Princess of Wales’ visit ‘puts Sudbury on the map’
Yesterday saw huge crowds gather to see the Princess of Wales on her visit to the Sudbury Silk Mill.
Sudbury leaders and silk makers say the Princess of Wales’ visit to the town’s famous mills will help showcase its unique heritage.
The Princess toured the Sudbury Silk Mill yesterday (11th of September 2025), meeting staff and trying her hand at the loom.
"She’s a great ambassador for British textiles and design.”
Natalie Mumford, director of Humphries Weaving, said:
“We understood that Her Royal Highness was interested in textiles and craft and creativity. So we’ve been working with her team to see what she might be interested in and then really kind of getting organised in the last couple of days to welcome her.”
She added:
“She’s really knowledgeable about textiles and interested in what we do. It was really a pleasure to talk to her and very exciting for me… it’s a real special honour that she chose to come and visit us here and learn more about what we do. She’s a great ambassador for British textiles and design.”
"It puts Sudbury on the map"
Sudbury’s Mayor, Andy Welsh, said the royal visit is a big moment for the town:
“It’s wonderful that the Princess has decided to come to Sudbury. We’re absolutely delighted. She was absolutely charming.”
He added:
“It puts Sudbury on the map and hopefully people will want to come and see what a beautiful town we’ve got with wonderful water meadows and Gainsborough House and all the things that we’ve got to offer.”
Weaver Stacey Teager, who demonstrated the looms, admitted she was nervous before meeting the Princess:
“You don’t really know what’s gonna go on — you’re meeting a Princess and you hope that everything’s gonna go well. But then when she came down, she was really, really lovely. She just made you feel really relaxed.”
She said the Princess even had a go at the loom herself:
“She started it up, actually… I said to her, press the two green buttons. And she did. Luckily, it ran, ‘cause it’s machinery — you gotta have your fingers crossed — but it did. It was a bit of the colour she chose as well, so it all went really well.”
The visit comes after Sudbury’s silk mills won the prestigious King’s Award for Sustainable Development, with staff saying the royal recognition is a “huge deal” for the industry.
After the tour, her Royal Highness took time to engage with the crowds of people who had waited to see her, some of whom had been there since 8 am and others who had travelled all the way from Derbyshire to catch a glimpse.
She spoke to the pupils from St Gregory CEVCP Sudbury and asked them if they had a nice school holiday and accepted a banquette of flowers before leaving for another event in Kent.