The Prince of Wales joins palace staff at LGBT restaurant in Poland

The Prince of Wales surprised Polish diners on Wednesday night when he inadvertently visited a LGBT-friendly restaurant in the centre of Warsaw.

The heir to the throne was pictured eating a £7.50 pulled pork sandwich and fries while making a surprise visit to the country.

Butero Bistro in Warsaw advertises itself as “your queerspace with comfort food”, while its logo is made up of the colours of the rainbow.

It is understood that Kensington Palace staff booked the table for themselves and were unaware that it was an LGBT-friendly restaurant but that were very happy with their choice.

It was not intended as a political statement, The Telegraph understands.

William asked to join dinner party

A source told the Mail Online that William, 40, had asked to join the palace staff for dinner at the local restaurant.

“The team from Kensington Palace booked a local restaurant near where they were working and the Prince decided to join them,” the source said.

“He asked them what they were doing and then asked to come along. It was a great night by all accounts.”

William was pictured at the restaurant by a local who posted the photo on Instagram saying: “Warsaw can surprise. I ate dinner today with the Prince.”

The local added that it was “valuable that he supported the community so abused by the current authorities in Poland”, in a reference to the government’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights.

Meanwhile Russia’s top diplomat took aim at William’s visit to Poland, using it to express Russia’s concerns about Britain’s support of Ukraine in the war.

Maria Zakharova, of the Russian foreign ministry, used the trip to raise concerns about Britain’s plans to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium shells for Challenger 2 tanks.

“I wonder if William Charles-ovich has brought depleted uranium ammunition for his troops," she said, coining a patronymic for the Prince by using his father's first name.

Vladimir Putin earlier this week raised alarm about the potential supplies, saying their use would be tantamount to using a "dirty" nuclear bomb.

Ms Zakharova made the comments on Thursday, the second day of William’s surprise trip to Poland to “personally thank” British and Polish soldiers stationed 50 miles from the Ukrainian-Polish border for “defending our shared freedoms”.

She cited a news story on Tatler’s website, saying that its wording about William visiting "British and Polish troops involved in the war in Ukraine", in her opinion, "dispels all doubts whether Britain and Poland are involved or not".

More radical than Kremlin officals

Ms Zakharova, who has been the mouthpiece of Russia’s foreign policy since 2015, is known for her pithy remarks and language that is often more radical than that of senior Kremlin officials.

Her comments, made in a brief post on the Telegram messaging app, came two days after Putin lashed out at the British Government for its decision to send depleted uranium shells to Ukraine, describing it as “weapons with a nuclear component”.

This type of weapon is not covered by any nuclear arms treaty nor is there any ban on its use.

However, the shells have been criticised for their potential harmful impact to human health as their use can be associated with leukaemia and other diseases.

On Thursday morning the Prince met Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, and expressed his thanks to the Polish people for their support and generosity to neighbour Ukraine.

They also discussed the importance of continuing to support Ukraine and its people.

A royal spokesman said the conversation was “warm and friendly” and that it was “predominantly focused on the ongoing conflict with the war in Ukraine, particularly the impact on Polish society”.

They added that the Prince said he was very much looking forward to seeing the president and first lady at the Coronation and he thanked him for attending the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022.

President Duda is the first head of state to be confirmed by the palace as attending the King’s Coronation in May.

Earlier on Thursday, the Prince laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw, leaving a personal note paying tribute to those “who made the ultimate sacrifice”.

He visited the monument, which is dedicated to Polish soldiers who have lost their lives in conflict, in the city’s Pilsudski Square.

He left a handwritten note on the wreath, which reads: “In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh also laid a wreath at the Tomb during a state visit to Poland in 1996.