Princess William and Princess Kate Give IKEA Shoppers the Surprise of Their Lives When They Take on an Unexpected Job
The Prince and Princess of Wales got some hands-on work experience as they learned about a program for youth at risk of homelessness.
Prince William and Princess Kate visited Northern Ireland on Friday, October 9, to highlight the work being done to prevent homelessness, and one of their stops included a Belfast IKEA where shoppers were shocked to be waited on by none other than the future King and Queen.
Prince William’s Homewards program is working with local charities and businesses to recruit young people at risk of homelessness, and along with speaking with an employee who is working at the store through the program, the Waleses got down to work themselves.
Wearing a ruffled blouse and a new green tartan skirt, Kate is pictured working behind a cash register in a video shared by Kate Mansey of the Times on Instagram. Prince William also got in on the action, chatting with shoppers as they checked out of the busy store.
The Princess of Wales serves a customer at a Belfast IKEA on October 9.
The Prince of Wales chats with two local students at the IKEA checkout.
An employee shows Princess Kate how to run a credit card in Mansey's video as a woman and two children checked out, and the royal handed one girl the receipt, saying, “don’t forget these,” pointing at a bag of sweets they’d purchased. “Enjoy your dance lesson!” the princess said with a wave.
While speaking with the young woman employed through the Homewards initiative, Their Royal Highnesses learned how her job and the relationships she's built working at IKEA have helped her build confidence, stability and independence. They also met with other U.K. business leaders while visiting the store to discuss Homewards' plans to expand the Northern Ireland job program pilot.
Although you might not expect royals to shop at IKEA, William and Kate once shared a surprisingly relatable detail about their former home at Kensington Palace. In 2018, they told IKEA's head of design, Marcus Engman, that they used furniture from the brand in Prince George and Princess Charlotte's bedrooms.
"I'm proud that we can suit everybody," Engman said at the time, via Hello! magazine. "That's what we want Ikea to be—for the many people of the world, both royalty and ordinary people."
