--- description: The royals, who usually steer clear of politics, discussed Brexit with farmers who said a no deal would be a "perfect storm". title: Prince William Broke With Royal Tradition to Ask Sheep Farmers About Brexit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af17b3ad14ceedf/69894b1ce76ad287d6634c8a/gettyimages-1149285832.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Royal Family](/tag/royal-family/) ## Royal Family Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Prince William Broke With Royal Tradition to Ask Sheep Farmers About Brexit by [Julia Webster](/author/julia-webster/) ## Julia Webster Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 12, 2019 7:22 PM CUT  Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at Deepdale Hall Farm in Patterdale during a visit to Cumbria on June 11, 2019 Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at Deepdale Hall Farm in Patterdale during a visit to Cumbria on June 11, 2019WPA Pool; Getty Images by [Julia Webster](/author/julia-webster/) ## Julia Webster Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 12, 2019 7:22 PM CUT The Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge broke with longstanding royal tradition to talk about politics when they visited a rural community in England on Tuesday. Members of the royal family don’t usually discuss politics in order to remain politically neutral. But Prince William, who is [second in line to the throne](https://time.com/5238004/royal-family-tree/ "undefined"), was interested to know whether Brexit was a big concern for the sheep farmers he was speaking to. He was careful, however, not to share his own views. Sam Rawling, a sheep farmer, said he was very surprised to see his industry voting for Brexit. “It was like turkeys voting for Christmas,” he told the royal. One of the main concerns was the prospect of [a no-deal Brexit](https://time.com/5562609/no-deal-brexit-very-likely/ "undefined")––which would see the UK leave the European Union with no agreement about the “divorce” process. Farmers told the royal couple that possible 40% tariffs on sheep, combined with a loss of E.U. subsidies for farmers would bring about a “perfect storm.” Adam Day, who runs the Cumbria Farmer Network, a non-profit organization that provides help to farmers, said: “The reality is that there is not enough income to make a living from old-fashioned traditional sheep farming or cattle farming. They have got to do other things to survive.” Earlier this year, Queen Elizabeth herself made a subtle reference to Brexit in a speech where she called for “coming together to seek out the common ground” and “never losing sight of the bigger picture.” Her words were carefully analysed by commentators, many of whom concluded that she supported [Theresa May’s](https://time.com/5603101/the-uk-after-theresa-may/ "undefined") Brexit deal. The royal couple was welcomed to the Deepdale Hall Farm in Patterdale, 90 miles north of Manchester, where they took part in sheep shearing and met with farmers and residents over tea and cake. The aim of the visit was to hear about difficulties residents experience and discover the reality of working life in the area, which is increasingly affected by an aging farming population. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5605512/prince-william-farmers-brexit-questions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5605512/prince-william-farmers-brexit-questions/"},"headline":"Prince William Broke With Royal Tradition to Ask Sheep Farmers About Brexit","datePublished":"2019-06-12T19:22:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:43:44.263Z","description":"The royals, who usually steer clear of politics, discussed Brexit with farmers who said a no deal would be a \"perfect storm\".","url":"https://time.com/5605512/prince-william-farmers-brexit-questions/","keywords":["Royal Family","United Kingdom","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af17b3ad14ceedf/69894b1ce76ad287d6634c8a/gettyimages-1149285832.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Webster","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-webster/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af17b3ad14ceedf/69894b1ce76ad287d6634c8a/gettyimages-1149285832.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Visit Cumbria","caption":"The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Visit Cumbria","creditText":"WPA Pool; Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/royal-family/","name":"Royal Family"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5605512/prince-william-farmers-brexit-questions/","name":"Prince William Broke With Royal Tradition to Ask Sheep Farmers About Brexit"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Boris Johnson Is Likely To Replace Theresa May As Britain's Next Prime Minister","description":"In a closed-off meeting in the U.K. Parliament with members of her ruling Conservative Party in March, a beleaguered Theresa May told colleagues she would step down.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zYmtgHlb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-05-22T23:51:20.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zYmtgHlb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5605512/prince-william-farmers-brexit-questions/","duration":"PT1M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5605512/prince-william-farmers-brexit-questions/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```