When customers at a Suffolk pub settled down to watch the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla earlier this month, they had to do a double take when a balding man in an Irish Guards uniform walked in.
Conversations stopped and drinkers in the Swan Inn at Alderton turned their heads, presumably wondering what the Prince of Wales was doing there, when he was supposed to be 100 miles south supporting his father in Westminster Abbey in London.
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But the realisation did eventually dawn that the new arrival was not, in fact, the heir to the throne, but Suffolk man and Prince William impersonator Paul Joyce.
And the father-of-two is now hoping to make a career out of his 'lookalike' routine, having been told he looked like the grandson of the late Queen Elizabeth II by work colleagues ten years ago.
He said: "I was a bit anxious to begin with because fully dressed, I did not know what the public reaction would be.
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"When I walked in everyone turned round, stopped their conversations and stopped what they were doing and that is not the usual reaction I get when I walk in a place."
The lorry driver was first told of his likeness to the prince when he was working in building surveying.
"It all originated about a decade ago, around the period where Prince William got married to Kate Middleton.
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"People at work suggested that they saw me on the telly and I said, 'what do you mean, you saw me on the telly?' And they said, 'the Royal wedding'", Mr Joyce added.
The 47-year-old joked that the Prince of Wales, 40, was starting to look more like him as his appearance changed with the passing years, while he said many of his mannerisms were similar to his Royal doppelganger.
The result has been that people do approach him asking for selfies and he has been aware of people talking about him, such as when he visited Wickes DIY store.
"It is weird. Don't get me wrong, it is not like every time I go out, somebody has stopped me, but when I have visited Wickes people have done double takes where they look at me and chat to the person next to them, but they realise it is not going to be the Prince of Wales in Wickes," he added.
Now he is hoping to secure a few more 'gigs' as the prince, having previously been signed up to an agency.
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When he first joined the agency just before the COVID-19 pandemic, he had been due to go to France to do a TV advert in his Royal lookalike role, but the introduction of the first lockdown in March 2020 put paid to his visit.
He obtained his Irish Guards uniform from a military surplus company and the outfit has the RAF blue sash and Jubilee medals, similar to the prince's own ensemble.
Mr Joyce said his aim was to have 'a bit of fun' with his unusual role.
He said: "For me, it is about having fun with it and not trying to take it too seriously. It is something new for most people to have a lookalike at their event and it is exciting."
Mr Joyce, who is married to Christina and has two children, has also created an Instagram account for his Royal escapades, called the princewilliamlookalike where there is information about how people can book him for an event.
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