King ‘drowns sorrows’ with pint after World Cup exit

King Charles “got a few upsets” over a pint while touring a brewery with Queen Camilla following England’s dramatic exit from the World Cup.

Charles sipped an amber ale brewed by Hall & Woodhouse Badger Brewery the day after England captain Harry Kane and his team-mates lost their 2-1 semi-final to Argentina.

With Camilla’s help, the King poured a pint of Fursty Ferret, the best-selling product from the family-run brewery in Blandford, near Poole, Dorset.

Before tasting the popular 3.4 per cent beer, the King said with a wry smile: “Perhaps it’s a nice day to drown out a few sorrows.”

The country is reeling the day after the defeat in which England manager Thomas Tuchel’s players were left gasping for air, and many fans may be suffering from a post-match hangover despite the defeat.

Charles and Camilla toured the brewery, which celebrates its 250th anniversary next year, met apprentice brewers and chefs and watched trainee cooks compete in a Master Chef-style competition.

Founded in 1777 by Charles Hall, a Dorset farmer who started brewing beer from his surplus grain, the company produces more than nine million beers each year, employs more than 1,500 people and operates around 140 pubs in the south of England.

At one point King chatted to Paul Barnett, the brewery’s finance director, about the impact of the World Cup on businesses with predominantly food-focused pubs that don’t have screens or show football.

Barnett told Kral: “I’m quite relieved we’re quitting football because we don’t make a lot of money.”