Royal Watch News

Prince Charles the tailor

Feb 25, 2013, 12:02 GMT

Prince Charles

Prince Charles became a tailor during a factory visit last week.

The heir to the British throne visited his favourite shirt maker, Turnbull & Asser - as part of a nationwide tour celebrating the 'Best of British' engineering and manufacturing - and while he was there he sat on a machine and had a go at sewing a shirt.

Charles was shown around the Gloucester factory by twin sisters Kath Cope and Bette Elton - who began working for the company in the 1960s - and they were very impressed with his sewing skills.

Kath said: 'I think he did pretty well really, especially for a first attempt. I'd give him a seven out of 10.'

When asked if he would offer Charles a job operations manager Shaun Bird, joked: 'I'd give him a six-week trial like anyone else.'

The Prince of Wales also saw one of his shirts go from design to near-finished article.

Steven Miller, Turnbull & Asser's managing director, said: 'This is a very proud day for all of us at the company. It was an honour that the Prince visited, it supports the tradition of shirt making in Gloucestershire and the British manufacturing industry as a whole.

'Our staff are just brilliant and this visit celebrates them, some of them have been with us for 36 years. We're all proud to work for this great company.'