Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden puts in a shift behind the bar at a Newmarket pub ahead of her big night out with William and Kate

• Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden kicked off their UK visit 
• READ MORE: If anyone deserves a great night out at the Albert Hall, it’s the Swedish Royals after those ‘mean and false rumours’

Crown Princess Victoria and Crown Prince Daniel of Sweden have paid a visit to the quaint village of Woodditton, Cambridgeshire – where they tried their hand at some local traditions.

During their trip to the 17th Century village, the Duke and Duchess of Västergötland found themselves in The Three Blackbirds Pub, situated in the picturesque heart of horse racing country near Newmarket.

After being shown around the historic pub, the Swedish royal couple put in a shift as they attempted to pour their own pints of beer.

Victoria, 46, even went as far as to sip some of the brew as she proudly posed alongside her pint.

The eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf wrapped up warm for her three-day-long UK visit, sporting a woolly beige jumper, which featured a silk champagne-coloured collar and cuffs, while she sported a pair of dark trousers.

The Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden gave a royal visit to the quaint village of Woodditton, Cambridgeshire – where they tried their hand at some local traditions

Crown Princess Victoria elevated her look with a silver and beige patterned scarf, which she tied neatly around her neck.

She kept it simple with her accessories, finishing off her elegant ensemble with a pair of diamond stud earrings which complemented her ring perfectly.

The heir apparent to the Swedish throne flaunted her flawless complexion with soft glamorous make-up that featured a brown smoky eye and a nude lip.

Meanwhile, her husband Daniel, 50, looked dashing in his formal attire, which consisted of a brown tie and blazer.

The pair then put on their winter coats to head to the second location of their UK visit, being a military base, to watch over the STANTA training camp located in East Anglia.

At the camp, Victoria was pictured closely listening to Chief of the General Staff, General Patrick Sanders explain what is going on at the camp.

Swedish military personnel are currently training Ukrainian soldiers at the camp, as part of the UK led Operation Interflex.

The couple, who have been married for 13 years, have more to look forward to on their agenda after their visits to The Three Blackbirds Pub and STANTA training camp.

During their visit to the 17th Century village, the Duke and Duchess of Västergötland found themselves in The Three Blackbirds Pub, situated in the picturesque heart of horse racing country near Newmarket

The pair then put on their winter coats to head to the second location of their UK visit, being a military base, to watch over the STANTA training camp located in East Anglia

At the camp, Crown Princess Victoria was pictured closely listening to Chief of the General Staff, General Patrick Sanders explain what is going on at the camp

Swedish military personnel are currently training Ukrainian soldiers at the camp, as part of the UK led Operation Interflex

The couple, who have been married for 13 years, have more to look forward to on their agenda after their visits to The Three Blackbirds Pub and STANTA training camp

The royals watched Ukrainian soldiers training during their visit to the camp on East Anglia today 

Victoria and Daniel saw the soldiers in action as they today visited a military training camp in East Anglia

The royals witnessed the soldiers undertaking physical training. Swedish military personnel delivered training to Ukrainian soldiers as part of the UK-led Operation Interflex

The royals appeared deeply focused as they attended the training camp to see the soldiers in action

Fellow royal couple Prince William and Kate are set to welcome Victoria and Daniel at Windsor Castle on Thursday morning.

From then on, the two royal couples will be attending the Royal Variety Performance together at the Albert Hall tomorrow.

The big night out comes after the pair have batted off a string of ‘mean and false’ infidelity rumours – which the prince has felt he needed to deny in a recent television interview.

This year’s Royal Variety Performance lineup includes Cher, Melanie C, Rick Astley, Tom Allen, Ellie Taylor and a Disney 100 Medley featuring The Lion King, Frozen, Aladdin, Hercules and Beauty and the Beast.

Victoria pictured with the Secretary of State for Defence, Grant Shapps, at a military training camp in East Anglia

The royal wore some headphones as she observed the action at the military camp on her visit today

Victoria appeared interested as she chatted with Grant Shapps during a visit to STANTA training camp today

Victoria grinned as she was welcomed by the British Secretary of State for Defence during today’s visit

The variety show is an annual fundraising event for the Royal Variety Charity, which assists individuals who have ‘worked professionally in the entertainment industry and are in need of help.’

