'It's mad': Prince William calls for 'holistic' approach to flooding as Welsh village braces for fourth storm season

From the Newshound archive · first published 1 October 2026 · last updated 2 October 2026.

Prince William visited Skenfrith in Monmouthshire on Thursday, where residents have endured four major floods in six years, telling locals that extreme flooding is no longer a "one in 50-year" event but now seems to happen annually. Villagers Rod and Helen Wyatt told the Prince they have tiled their ground floor and simply live with the threat, while Rod joked they once "got two bottles of Prosecco and went to watch Strictly upstairs." William met representatives from Natural Resources Wales, the Welsh Government and Monmouthshire County Council to discuss resilience measures ahead of the winter storm season.

Storm Claudia last November brought a month's rain in 24 hours to the area, bursting the River Monnow's banks and causing the worst flood in Skenfrith's recent memory.

William also visited Monkhall Farm in Herefordshire, where he took the wheel of a tractor alongside 25-year-old Harry Davies, the Duchy of Cornwall's first regenerative Farm Business Tenancy holder.

The Prince then joined tree-planting charity Stump Up For Trees to learn how native woodland restoration could slow water flow and lower peak river levels.