Prince William revealed his love of chillis and spicy food during his visit to Keswick with his wife Kate.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stopped off to admire the range of hot stuff at the Mr Vikkis market stall in the town centre.

They chatted with owner Adam Marks about his award-winning spicy pickles, pastes and sauces and the future king was particularly interested in a jar of King Naga pickle - made with the strongest chilli of all.

Described by Mr Vikkis as "the Shangri-la of Chilli products designed for proper chilli heads who can take the heat" and "the hottest of the hot" the Duke of Cambridge admitted that he was a fan of spicy food.

"He said he loves his hot sauces and 'mad on it' and the Duchess smiled," said Mr Marks afterwards.

"He wanted to try the King Naga, but I didn't think it was a good idea when he had to meet dignitaries.

"He asked how strong it was, how many scoville units it measured on the chilli heat scale and I told him 1.2 million - the top.

"I hope he didn't have any on the helicopter going back home."

The Duchess was interested in the tomato and nigella chutney and asked what nigella was (black onion seed).

Referring to the famous TV chef Nigella Lawson, Mr Marks said: "I said I'd chopped Nigella up and put her in the chutney."

As the couple continued their walkabout round the weekly market, an aide returned to Mr Marks to buy a jar of the King Naga and a jar of Banana Habanero chutney.

Mr Marks, who has won a raft of awards for his range of spicy foods, is hoping to add 'By Royal Appointment' to his list of honours.

He said: "His aide asked for a card, so lets see what happens! It would be great to get the honour."