Prince William and Princess Kate have received a message of gratitude after it was revealed that the royal couple had secretly donated to a south London food bank after the charity was robbed earlier in the week.

The Pecan community charity wrote a personalised thank you to the Prince and Princess of Wales via X, formerly known as Twitter, which read: “A huge thank you to @Kensingtonroyal who have donated to the recovery effort following the theft of £3k of food supplies from @southwarkfoodbk. All at @Pecan121a have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from across society. Food stocks are being replenished now.”

The Metropolitan Police confirmed to the BBC that it had been called to Southwark Foodbank in Peckham, operated by Pecan, on Monday morning after a report of a burglary.

Pecan’s chief executive Peter Edwards told the BBC that around £3,000 of food supplies and a laptop had been stolen, and said: “It’s had a devastating impact and it hits the most vulnerable people in our community.

“We’re all emotionally invested in the services we provide; we’re only here to help other people so it’s a hammer blow when something like this happens.”

Following the news, local and wider communities rallied around the charity to support the restocking of stolen goods, and the Prince and Princess of Wales made a donation for an undisclosed amount after seeing the story.

This is not the first time the future king and his wife have lent a helping hand to food banks. The royal couple’s charitable work has previously included helping out at food banks and distribution centres.

St Thomas Church, Swansea

In 2023, following a similar robbery, the Reverend of St Thomas Church in Swansea received a phone call from Kensington Palace offering to help replace the stolen items. The Prince and Princess had visited the church in 2022.

Reverend Steve Bunting told the BBC: “”They were keen to make sure we could replace the items taken from the food bank. I’ve no idea how they got wind of the story, but I got a phone call early today expressing that the Prince and Princess of Wales were concerned about what happened.”

Surplus to Supper, Sunbury-on-Thames

In his first public appearance since Princess Kate’s cancer announcement in April, the heir to the throne helped out loading food and cooking at the charity.

Windsor Foodshare

The royal couple made a surprise visit to Dedworth Green Baptist Church, where volunteers were given an hour’s notice of their arrival. The volunteers said Princess Kate and Prince William were ‘down to earth’, and helped with checking food was in date and packaging food parcels.

Old Smithfield Market food bank, Manchester

As part of a special trip undertaken during COVID-19, the Prince and Princess visited a variety of key workers and volunteers for their efforts during the pandemic.