Prince William speaks of his affection for Scotland in speech

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The Duke of Cambridge made an appearance at the Cold Town House in Edinburgh and sat down for a chat with those working in frontline emergency services. The 38-year-old appeared in high spirits and was dressed-down in a pair of denim jeans, a jumper and zipped jacket.

But his engagement at the rooftop bar did not go down well with some as several punters had their tables cancelled and were left unable to watch the Scottish Cup Final.

Customers were told they could no longer take up their bookings as “essential maintenance” was being carried out.

In an email they were also told this was due to “circumstances outside of their control”, while other staff members said the decision was made in the interests of “national security”.

Several punters issued a complaint and one woman even vowed to never return to the venue.

She said: “They could have used another excuse rather than ‘essential maintenance’.

“They didn’t even have to say the Prince was coming.

“It’s just pretty shocking. I won’t be booking again.”

Staff apologised to customers and for the inconvenience some have been offered drink and food on the house on their next visit.

Cold Town House business development director Louise MacLean said it was an “extremely rare and proud opportunity for us to welcome The Duke of Cambridge”.

She said: “We’re really sorry to anyone who feels inconvenienced by the temporary closure of Cold Town House on Saturday 22nd May.

“We never want to let our customers down and will always do whatever we can to avoid this ever happening.

“This was an extremely rare and proud opportunity for us to welcome The Duke of Cambridge to Cold Town House as part of his wider visit to Scotland, as well as being a great chance to showcase some of the best Scottish hospitality during one of the most challenging times for the industry.”

The pub also donated over £1,000 to three emergency services charities supported by the Queen’s grandson.

Ms MacLean added: “The Scottish emergency services deserve our gratitude for all their endeavours during the Coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re delighted to be able to donate over £1,000 to The Duke’s three charities following his visit to Cold Town House, including The Fire Fighters Charity, Police Care UK and The Ambulance Staff Charity.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their continued support and for being kind and respectful to our team and each other during this unprecedented time for the hospitality industry.

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“We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Cold Town House very soon.”

Last Friday, William was in the Scottish capital to raise awareness for his Heads Together initiative, which uses football to fight the stigma of not talking about mental health issues in young men.

The Duke and Duchess remain north of the border and today helped nursery school children with some gardening during a visit to the 125-year-old Starbank Park in Edinburgh.

William and Kate also launched a new initiative, Fields in Trust’s Green Space Index, which is designed to measure access to parks and green spaces for people across Britain.
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