Prince of cakes! William hands out sweet treats to farmers during North Yorkshire outing…as he reveals the one dessert he can’t resist

Prince William shared a cup of Yorkshire tea and cakes with farmers during a solo engagement in North Yorkshire this morning.

The Prince of Wales, 43, was in Swaledale today to meet young farmers and learn about the opportunities and challenges within the industry but William did not show up empty-handed.

He picked up a selection of baked treats from Reeth’s Dales Bike Centre, a popular stop for cyclists travelling through the Yorkshire Dales, before heading to Richmond.

Ahead of his meeting with members from farming families, William passed around the desserts as he said the ‘spread’ at the community centre was ‘exceptional’.

Pointing to the different desserts, William revealed the staff recommended the raspberry cheesecake but that he had his ‘eye on a chocolate cake’ or a brownie.

The health-conscious prince also appeared taken aback by a high-calorie Twix cake that William described as a ‘calorie grenade’ that take him three days to burn off in the gym.

‘I said help me out for a bunch of farmers,’ William quipped as he explained the desserts were handpicked for them at Dales Bike Centre. ‘Whether they got your tastes right or not…’

It marked William’s first official outing since his 15th wedding anniversary with the Princess of Wales on April 29.

Prince William shared tea and cakes with farmers during a solo engagement in North Yorkshire this morning

The Prince of Wales, 43, was in Swaledale today to meet young farmers and learn about the opportunities and challenges within the industry

William was dapper in a checked jacket that he wore over a jumper and shirt as temperatures dipped across the UK.

The event was organised at the family-run Crow Tree Farm, days after William and Kate, 44, celebrated son Prince Louis and daughter Princess Charlotte’s birthdays.

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The cheeky royal was the spitting image of his father in a new portrait marking his eighth birthday on April 23 – days before the family released a charming photo of Charlotte on her 11th birthday.

Set against the backdrop of the Cornish coast, a grinning Louis is shown leaning with his arms folded against the vessel’s metal barrier, with the sea as the backdrop.

Then on May 2, the prince and princess released a charming snap of Charlotte taken during the same family holiday.

In the photo, the princess is dressed in a striped jumper and can be seen smiling broadly while surrounded by flowers and trees.

The photograph underscored her remarkable likeness to her father, Prince William, with her similar facial features frequently drawing comments from the public.

Her long, loose, flowing hair meanwhile is more reminiscent of her mother Kate, who has traditionally taken charge of her children’s birthday snaps in recent years.

It is the second new photo of the princess in recent days, after the Waleses shared a touching family snap to mark their 15th wedding anniversary on April 29.

Like the children’s birthday portraits, the relaxed picture was also taken by William and Kate’s trusted photographer Matt Porteous.

William and Catherine can be seen lounging in the grass while their three children are sprawled next to them, with the whole family basking in the sun.

‘Celebrating 15 years of marriage,’ they wrote.

William spoke to farmers to understand the opportunities and challenges within the industry today

The future King was dapper in a checked jacket that he wore over a jumper and shirt as temperatures dipped across the UK

The Prince of Wales speaks to Adam Hunter (right), owner of Crow Tree Farm

He picked up a selection of baked treats from Reeth’s Dales Bike Centre, a popular stop for cyclists travelling through the Yorkshire Dales

William brought dessert to his morning meeting with farmers in the area

The photo also featured the Waleses’ beloved dogs before Kate and William revealed the name of their adorable new puppy on his first birthday earlier this month.

Sharing a snap of the brown cocker spaniel taken by Kate on social media channels, they wrote: ‘Welcome to the family, Otto! 1 today.’

The sweet pooch is the son of their older dog Orla, as social media users gushed over the ‘cute’ puppy in the comments section.

‘You’ve been welcomed into the most beautiful family,’ one person commented.

Cocker spaniel Orla joined the Wales family in 2020 as a gift from Kate’s brother James Middleton, who is well known for breeding dogs.

Today’s visit to North Yorkshire comes after a new report revealed Prince William is paying an income tax bill of up to £7million a year.

The Prince of Wales has refused to disclose his tax contributions in the past, though he is understood to pay the top rate of 45 per cent.

The majority of William’s income comes from the Duchy of Cornwall, a private estate worth about £1.1billion, which generates more than £20million a year.

Questions around transparency on tax have intensified after revelations the Cornwall estate, along with the Duchy of Lancaster, generated millions by charging public bodies, such as the NHS, the armed forces and schools for use of its land.

His father King Charles III previously disclosed that he voluntarily paid £5.9million in income tax on Duchy earnings in his final year as heir, 2021-2022. Since then, however, neither he nor William has made their tax arrangements public.

William is understood to follow a similar approach to his father, paying the highest rate of tax of 45 per cent.

In 2023-24, the first financial year in which he oversaw the Duchy of Cornwall, William received £23.6million.

About £13.5million of this is thought to be taxable, with William’s total income tax bill in the region of £5million to £7million, according to The Sunday Times.