King Charles “drowned a few sorrows” after England’s dramatic World Cup exit with a pint he pulled with Queen Camilla as they toured a brewery.

Charles sipped an amber ale made by Hall & Woodhouse Badger Brewery the day after England captain Harry Kane and his teammates lost their semi-final match 2-1 to Argentina.

Aided by Camilla, the King poured a pint of Fursty Ferret, a bestseller with the family-owned brewery based in the town of Blandford near Poole in Dorset.

Before tasting the 3.4 per cent popular ale the King said with a wry smile: “Maybe it’s a good day to drown a few sorrows.”

The country is reeling the day after the last-gasp defeat for England manager Thomas Tuchel’s players with many fans likely to be nursing post-match hangovers despite the loss.

Charles and Camilla were taken on their tour of the brewery, which celebrates its 250th anniversary next year, meeting brewing and chef apprentices, and watched as the trainee cooks competed in a Master Chef-style competition.

Founded in 1777 by Charles Hall, a Dorset farmer who began brewing beer from his excess grain, the company produces more than nine million pints of beer every year, employs more than 1500 people, and runs about 140 pubs across the south of England.

At one point, the King chatted to Paul Barnett, the brewery’s finance director about the effect of the World Cup on the business, which has predominantly food-led pubs that do not have screens or show the football.

Barnett told the King: “I’m quite relieved we’re out of the football because we don’t make so much money.”