Princess Kate is known for her strong work ethic and dedication to royal duties, but there was one habit that seemingly jokingly frustrated other members of the Royal Family in her early days as a working royal. After meeting William at St Andrews University, and later marrying the Prince in 2011, she was introduced to a whole new world of customs and traditions held by the Royal Family.
In an interview marking the late Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday, Kate revealed that her in-laws would “tease” her about a certain habit. The habit even occurred during Kate’s first engagement with the late Queen.
Kate explained: “I think there is a real art to walkabouts, everyone teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting so I think I’ve still got to learn a little bit more and pick up a few more tips I suppose.”
Walkabouts are opportunities for members of the Royal Family to meet well-wishers who often wait for hours on the streets before functions or events. The tradition was born in the 1970s during the Queen’s royal tour of Australia and New Zealand with Prince Philip. This allowed them to meet a greater number of people, not just officials.
Kate, however, has been caught getting carried away with conversations on multiple occasions. William and Kate were in Jordan for the royal wedding between Crown Prince Al Hussein of Jordan and Princess Rajwa in 2023 and William was caught on camera signalling for Kate to hurry up.
In 2024, on Christmas Day, the royals were out in force, but William was also spotted calling the security protection officer to hurry his wife along.
Princess Kate hung around longer than normal, to ensure everyone was acknowledged, and her husband, was patiently waiting with his children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Fans praised Kate for her kindness, wanting to talk to everyone she could. “That’s something Diana would have done” wrote one on X, formerly known as Twitter. “People’s princess” declared another and a third penned: “So royal and not just in a title but as a true, caring person.”
Earlier this year Kate also delighted a young girl who was thrilled to talk as she took part in her first royal ‘away day’ since 2023 in south Wales. The Princess of Wales visited the children’s hospice Tŷ Hafan and Corgi sock manufacturer.
Among the crowds was three-year-old Lily-Rose Logan, who had been crying out “hello princess” in a bid to capture her attention. Lily-Rose was delighted when Kate came running up to her, and even asked in wonder if she was really a princess.
She said: “I am! I wanted to come and say hello you and see your village, and what’s going on here, and see this amazing factory.”