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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kate Middleton's Gesture at Surprise Engagement Is Right Out of Princess Diana's Playbook
Kate Middleton often channels her late mother-in-law Princess Diana through her clothing—but also took a page from Diana's book at a July 2 royal engagement. On Wednesday, the current Princess of Wales declined wearing gloves while planting flowers in a well-being garden—making her relatable and not fussy. Before her, the former Princess of Wales also refused to wear gloves, specifically when meeting with members of the public so as to feel closer to a surprise engagement on July 2, Kate Middleton took a page right out of her late mother-in-law Princess Diana's royal playbook. While visiting Colchester Hospital last Wednesday, Kate not only opened up about her experiences with cancer treatment, but also got her hands dirty—literally—planting flowers named in her honor in the hospital's well-being garden. As the Princess of Wales planted 'Catherine's Rose,' she 'surprised onlookers when she refused to wear gloves,' Hello! reported. Sky News royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills was there, and told Hello! that the future queen was offered gloves but 'She didn't want gloves. She had filthy hands. My cameraman, who was there, kind of zoomed in on her filthy hands. He was like, 'Oh, is that appropriate or not?' And I was like, 'Yes, it's her getting her hands dirty.'' 'So while the palace keeps saying, 'We're going to have to all get used to that flexibility in terms of engagements she's doing,' I think, when she's there—they are fully in,' Mills added. Mills was also present not just for Kate's turn at gardening, but also as Kate shared courageous comments about her cancer journey. 'It was fascinating being in the room with her,' she said (via Hello!). 'She very loudly and clearly wanted to get across this message that, yes, she is now effectively back to royal work, but it's really difficult, and I certainly haven't heard her publicly talk in the way that she did yesterday. Her words were really strong.' 'For me, it was the first time that she really clearly said, 'I'm sorry, yes, I'm back at work, but now there are some times that I just can't do what I used to be able to do,'' she continued. 'She talked about the rollercoaster of it all, and kind of how it's not just a smooth plane to recovery, but also very much for her, it did feel like a plea. It felt like, again, her reinforcing this message of, 'I'm here. I'm here to do the public work. You are going to see me, but look, give me and my family a bit of understanding, but also be a bit more understanding towards other people who are also going through that difficult time.'' Like Kate, Diana often eschewed wearing gloves, also to be more relatable to the public. Queen Elizabeth wore gloves consistently and constantly—not only to keep her hands clean, but also to avoid germs—but Diana ripped up that page of the royal playbook and went gloveless as soon as 1981 and her first year marrying into the royal family. She wanted to 'convey approachability and warmth,' said Eleri Lynn, curator of the exhibit 'Diana: Her Fashion Story' at Kensington Palace, Diana's former home. 'She abandoned the royal protocol of wearing gloves because she liked to hold hands when visiting people or shake hands and have direct contact,' Lynn told People. Newsweek reported that 'One of Diana's key aims was to remove the barriers that were placed between her and the general public because of the fact of who she was. Gloves were just a physical embodiment of this, and by removing them, she sought to connect more intimately with the people she met,' which the outlet called 'radical thinking for the 1980s.' Back to Kate for a moment—after getting her hands dirty in the garden on Wednesday, Kate took part in an impromptu and unplanned meet-and-greet with well-wishers clamoring to shake the Princess of Wales's hand. But before she did so, Kate relatably said (per Hello!), 'I'm just washing my hands—I'll be back.' Read the original article on InStyle
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Prince William Wants Future King Prince George to Follow in Princess Diana's Footsteps in One Touching Way
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Princess Diana won hearts around the world with her compassion and dedication to charity, and one of her best traits was the ability to relate to people on every level. During an investiture at Windsor Castle this week, Prince William was able to hear from one woman who was touched by a profound gesture the late princess made in 1990—and the story got his wheels turning on an idea for 11-year-old Prince George. The Prince of Wales met teacher Wendy Daunt from the Royal School for the Deaf when he invested her as a member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) at Windsor Castle. Using an interpreter, Daunt was able to share memories of how Princess Diana touched deaf people around the world. "I wanted to tell him how proud the deaf community were of his mother, Princess Diana," Daunt told the BBC, recalling how the late princess attended the 1990 British Deaf Association conference. "She came on stage to receive a book, and she signed in BSL and the deaf people were so amazed and in awe of this," the teacher continued. "A royal person had actually accepted our language. The respect for BSL that she gave, we've kept that all these years and will never forget that." Daunt continued that she made a suggestion for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to "learn to sign." While she noted that Prince William's "face said, 'I'm not sure,'" he did say, "maybe Prince George would like to." The Prince of Wales went on to suggest that Daunt give the 11-year-old prince lessons on British Sign Language (BSL). "Prince William did say that I could teach Prince George BSL," she said. "But I think it would be better for a younger person, a boy of his own age perhaps to teach him football signs. I would like Prince George to be friends with deaf children." Learning BSL would fall in line with one of Princess Kate's goals for her children. During a 2018 encounter with a fan (via Hello!), the princess said her Italian was "so bad" and added, "I have to make sure my children are better than me, that's my aim." For Prince George, it's especially important for him to know multiple languages for his eventual role as King, when he'll regularly interact with global leaders. At the moment, Prince George's school teaches French and Latin, along with Greek as an option for students in year seven and eight (George will enter year eight this fall). The Wales children are also said to know a good bit of Spanish thanks to their Spanish nanny, Maria Borrallo.
