Community helped Treorchy win the accolade of best high street in Britain, and that spirit shone brightly when Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cambridge came to visit. Hundreds of young and old came out to show the royal couple a warm Welsh welcome on Tuesday when they included a visit to the town as part of their annual summer tour of Wales.
The crowds waved their Welsh flags and union jacks in the sunny bunting-strewn main street as Charles and Camilla spent more than an hour after flying to the Valleys town by helicopter to discover for themselves what is so special about the award-winners.
It was in 2020 that the town beat off stiff competition from towns across the UK to be named best high street. Coronavirus has meant that the celebrations have been muted, but many agree that a royal visit is the boost the town needed. Read how the town won here .
Read more: Mark Drakeford has a 'chalet' in Pembrokeshire
Local pub landlord, Adrian Emmett, who has run the town's The Lion pub for 11 years, said he was not surprised to see such a big turn out. "The community helped us to win the award and it is great to see so many out today to celebrate," he said: "Lots of other towns said 'how dare' we enter the competition, but we showed them by winning and we couldn't have done that without the backing of the local people."
And it was the local shop owners and people from the town that Charles and Camilla wanted to meet. They included neighbours Ceri Hagerty and Daniel Howells who opened a craft ale shop called 2Dudes after coming up with the idea during lockdown.
They were more than happy to welcome the royal couple into the bottle shop, which is packed full with quirky craft ale cans in vibrant colours and eye-catching designs, and Charles was very keen to see the small bar at the back of the shop, even though that had not been part of the planned visit.
Ceri and Daniel said: "He was really chatty and interested in our story, and asked lots of questions. You could tell he was really interested and tried some of our Thunderbird by the Glamorgan Brewery beer. He told us he liked old fashioned beers and Guinness, but said no-one will give him the recipe for how it is made.
"We presented them with a special Prince of Wales Welsh ale and a Duchess of Cornwall Pale Ale that the Bang on Brewery made for us especially. We hadn't been given that much notice of the visit, so it was a quick turnaround.
"We are about to celebrate our second anniversary, so to have the Royal seal of approval like this has been quite a day." Read more about how the business started here.
Ceri added: "Camilla even told me she liked the tattoos on my arm.."
One of the first businesses Charles and Camilla visited was Tilly's cards which is run by mother and daughter team June and Louise George. The whole street is a family affair as June's husband Mark and son Lewis run Dec A Mate, which is two doors down.
June said: "I was really nervous, but they put me at ease straightaway by saying they had already shaken hands with my husband at his shop and he had told that there was another family business on the street. He also told me that Camilla likes a card shop and they happily chatted with a customer who happened to be in the store when they arrived."
Camilla joked with the customer: "We hope we haven't interrupted your shopping," and Charles was heard saying: "Thank god there are shops here. None of this online business."
Emily Kate Mander, 31, who recently opened her second store on the high street also met the royals. She told them about how she had opened her first store seven years ago.
The former dancer said: “I love being based on the high street. The community is amazing and all the businesses help each other out. We all work together. The last two years have been very hard but our customers have been amazing.
"The royal visit should hopefully put a spotlight on the town again after winning best high street. Whatever you think of the royals, it is a positive.”
Schoolchildren from local schools had also been invited along for the day and were excited about meeting a "real prince". Later Charles got behind the bar at The Lion Pub and poured his own pint, taking it with him as he spoke to landlord Adrian Emmett and dozens of his patrons.
Regaled by the Treorchy Male Choir, they also high-fived children from several local schools including Ysgol Ynyswen, Parc Primary School and Ton Pentre Juniors. The choir performed one of Charles' favourite songs Tydi A Rhoddiast and said they were delighted to be performing in front of royalty in their home town.
Musical director Stewart Roberts said: "We have performed at many concerts for royalty, but to sing for them here in Treorchy is something special."
Television presenter and property expert Martin Roberts spoke to Charles and Camilla about a campaign he has joined to reopen the Rhondda Tunnel, the longest disused railway tunnel in Wales, as a pedestrian and cycling route.
Mr Roberts, best known for his role on Homes Under the Hammer, told the PA news agency that he had bought and renovated a derelict 16th century farm house in nearby Treherbert and had "fallen in love with the area". Read more about the house here
"The people here are to die for. It's an old-fashioned community in spirit which you don't find in many places these days. And it has really struck me. I feel so at home here. They have maintained a beautiful sense of community and beautiful high-street, so to get a visit from such high-profile royals is a recognition of that and the icing on the cake. They should be proud," he added. "And it was great to see how excited everyone was. Their royal highnesses received a very warm welcome."
The final word of the day though went to 81-year-old Anthony Williams, who was born and bred in the town, and who was delighted that the Prince had shaken his wife Sandra's hand.
"It was a big highlight for us," he said. "It was a really well organised day, and we had waited for a long time, but it was worth it. He took my wife's hand and asked if we lived in the town and we told him what a great place it is to live and how nice it was to see so many people come out to celebrate." To get more stories from Rhondda straight to your inbox, subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Read next:
