Sorry we didn’t have many photos of the Duchess of Cambridge’s garden event yesterday – it was a weird situation where it felt like very few regular royal-photographers were even invited to the event, so it just took forever for us to get photos. But here they are – Kate interacted with children at the opening of her “Back to Nature” garden at the Hampton Court Flower Show, after the same garden design was such a hit at the Chelsea Garden Show. Kate invited children from several of her patronages to come and play in the little kid-friendly garden, and whoever selected the children did a good job of it – a photogenic and racially diverse cross-section. Apparently, one little girl was nervous and shy around Kate and the other kids, especially with photographers documenting everything. So Kate helped her out:
Kate, 37, spotted that Khareesha James, eight, was feeling shy as they visited her RHS Back to Nature Garden and took the schoolgirl into one a fabric-covered den for a private chat and told her that she likes to hide in them when she is feeling shy.
Speaking afterwards Khareesha said: “I am shy and she said that’s where she goes when she’s shy – in the tent.” Her mum Sophia Dowd told HELLO!: “Khareesha is very shy – she doesn’t talk too much to people – and she (Kate) took her over to speak to her. She was really nice with her.” Asked if the moment had helped her to feel better, Khareesha nodded yes. Khareesha later showed her appreciation for the royal pep talk by presenting Kate with a potted succulent she had decorated with stickers during an activity session at the garden.
Kate also met Millie Allingham, eight, and her mum Nicky, who recently donated a kidney to her daughter at the hospital. Millie said: “I asked her what they (George and Charlotte) like in the garden and she said the waterfall. She (Kate) liked the waterfall and I liked it too. It was shimmering in the glowing light.”
The Duchess also chatted to three-year-old Millie Cotter, who has been attending clinics at Evelina Children’s Hospital since she was born prematurely at 26 weeks. Mum Ros said: “She had a lovely time in the garden and we had plenty of time to explore. She (Kate) really took time for us.” Dad Ewan, of Ealing, west London, added: “She was very nice, I got the feeling that she is really passionate about the garden and what it is about. She was talking about how important it is for children to get out and about and do things outside.”
“I am shy and she said that’s where she goes when she’s shy – in the tent.” I find it both funny and warmly touching – obviously, the image of Kate hiding out in a tent every time she’s feeling less-than-keen is a funny one, but also just as obvious, Kate said something relatable to the little girl to make her feel better. Lots of people get nervous or shy sometimes, and it’s nice to just take a moment and catch your breath, maybe in a tent, maybe in the ladies’ room, whatever you need to do. Where’s Kate? She’s hanging out in her tent, not talking to anyone.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
She knows only a kid will believe she is shy.
Adults know she is lazy and unprepared.
Yes both she and Wills are lazy and unprepared but I’m not going to hate on her for making a little girl feel comfortable.
Lying is never a good solution to make kids feel comfortable.In the climate that we live in she should find a more realistic way to do that.
Who told her this kid’s parents can buy her a tent?Totally disconnected from the reality
How the heck do you know if she’s shy or not? Maybe she has times when dealing with the public are too much…so how does anyone here really know if she’s lying or not? Has anyone met her lately or had a private conversation with her? I sure as hell haven’t. Jaysus…
@joja. Uh wow. Have you ever met a kid? Some version of lying is basically how you communicate with them. Call it explaining things in age appropriate ways but it’s essentially simplifying or altering the truth so they understand. Kate can be critiqued for many things but I don’t think how she interacts with children is one of them. She lights up and gives her full attention and communicates in ways they understand. You need to chill.
@Joja
I know she told the kid that she hides in a tent when she is feeling shy but I think what she meant was that she likes to go to a quiet place when she feels overwhelmed. The tent was the example she used to explain that to a small child and make the child feel more comfortable. Nobody actually needs to buy a tent.
Maybe if she’d written it on a banana and handed it to the child joja would have been okay with it.
