Paul Gascoigne kisses Prince William in random Pret a Manger encounter

Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne kissed Prince William in an extremely random Pret a Manger encounter.

Gascoigne joined other members of the public in a Bournemouth branch of the cafe chain today (7 September) when the royal dropped by to promote his homelessness campaign today.

The ex-England midfielder was among staff and other punters at the Pret when William rocked up wearing staff uniform to help out as part of his Homewards initiative. Check it out:

Footage from the bizarre encounter shows 56-year-old Gascoigne embracing William, 41, before planting a kiss on his cheek, casually breaking royal protocol in the process.

Afterwards, Gascoigne told The Sun: "I came past Pret and someone said William was there.

"I've met him a couple of times and met him at Wembley, he loves his football. I climbed over a few chairs to talk to him and gave him a peck on the cheek."

The moment has since been posted across social media, with one person taking to Twitter to share the somewhat unlikely meeting between the two famous faces.

In the short clip, William can be heard saying: "Gazza! Is it actually you?"

Twitter/@RoyallyBelle_

Gascoigne, who has struggled with alcoholism in the past, told the prince he was 'a lot better, getting there' before leaning in for the brief kiss.

William chatted some more with the former sportsman, who lives locally, before posing with him for a selfie.

Speaking later about the the encounter, he said: "We even bumped into Gazza. He popped into (Pret) - it's been a very interesting morning."

Sounds it.

Unsurprisingly, the moment has since taken the internet by storm with many viewers flooding in to share their reactions.

One Twitter user penned: “Aw bless Gazza, he made William's day! This is lovely.”

“Will was star-struck,” joked a second.

A final Twitter user quipped: “As a child of the 90s that would have been a BIG deal for William Gazza is an absolute legend!”

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

So - to answer the question you're all wondering - why on earth were they at Pret of all places?

Well, back in In June, the monarch launched a five-year campaign to end homelessness, which he declared should not exist in a 'modern and progressive society'.

Pret UK is one of nine organisations that have pledged to employ people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, as well as donating unsold food.

The Pret Foundation's programme currently aims help 500 people experiencing homelessness get jobs at Pret shops around the country.