Thursday’s show will mark the Prince and Princess of Wales’ first time at the Royal Variety Performance since 2021, when they got their titles.

When Victoria and Daniel join William and Kate for the Royal Variety Performance, they might find some of the acts a little unfamiliar. 

But they’ll no doubt be hoping for a good laugh all the same – and could certainly do with one after the year they’ve just been through.

Although there is no apparent foundation to them, persistent rumours have suggested  that the Prince and Princess’s 13-year marriage is in some sort of difficulty – to the point that, in August of this year, Prince Daniel felt compelled to take part in television interview to denounce the gossip as mean-minded nonsense. 

After being shown around the historical pub, the Swedish royal couple put in a shift as they attempted to pour their own pints of beer each

Crown Princess Victoria even went as far as to sip some of the brew as she proudly posed alongside her pint

The eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf wrapped up warm for her three-day-long UK visit, sporting a woolly beige jumper, which featured a silk champagne-coloured collar and cuffs, while she sported a pair of dark trousers on her bottom half

Denying there had been infidelity in the marriage, or that there had been talk  of divorce, the prince attacked the gossip mongers, complaining of ‘serious consequences’ for his family. 

The claims, which mostly appeared on social media, were a ‘mean and false rumour’, he said.

‘Many friends from across Sweden and overseas have got in touch and things arrived at a certain point where we felt we could no longer accept it,’ he explained.

So persistent have the claims been that last year Sweden’s royal court was forced to deny reports last year that an ‘incredible betrayal’ had brought Victoria and Daniel’s marriage to a point of crisis.

None of this has stopped the Crown Princess – and heir apparent – from performing her public duties, including a glittering display at her father King Carl Gustaf’s Golden Jubilee (celebrating 50 years on the throne) in September. 

Carl Gustaf, 77, is the first king in the Swedish monarchy’s more than 1,000-year history to reach 50 years on the throne.

And following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, he’s the second-longest reigning European monarch alive today, after Queen Margrethe, who celebrated her 50th anniversary on Denmark’s throne last year.

Most recently – sporting a dressing on her wrist – she joined Prince Daniel in Berlin to mark German’s National Day of Mourning as guests of the German president and his wife. 

Meanwhile, her husband Prince Daniel looked dashing in his formal attire, which consisted of a brown tie and blazer

Daniel too braved pulling a pint at the pub as the royals visited the Three Blackbirds earlier today

Crown Princess Victoria elevated her look with a silver and beige patterned scarf, which she tied neatly around her neck

Victoria and Daniel, who share two children, Princess Estelle, 11, and Prince Oscar, seven, celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary this year.

Previously a gym owner, Daniel, who was born Olof Daniel Westling, met Victoria at a training session before the pair began dating in 2002.

The couple announced their highly-anticipated engagement in 2009 and tied the knot a year later.

However assured as she now seems, there have been tough times for Princess Victoria, who has been open about her early battle with anorexia. 

Victoria has found herself at the cutting edge of another struggle, also – the right of women to inherit ahead of their brothers, as had been traditional. 

In 1979, Sweden was among the very first monarchies to introduce absolute primogeniture, a move only followed by the United Kingdom in 2013.  

She kept it simple with her accessories, finishing off her elegant ensemble with a pair of diamond stud earrings which complimented her ring perfectly

The Crown Princess, now 45 years old,  began to assist her parents King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia with their work after turning 18 in 1995.

But this came at a cost, she has explained. Being first in line to the  Swedish throne meant she put intense pressure on herself to the detriment of her health. 

‘I wanted all the time to do and be so much more than I realistically could do, or could be,’ she said.

When she is crowned, Victoria will become the first reigning queen in the royal family of Sweden since 1818 following the parliamentary change to the Act of Succession that introduced absolute primogeniture.

In November 1997, the palace announced she was suffering from an eating disorder.

This followed an intense wave of public concern after she was photographed looking noticeably thinner in a sleeveless dress at the Order of the Innocence Ball in April of that year. 

Just as the 20-year-old Victoria was due to start at Sweden’s Uppsala University, she knew she needed to get help and postponed her place, deciding to take time for herself in the United States instead.

She said: ‘In the US, I got professional help, which was really important for me. Just learning to put words to feelings and thus, be able to set limits and to not push myself too much, which I found easy. I wanted all the time so much more than I could do, or could be.’ 

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