Blake to hear about their piloted scheme which supports disadvantaged adults gain independent living.
AFC Bournemouth and the Pret Foundation were among national and local businesses that joined William for a roundtable meeting about how businesses can help tackle homelessness.
The Pret Foundation’s global head Nina Allard said Pret’s pledge is “real commitment” to continue its work as the charity has already recruited 750 people through its Rising Stars programme since 2008.
Business bosses from Lush, Sunseekers, Dorset Chamber of Commerce, The Pret Foundation, AFC Bournemouth and Bournemouth and Poole College pledged to expand a variety of initiatives including community outreach, education and employment opportunities.
