King Charles "drowned a few sorrows" after England's dramatic World Cup exit by enjoying a pint he pulled with Queen Camilla during a brewery tour in Dorset. The King sipped an amber ale made by Hall & Woodhouse Badger Brewery the day after England captain Harry Kane and his teammates lost their semi-final match 2-1 to Argentina.
King's wry remark over England defeat
Aided by Camilla, the King poured a pint of Fursty Ferret, a best-selling beer at the family-owned brewery based in Blandford near Poole, Dorset. Before tasting the 3.4% popular ale, the King said with a wry smile: "Maybe it's a good day to drown a few sorrows." The country was reeling the day after the last-gasp defeat for England manager Thomas Tuchel's players, with many fans likely nursing post-match hangovers despite the loss.
Brewery's 250th anniversary celebrations
Charles and Camilla were taken on a tour of the brewery, which celebrates its 250th anniversary next year. They met brewing and chef apprentices and watched as trainee cooks competed in a Master Chef-style competition. Founded in 1777 by Charles Hall, a Dorset farmer who began brewing beer from his excess grain, the company now produces more than nine million pints of beer every year, employs over 1,500 people, and runs around 140 pubs across the south of England.
World Cup impact on business
At one point, the King chatted to Paul Barnett, the brewery's finance director, about the impact of the World Cup on the business, which has predominantly food-led pubs that do not have screens or show football. Mr Barnett told the King: "I'm quite relieved we're out of the football because we don't make so much money."
Special Coronation Ale presented to King
During the visit, head brewer Toby Heasman presented the King with a bottle of Ale To The King, a very limited run of Coronation Ale first produced in 2023 when a few thousand were bottled to celebrate Charles's crowning. Charles was hosted by Anthony Woodhouse, brewery chairman and seventh generation of the Woodhouse family to work at the brewery, while his son Matt Woodhouse, head of marketing and hospitality, is the eighth generation.
The chairman said: "Fursty Ferret is our best-selling draught beer, it's great to see Their Majesties pull that pint and have a drink. Our pubs don't generally have television screens and screen football, it tends to be more food-led and things like that, we don't tend to play football matches, we have a few but those that do did very well."