(I’m really joking, I know Meghan got heat for that and both that and this were just women in a very public setting trying to do something nice.)
I have to disagree. I don’t think encouraging a child to participate in fun isn’t at all like writing notes on bananas intended for impoverished sex workers.I’m a huge fan of Meghan, but some of these comparisons are over the top.
Ug. Comments like this actually leave me itching to defend this woman. And that’s very annoying as I can’t stand the royal family.
Me too, Lady Baden. I used to regard the RF mostly with indifference laced with a bit of angst at the frivolous spending but some of the anti-Kate comments are so spiteful that I feel like defending her sometimes.
^^^ this. She can’t do one thing right, people hating over a cute story about her talking to a child. My eyes roll so hard.
I cannot put someone down for making an effort. She does not do enough Royal work but maybe this is a beginning. I still think that William is in some way behind her lack of “productive Royal work”.
Same. Kate isn’t my favorite but the vitriol gets to be too much.
Seriously. We only know what we see – we don’t know what she’s really like. I think her best work is the work she does with kids, families or sports. Things she’s passionate about. I hate that everyone is always shitting on her.
I’m not sure I like the monarchy as an institution, but there are times when I actually enjoy pretty much all the members of royal family, including Andrew and Fergie. Visiting the UK though and all the pomp it does seem there has to be a way to monetize the monarchy better for the people, and yes the royal family would still be wealthy, but maybe a bit of sharing of the wealth of their prince and princessness would be a good idea.
Heck it even gets too much for me at times and you all know my opinions about Kate!
This was a nice thing to say to the little girl. I would even say that Kate should, to the extent that she is comfortable doing so, lean in to these kinds of things and moments. It was a little interaction that I think makes Kate seem more relatable. Kind of like when William watched the World Cup last year with the Jordanian prince. That gave me a different insight into William, in a positive way.
Shannon
Kate does loads wrong, but this she did right. The tent comment was OTT for certain.
As a big Meghan fan who’s more neutral on Kate (though I definitely don’t actively dislike her), this take seems unnecessarily cynical and scathing. She likes kids and she’s good with kids and she made this particular child feel better in this situation. It’s not any deeper than that.
Absolutely. This was a nice moment,
I agree with this totally.
This!
Exactly. It was sweet and endearing. I know I often wish I could hide in a tent to escape annoying coworkers.
I can only imagine everyone finds you delightful, of course.
Dying!
What? How would you know what she was like as a child? Or in her personal life right now? Perhaps she was/is shy? Dial back your nastiness.
Kate is an awful public speaker, and I have always thought it’s because she is shy.
I don’t think it’s ok bash her about this.
I always thought it’s because she doesn’t put in the work. When (5-6-7-8 years into a job) you have to look down at your notes to say the basics like, “hello, I’m glad to be here…” and then several times again while you’re reading one sentence, to me that speaks to a lack of preparation. Plus William has admitted he doesn’t prepare by reading his briefings and Kate likely takes her cue from him.
I don’t really care one way or the other (if she is shy or not). But, I do wish she were better prepared and wasn’t still having excuses made for her after so many years of marriage. And anyway, shy people can still do well in public-facing jobs.
Kate is most definitely not shy. You don’t have to meet her to know this. Shy people don’t moon others out of dorm windows, wear see-through dresses, go out in attention seeking dresses slit to their upper thighs. Being bad at speeches and dinner conversation doesn’t make her shy, just inept.
From what I saw on Instagram, it looked like a great outing and Kate seemed to take time to do different things with the kids (the little boy looking in her mouth with a magnifying glass made me laugh). It’s sweet that she connected with this girl and made her comfortable. I get shy too, Khareesha!
+1, she really IS good with kids.
100% agree, great with kids
This is Kate in her element: with kids, particularly with kids and sports or nature. Well done.
Come on she did a nice thing.
Exactly. It’s just a nice thing to say to a child to make them feel more comfortable, from a mother who has has some experience with having children in rather unusual public settings. Weird to read anything else into it.
