Duchess Kate is reading a kids’ book for CBeebies’s Bedtime Stories, how actressy

The Duchess of Cambridge will speak! In public! On camera! In a prerecorded and (one would imagine) heavily edited video! Duchess Kate has gone on camera to record a reading of a children’s book. The Bedtime Stories video will air this coming Sunday (February 13) on the CBeebies network. They already released a photo (above) from her video, which means she’s already recorded it and little elves are working on post-production as we speak. For the recording, Kate chose a Fair Isle sweater with big, shiny cuff buttons (the buttons on this sweater exist for literally no reason) and light acid-washed jeans. It’s a very ‘80s look, overall. But… good for her for doing something, I guess.

Duchess Kate has marked the start of Children’s Mental Health Week in the United Kingdom by reading a bedtime story for a popular TV show. The Duchess of Cambridge recently sat down to read from Jill Tomlinson’s children’s classic, The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, which aligns with this year’s theme of Growing Together.

Dressed in a cozy cream-colored Holland Cooper Fair Isle knitted sweater and blue jeans, Kate chose to read the book, as it has been a favorite with her own children, Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte. The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark tells the story of Plop, a baby barn owl who is helped by others to overcome his fears and grow in confidence.

Children’s Mental Health Week was first launched in 2015 by children’s mental health charity Place2Be, of which the duchess is royal patron, and is this year encouraging children and their parents or carers to consider how they have grown and how they can help others to grow.

Patricia Hidalgo, director of BBC Children’s and Education, tells BAZAAR.com in a statement, “I couldn’t be more proud to have The Duchess read a CBeebies Bedtime Story as we mark the 20th anniversary of our CBeebies and CBBC channels. It’s such a special and relevant tale and perfectly represents this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week theme. I can’t wait to see her deliver her own take on such a classic story and I’m sure our audience can’t either.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

Various celebrities have previously performed readings of children’s books on the same Bedtime Stories program. Reese Witherspoon, Chris Evans, Tom Hiddleston, Ryan Reynolds and Tom Hardy have all done Bedtime Stories. Which brings up a question… is this not too gauchy, tacky and “Hollywood” for our precious keen angel? I thought Kate’s whole deal was that she is simply a shy, country girl, a humble introvert, and no one should expect her to be glamorous and Hollywood? Surely this would be more like something Meghan would do? Oh, wait – Meghan has already done two kids’ book readings before now, including a reading of The Bench, the book Meghan wrote herself. I wonder where good ol’ Copykeen Kate got the idea!! We’ll never know!

Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace, Instar and Backgrid.

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112 Responses to “Duchess Kate is reading a kids’ book for CBeebies’s Bedtime Stories, how actressy”

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  1. Becks1 says:

    Something is definitely going on. When was the last time she was this “busy”? I know February is typically a busier time for her (“busier”) but still this feels unusual.

    And reading a story….something people have said she should have done two years ago, as soon as things shut down. If fergie could do it..

    • Noki says:

      Busy!? Has she even been seen 10 times this year. She had a back to back days for a couple of engagements,still not nearly enough.

      • Becks1 says:

        I mean, that’s why I used quotes. It’s all relative with her. But we do usually see more from her in February and then she disappears for March and April bc of “school breaks.”

    • equality says:

      And Fergie does it consistently and does her own planning. I’m sure all Kate had to do was walk in and read.

    • Over it says:

      Omg Becks, while I was reading this post , I was thinking about coming here to say almost the same thing as you, we joke about how she is keen at the end of every year to do something the next and then she does nothing. But I agree with you. Keen been busy keening up a storm working. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s February and for Kate it usually takes her till April to have already done this much, which leads the question, what gives? Has Chucky ordered her to do work?

      • Jaded says:

        Chuckie most definitely has ordered this new Keenness. He’s probably told Burger King to shut his pie hole and get the eff to work too. Funny that Kate is suddenly doing events on her own — this leads me to the conclusion that she and Willnot are separated and he’s off shagging his mistress, but she’s going to be a good working mom now because the PoW title is almost within her jazz hands grasp.

    • tolly says:

      I think this is all about Camilla getting the biggest “win” of her royal career. It knocked the Future Queen Kate, Bedrock of the Monarchy stories out of the papers and put the focus back on the people who are actually next in line.

