LONDON -- The Prince and Princess of Wales made a public appearance Thursday afternoon, with hours to go before the coronation, taking the underground subway system to a pub in central London, where Prince William pulled a pint of beer aptly called "Kingmaker."

Catherine wore a cherry-red coat and sleek white heels matching what appeared to be a similar-hued dress underneath, while her husband, Prince William, kept it casual with a dark brown blazer over a collared blue shirt but without a tie.

, named after the prince鈥檚 late grandmother, chatting with Transport for London workers ahead of what鈥檚 going to be a congested weekend as people descend on the capital.

The lunchtime visit to the traditional pub in Soho, located inside a building from 1897, was an effort to recognize those working in the hospitality industry over the coronation weekend, according to a statement.

They were greeted outside the pub with the punctuation of clicks from cameras held by dozens of reporters from around the world and cheers from hundreds of members of the public hoping to catch a glimpse of the couple.

Prince and Princess of Wales

At the Dog & Duck pub, Prince William tried his hand at playing bartender, and pulled a pint of beer.

"Expertly done," someone was heard to say in the crowd.

"Not really. I can鈥檛 say I鈥檝e got too much experience pulling pints," Prince William said, to laughs, joking that he was not too bad at drinking them.

The pub has seen its fair share of celebrities, it claims on its website, including George Orwell who celebrated with absinthe when his book 鈥淎nimal Farm鈥 was selected for the Book of the Month club in the U.S., as well as landscape painter John Constable, poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti and even Madonna, who once has said to have popped in for a pint.

After emerging, the royal couple spent time meeting with the well-wishers lining either side of the narrow roads, while authorities stood by, and as a helicopter hovered overhead.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The couple also met with local business leaders who are preparing to host tourists and guests over the coronation weekend.

Prince William, next in line to the throne, and his wife Catherine, will be in attendance at the coronation of his father, King Charles III.

His son Prince George will have a role as a page in the ceremony. William鈥檚 brother Prince Harry will also be in attendance while his wife Meghan Markle will be staying behind in California with their children.

In the days before the coronation, the latest polling from YouGov shows that P, followed by King Charles III.