Im shy too. To the point where Im socially awkward in new environments, but I do my job which is public facing, and sometimes involves me giving big scary speeches in front of big scary audiences. I had a director tell me months ago that she never would have known I’m extremely shy because I do my job, rise to the occasion, and am a professional. Its sweet, Kate’s comment, but it just feels like girl was hiding in tents until 2017.
Good on you! I’m shy too, and managed to do the same. I’m not sure that either of us had international cameras on us, our every action/accent/gesture/piece of clothing being scrutinised and judged, royal critics watching us, nor were we representing a centuries old institution.
Girl had a lot of pressure to perform, and none of us will ever really understand the pressures of her situation. I agree that she took way too long to get comfortable with it, but I just don’t think we can compare our own situations with hers in any way that’s fair.
And here’s where you tell me you are also a commoner-become-royal, or you made speeches at the United Nations or to Nobel Laureates, in which case I will sit down and shut up. 🙂
I was never shy, but damn, was I awkward as a kid.
I work in government, my presentations are never on a federal or global level, but they are significant. I am representing my government, the constituents, myself. Kate represents the Queen, her country, and herself. She has a responsibility in this role to do things that she may not be great at, that may take time to develop and nuture. Public speaking is scary, on any level, it’s humbling, and I dont fault Kate at all for being shy. I also think it’s very sweet that she was warm and relatable with the little girl. However, public speaking is something that gets better the more you do it. To me, it didnt seem like Kate wanted to do more of it or work at it until 2017. She has gotten better, just like she is working more. There’s nothing wrong with that, it just took her a while to get to the point that she is at right now.
I was excruciatingly shy as a kid, in my twenties I thankfully grew out of it. But decades later I can still remember vividly that overwhelming feeling of shyness, what it felt like.
Me too, Minx. Sometimes it takes a while to grow out of it and build that confidence. People also really misunderstand what it means to be shy. You can definitely have a group you feel comfortable enough to party with or be silly with, but it doesn’t mean you’d be okay doing those things 100% of the time.
I always assumed Kate was dealing with some form of social anxiety, or she just felt immensely pressured to get everything right to avoid the criticism of courtiers and all of the press listening to her every word and watching her every move to report on, which is why I think her nerves occasionally misfired and she’s ask a seemingly stupid question or struggle through giving a speech (giving a good speech is often times not just practicing the speech itself, but also learning coping mechanisms for the anxiety that comes with getting up and performing in front of others).
@Lexa I think Kate has been often described as a introverted child/teen. She does very well in my opinion in one-on-one interactions,and she looks comfortable when she’s talking with people in a more private setting,where she doesn’t feel scrutinized that much. I totally agree with you that she probably has some social anxiety issues,that often result in looking a bit social awkward.
This, @Busyann!! Shy people can perform well in public jobs if they practice and prepare. It’s just so frustrating how many and for how long Kate has had excuses made for her while Meghan gets no slack cut, no easing in period, and slammed for all sorts of made-up protocol violations for things that ALL other royals have done.
I’ve got no shade for Kate. That was a sweet thing to do for that little girl.
When an event involves young children they try to keep the media presence at a minimum which is probably for the best. Sometimes too much media presence might be too overwhelming for the children.
I’ve always had a soft spot for people struggling in professional roles that go against personality type, so I feel for Kate. She wanted the title and and went for it like a heat seeking missile but hasn’t quite found a way to overcome the crippling social anxiety that sometimes comes with an introverted personality type. It’s easy to paint her as stiff & detached but imagine what daily life must be like for her, the immense pressure to be articulate and confident with the world watching. She genuinely shines at events involving children, sports and the outdoors, because it’s driven by pure joy. Hope she leans more into causes that make her light shine to build confidence, do more impactful work with smaller groups & perhaps seek tips from her sister in law who seems naturally ebullient and poised in the spotlight. She’s going to need those skills as the Future Queen Consort.
