Hale and hearty: King Charles’s walkabout saw him meet Tory councillors, but few of the people who work on the market. Here, the monarch is shocked after discovering how much deputy mayor Lynne Hale paid for her silly hat
NADIA AZIZUDDIN spoke with stallholders during Friday’s royal visit to Surrey Street, and found few happy with the way they were treated
King Charles’s brief visit to Surrey Street thrust the 750-year-old market into the headlines briefly, but according to the people working there every day, behind the façade it is still struggling.
Helipad: the king flew in to Croydon from Windsor, touching down at Trinity School
The king had arrived from Windsor by helicopter, using the playing fields of a £30,000 per year private school as his heliport.
He was then taken by car to his two Croydon appointments, at the world-famous BRIT School and then to Surrey Street, where his chauffeur managed to park on the pavement and a double yellow line in Overton’s Yard for the start of the royal walkabout.
This was confined to the southern half of the market, towards Scarbrook Road. King Charles began at The Arcade, opposite the charity Crisis’s centre, and finished outside the Market Tavern (which has been closed for more than a year). It meant that the king completely bypassed the other half of Surrey Street Market, up towards Church Street.
Carefully selected: the king got to talk to more Conservative councillors than market traders in Surrey Street on Friday. Croydon Council’s market inspector Fiona Woodcock (right) was on the approved list
Charles shook hands with a few carefully selected officials – such as the council’s long-serving market inspector, Fiona Woodcock – and popped his head in at a couple of hand-picked shops or stalls, paused for a few photo ops with the gleeful public in the crowd, and cut a giant cake with 750 on it while primary school children sang Happy birthday – for the market and for the slightly bemused king. Charles’s 78th birthday was the next day, November 14.
Meanwhile, the market vendors were losing business on what is usually one of their busiest days of the week.
All of the stallholders we spoke with asked not to be named, concerned in case the council took a disliking to what they had to say.
Happy birthday: King Charles seemed a little bemused as he cut the massive cake and school children sang ‘Happy birthday’
One stall owner said that they would have liked to see the king engage with more of the market traders, instead of just being seen walking through the market. They said that, even if just for optics, buying something from one or two stalls would have been satisfying enough for them.
Another trader said that a lot of the stalls in place towards the Market Tavern were set up ahead of the visit, to feign a fuller look to a street market that has been losing licensees for many years.
Kitchen nightmare: traders say that facilities provided by the council on Surrey Street represent a health hazard
Several stall owners said that they had seen police rounding up homeless and vulnerable people the day before and on Friday morning in what they saw as a cruel attempt to “clean up” the street ahead of the royal visit. According to a Scotland Yard spokesperson, there was only one arrest made in Surrey Street on Friday. No one was charged.
Croydon Council has spent much time attempting to remove homeless people from certain locations around the town centre under the guise of “protecting” Croydon’s historic sites.
Another market trader, who has worked on Surrey Street for seven years, said that the council does very little to support the businesses there, and accused it of being negligent when it comes to the facilities provided for the stall owners.
In 2025, traders handed Mayor Jason Perry a list of practical fixes, including improved electrical supplies, better CCTV and suggesting that “adding public toilets will significantly enhance the comfort and convenience of visitors”.
There is just one men’s toilet for everyone working on the market, and that floods at least once a week. Even if this isn’t considered an affront to the market traders’ basic rights to clean facilities, it should be a real health and safety concern, due to the amount of stalls selling food.
“It’s a good job King Charles wasn’t caught short,” said one trader.
The market’s “canteen” is in equally poor condition. It’s simply a small, dimly lit room, with mismatched office chairs huddled around a tiny wooden table. Its fridge is only hip-height, and its sink is caked with limescale.
God Save the King: a visit to the market’s only toilet might have been an eye-opener for Charles
Another stall owner corroborated the poor state of the council facilities, claiming that their electricity supply is unreliable and they often have to compromise heating for light. And in the winter months, the traders have been told that they aren’t allowed to use heaters.
Essentially, according to one long-standing market trader, the council’s support for Surrey Street is nothing but a “veneer”.
They said: “When representatives come and speak to the vendors, asking what they need and what requires improvement, they rarely follow up on anything.”
This is despite the council having a fund for the past two years, of more than £4million, earmarked for improvements to the historic market.
Ultimately, and unfortunately, the King’s appearance did very little for the real people who work hard in the market, in all weathers, day-in and day-out. If anything, the royal walkabout simply highlighted the dissonance between Croydon Council’s public claims and the reality of the people who really keep it running.
Read more: Questions over how Perry is spending £4m Surrey Street fund
Read more: Street market licences fall by 87% after council ‘improvements’
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