The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Sarah Marshal
If you popped down to the Pret in Bournemouth today you were in for a big surprise – a footballing legend greeting a royal with a kiss.
Paul Gascoigne didn’t hold back when he met Prince William in the eatery on Thursday, planting the future king with a peck on the cheek.
Gazza is of course no stranger to a public spectacle and showed up at the popular sandwich chain to greet the royal, who is campaigning to end homelessness.
In a moment captured on camera, the England legend beams as he grabs William’s hand to shake and then goes in to plant a firm kiss on the cheek amongst crowds of people in line to see the royal. The odd couple spoke for a couple of minutes as a crowd gathered around them.
Fans have drawn parallels to the 1991 FA cup final when the midfielder kissed the hand of Princess Diana – in a similar ecstatic fashion.
Prince William, 41, was in Pret to learn about a scheme they are running to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness by providing them with jobs.
After meeting the footballer, William said it had been a “very interesting morning”.
“We even met Gazza, he popped into (Pret),” he said. “It’s been a very interesting morning.”
The Prince of Wales announced his appearance on Twitter as part of the Homewards campaign – a five year programme working to prove it’s possible to end homelessness.
The project works across Bournemouth as well as Sheffield, Lambeth, Aberdeen, Northern Ireland and Newport.
Pret’s rising star programme falls under the campaign’s umbrella. It gives people with a criminal record or without a fixed address an opportunity to break the poverty cycle by providing them with everything they need to get and maintain a job- including training and travel money.
William got stuck in behind the scenes and helped workers to prepare sandwiches- he even donned the infamous burgundy apron.