8 years into it and she’s still learning the basics. William and her staff have failed ber!
This!
You always hear about how OTHER people managed to get over their own shyness, and clearly it’s just all about her not wanting to get over it that is causing the problems. But it’s often not that easy. I mean it’s GREAT that other people can overcome their shyness and awkwardness – but it’s not that easy for some people.
I used to do public speaking – I grew up doing it AT LEAST yearly from 8 – 21-ish. I had NO problem other than butterflies in my stomach when doing it during the early years. By the time I was about 16/17 it was a STRUGGLE. I distinctly remember standing there, trying to do my speech and just physically shaking. Full on tremors. It was awful. And I had previously been ‘fine’ doing this thing, but at some point it just stopped being relatively easy and became an awful, awful experience.
So while I do understand that there are speaking coaches, and other things that can be done – not everyone is the same. Some people consider themselves shy but are 10x the social butterfly that another shy person is. Some people consider themselves to have anxiety when they just have moments of anxiousness then judge anyone else who has anxiety issues on the same scale that they’re on. There’s no one size fits all with this kind of thing.
THANK YOU!
YES! I co-sign.
It was a sweet thing for her to say to the little girl. But as far as her professional role goes, the only way she’ll get better at public speaking and to get over any shyness she may have is to do it more.
Most people are shy, myself included. But if a job needs to get done, it needs to get done.
Kate had enough confidence to walk down a runway practically nude. Sorry I don’t buy the shy thing.
Myra, I think a big part of her anxiety is the pressure she’s experiences (or puts on herself) to appear perfect. Not to mention, knowing how many people watch her every move and listen into her conversations, poised to criticize. That would be a real mind f**k for a lot of people, in a way walking down the runway in front of your classmates (not the British media) in what’s essentially a bathing suit is not.
When I was very shy public speaking was not as much of a problem as just trying to mingle with strangers. My fear was not reading from a text, I was fine with that.
I hated public speaking but I took acting classes (mostly as I was interested in it) and the effect it had on my public speaking was amazing – I treated it like I was playing a part to the rest of my acting group. As others have said, if she gets the right training (Diana took lessons from Sir Richard Attenborough and she improved massively) and persevered then she could be much better.
I’m not on the ‘Kate is shy’ train, she’s no wallflower, maybe she doesn’t like public speaking but it doesn’t mean she is shy.
Oh, come on, Myra. Shy people do go to the beach and wear bathing suits sometimes you know.
On my phone so response may be out of order, but I agree with Minx. I have social anxiety. Small talk with people I don’t know is HELL for me. I’m a lawyer, I know how to get my point across, I am not necessarily shy. I just have this anxiety that makes certain situations hard for me. I kind of get the vibe that Kate is similar. And that’s okay. It means being a working royal was prob not the best choice for her, but it doesn’t mean something is wrong with Kate for that.
And I mean, you all know my overall thoughts on her lol. But I am not giving her crap for telling a little girl she is shy sometimes too.
Say what you may, but walking on a runway practically nude takes a lot of guts! I don’t see a “shy” person having that level of confidence. 10 years of dating William and 8 years of marriage for a tota! of 18 years and some still find ways to defend Kate’s lazy behavior. Why is the bar set so low for Kate?
I could absolutely walk a runway in my underwear without a second thought but often hide in the bathroom at social events because I get overwhelmed and I am very shy and socially anxious. Putting yourself out there in a situation that doesn’t require interaction requires a different kind of confidence than public speaking or interacting with people.
I work with actors in my day job, many of them household names. You’d be amazed at how many actors are extremely shy. For many of them their shyness is the reason they became actors – so they could hide behind a performance.
Being able to perform doesn’t mean you can’t be shy!
@Evil Owl – But this is just pure projection that Kate has “crippling social anxiety” and is an introvert!! Same with @Erinn assuming she has the same type of anxious reaction that Erinn suffers from. We have no way of knowing these things. And, as others have said, she has all types of resources and experts at the tips of her fingers…if she just wanted to get help.
