Prince and Princess visit community garden in first joint Welsh trip since her cancer treatment

The Princess of Wales has promised to send her recipe for plum jam to young gardeners.

The Princess heard how young volunteers at a community garden in Wales were growing plums and turning them into jam, and promised them: “I’ll send you my recipe so you can try it.”

In 2012, it was reported that the then-Duchess of Cambridge had given out strawberry jam and plum preserve as Christmas presents.

The Duchess of Sussex, her sister-in-law, is currently producing her own range of jam to sell, relaunching her brand under the name “As Ever” last week.

In an Instagram video, the Duchess said: “Of course there will be fruit preserves, I think we’re all clear at this point that jam is my jam.”

The Princess, who cooks her version at home with no known plans to market it to the public, revealed that she is also learning to forage in Norfolk, with her three children impressed by a “huge” puffball mushroom she had found near their home. “The children thought it was fascinating,” she said.

The Prince and Princess of Wales made a joint visit to the Meadow Street Community Garden and Woodland, near Pontypridd in South Wales, where they were given a tour of the woodland walks and home-grown produce.

Introduced to a group of young volunteers, the Princess asked: “What sort of things to do you get involved in?”

One young woman told her they were growing plums, pointing the tree out, with the Princess exclaiming: “I just saw it,” prompting the Prince to add that his wife’s jam was “amazing”.

The garden, badly flooded last year, has bounced back with the help of volunteers and is intended to be a welcoming place for the community to enjoy. It overlooks the River Taff and the A470, with volunteers describing it as a haven in an urban community.

The royal couple laughed as they were shown “Bug-inham Palace”, an insect conservation area and joined a group round a fire to make balms out of plants. Both wore daffodils, celebrating their first joint away-day in Wales since the Princess’s cancer treatment.

They were greeted in the garden by Helen Williams, the community development manager, and Dawn Parker, a volunteer. Ms Williams admired the daffodils, and the Prince joked of his wife’s: “Her one is bigger than my one.”

They were given a history of the garden by Kaci Pucknell, a volunteer, and in a short walking tour observed raised beds, polytunnels and natural landscaping.

The Prince asked about the flooding during Storm Bert last year, which covered the garden, and whether there were many similar outdoor projects in the area. “Do you like getting outdoors?” he added. “It’s so good isn’t it.”

“Do you think there is enough access to nature?” asked the Princess. “We were just hearing that this isn’t just about nature, it’s also about well-being. Do you feel that?”

The couple were then introduced to volunteers, including Vanessa Matthews, who made the Prince laugh by telling him she had seen him as a young boy – on the television.

“This morning, I’ve had a number of people say they met me [when he was very young] and I had to say I’m sorry, I don’t remember!” he replied.

The couple then visited The Welsh Cake shop in Pontypridd market, which has been at the heart of the community since 1805. The shop, owned by Theresa Conner, 46, is known for its cakes and bara brith, or speckled bread.

On arrival the Prince appeared keen to get stuck in. “How dirty can you be?” he asked. “Flour everywhere?”

The Prince and Princess sprinkled flour onto the counter before kneading their dough and then using rolling pins to roll it out. “Is that too thick?” the Prince asked, glancing at his wife’s effort for comparison.

They used shape-cutters to cut out the cakes before placing them onto a baking tray, taking turns to flip them as they cooked. The Prince then carried the tray of their cakes to well-wishers, declaring proudly: “Welsh cakes, made by us.”

After making their Welsh cakes, they sat down for a cup of tea with business owners.

Ms Conner said afterwards: “They were very good. I asked and they said they had never made Welsh cakes before. They were surprisingly very good, and both good bakers. I gave them a quick demonstration and they took to it like ducks to water. It’s a real privilege they came to visit us. It’s massive.”

The Prince and Princess met flooding victims of Storm Bert last November and Storm Darragh the following month.

By chance, their arrival in the town had been delayed by almost an hour after their train was diverted as a result of flooding. When they eventually arrived at the indoor market, they were greeted by cheering crowds before taking a tour of the food hall.