Kate Middleton shared a candid admission about the challenges of royal life during a Buckingham Palace reception on Tuesday. The event was held to mark the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s birth on April 21.
Speaking to a small group of women at the event, the Princess of Wales acknowledged that large gatherings present a particular difficulty. “I find these environments are really hard. I’ve also got a very soft voice, so I always get told, ‘Speak up a bit louder!’” Kate told a guest in a video shared to social media.
The comment was consistent with remarks she has made about shyness over the years. Kate became a working royal following her marriage to Prince William in 2011. But during her engagement interview in November 2010, she recalled their first meeting and told him, “I actually think I went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy about meeting you.” In 2019, at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, the then-Duchess of Cambridge reportedly pulled aside a timid young girl for a quiet chat in a small tent, telling her that she goes there herself when she is feeling shy. The girl’s mother later told Hello that her daughter is also shy and “doesn’t talk too much to people—and [Kate] took her over to speak to her. She was really nice with her.”
Along with Prince William, Kate attended the centenary reception, hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla in Marble Hall, with all of the senior working members of the royal family, a very rare gathering. Among the attendees were Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and Princess Alexandra. Reception guests included representatives from a selection of Queen Elizabeth’s patronages, such as the British Red Cross and Cancer Research UK, as well as centenarians born on April 21, 1926, who therefore shared a 100th birthday with the late monarch.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.