I agree with @Myra, that the bar is set so low for Kate and it’s frustrating that excuse after excuse is always made for her. Myra, I don’t get it either.
Khareesha is a great name.
I really like it.
It’s just Clarissa with a mouthful of peanut butter.
Sweet words from Kate. Uh someone help the scarecrow please!
Nice moments. Would like these garden shows to help people who don’t have space and funds for waterfalls to figure out greening up tiny yards, concrete communal space etc. Get this into more everyday lives so a garden isn’t a special visit.
Yeah, I wish she would parlay this into greening up public spaces in London or other concentrated areas around the UK. Or refurbishing up existing parks. Or something. I know the park will eventually be moved to the (children’s?) hospital, but it would be nice if she could expand it into reaching more children.
Very sweet thing to say to alleviate Khareesha’s anxiety. No slam from me. The children present got individual time with Kate and a chance to play in the garden.
Kate is always at her best with children, and she comforted the little girl, that was sweet of her.
That was a very sweet thing to do. Of course as she’s a mom, it makes sense. And she thrives with children around her. Good on her.
She is a natural with children. Her calling could have been a teacher.
Perhaps too many people confuse being shy with a person being an introvert.
I know as I am one. Always heard the stop being so shy growing up.
Kate looks so natural and happy in this environment, which is nice to see. Such a good thing for her to do, both getting children in the garden and helping that young girl overcome some social anxiety.
Shy right
https://youtu.be/Qdb7TU8I8mU
The cambridge pr is so see through
How does that clip refute her shyness?
Seriously, the hatred for the Cambridge’s is so see through…
Agreed, judging by many of the tone of posts under the D of C articles I doubt I would wish to be friends with many of the posters.
I don’t get it.
Ps poor thing isn’t shy. She ha smajor social communication problems.
She doesn’t appear to have major ‘social communication problems.’ She appears to be more comfortable speaking with people one-on-one and probably also in need of good coaching in public speaking. She seems to have had no problems approaching and greeting people – of any age one on one – and making idle chitchat. But, knowing her public role in life, getting help would be a good idea (if she hasn’t already).
If she’s not actively seeking knowledge and insight, and not giving social problems and world affairs greater thought, then the substance of any presentation is going to be shallow. And that’s coming through.
I stretch the truth a little/lot/lie aaallllll the time to make my kids feel better. So no shade.
Seriously! Yes, of course we can go to the moon, right after you go to bed and sleep for 10 hours and completely forget about it.
This is where Kate shines–taking an active interest in children, and being kind and trying to help out in the short time that she is there. No shade from me on that front.
I think it’s lovely that she would make a child feel at ease. She seems to really enjoy kids.
C’mon folks. Tents are for everyone who wants one, especially a little tent for hiding out alone. We made our tents – a sheet over a card table hid 3 kittle kids. Solo tent was a sheet or blanket draped over a chair & held down on one side with a couple of cans of soup to make a triangular covering.
If you can’t figure out how a kid can have a little hideout without buying a tent, shame on you. You’ve lost the imagination you used to have & you’re making this some kind of socio-economic-political issue. Knock it off.
Kate relates warmly & well with kids & deserves credit for that.
As a so-called adult who still makes blanket/pillow forts on occasion, I completely support this. Everyone has anxiety or needs to hide out from time to time.
I think this was just the sort of event where Kate shines. She’s clearly great with kids. She looked so happy and relaxed! And I loved that she told the little girl that she could hide out when she felt shy. I would have loved someone saying that to me, at that age. Or any age, really.
I remember she did the same when they were playing football with some kids early this year.
I appreciated at the time and I’m appreciating now that she makes sure that children feel at ease.
She is out working and interacting with kids. So that is always a good thing. The more she works the more her confidence will grow. She is boring as ever and doesn’t have much character but at least she is working.