    • swirlmamad says:

      And the stans will drool all over themselves talking about how perfect, amazing and gracious she is for doing something so wonderful for children….when we all know if this were Meghan they’d rip her to shreds with nonsense about how she’s just being self-serving. We’ve all got their number.

      And yes, this is quite odd. Kate has been front and center for days now while we’re playing the long game of “Where’s William”?

      • Christine says:

        I get incandescent with rage every time I think of the trolls dragging Meghan for Archie being in a diaper when she read The Bench. A book she wrote, from her own house, that she paid for.

        But yay for Keen, bare minimum, years later.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        @swirlmamad, I have the feeling that, not only with a Meghan look book, during Meghan’s tenure over there she shared all sorts of ideas of things the BRF could do to help/support their image/people. The BRF/KP/Courtiers were like no. Upon seeing how successful/likeable Meghan is…it’s like, Kate should do this too. Plus, I agree, Charles said y’all need to work more.

        Where is William? William has been incandescent with rage at Wordle because he couldn’t be bothered to read the helpful notes.

        Today I solved Wordle in my 2nd try. The 4th/5th time has been the norm.

      • Original penguin says:

        #whereiswilliam needs to trend

    • Layla says:

      @becks1 deflection from the deposition of the peadophile?

    • Wiglet Watcher says:

      Kate always has bursts of events. Sometimes a few events that are dragged out for weeks to feel like dozens. It always gives the impression she’s doing more than ever. For years CBers we’re tricked by this. Like Kate’s garden design. 1 event, 1 planning meeting made to seem like weeks of prep.
      Soon she’ll vanish for a vacation.

  2. Belli says:

    How very making it all about her.

  3. Amy Bee says:

    As I always say when it come to Kate, the opposite is the truth.

  4. Noki says:

    I hope she practiced,you need to keep people especially kids engaged when reading a story. She will need to let go of her inhibitions and her faux accent.

  5. Gills says:

    Good to see that ‘boycott’ of the BBC going well

  6. FancyPants says:

    This is going to be the dullest, most monotone, most garbled-British-accent-impression-by-a-person-who-actually-grew-up-there bedtime story ever.

    • Layla says:

      Now THIS is what might put an entire generation off reading

      • Cinders says:

        This will probably be the most we’ve ever heard her speak.
        Wonder big she will tone down that tortuous fake accent.

    • Anners says:

      You’re not wrong!!!

      I remember a while back Jude Law did one of these (about dancing hedgehogs maybe?) and it was utterly delightful! You could tell he had read lots of bedtime stories in his day (and he’s a talented actor to boot).

      This one…does not promise to be as entertaining, I don’t think. For some reason, I just can’t picture Kate doing voices.

      • Mrs.Krabapple says:

        It makes sense to use actors. But we all know Kate’s speaking is not the best, so why use her, other than as a gimmick? They are obviously not doing it for the “quality” of her voice, which means they don’t care about presenting the best possible product to children, only publicity and gimmicks. It’s sad, and even sadder that the pro-monarchy public will lap it up.

  7. Harla says:

    I thought that they were “boycotting” the BBC over the Princes and the Press?

    • Jais says:

      Right?

    • Layla says:

      @harla nah the boycott was just Weeny Whiny banging his fists on the walls and steam bellowing out of his ears as his face goes red (incandescence)

    • Layla says:

      @harla nah the boycott was just Weeny Whiny banging his fists on the walls and steam bellowing out of his ears

    • Shai says:

      Oh, you mean the “boycott” that wasn’t really a boycott because BBC was never suppose to cover their Christmas thingy? lol

  8. The Duchess says:

    Prepare yourself to see a heavily edited reading session that most likely took 5 takes to do because we all know she can’t even speak, let alone read!

    • harperc says:

      I used to edit educational videos and we used non-professional speakers.

      The thing with reading something on camera (vs music) is that you can just tell her to start over at the beginning of the page/sentence whenever she screws up, and cut out the bad bits. So you don’t need to shoot a continuous take, just start that sentence over … and over… and over again.

      Then you cover up the cut by putting in a shot where you can’t see her lips, or a reaction shot of who she’s talking to, or (for the really bad cuts) just put in a graphic and don’t show the speaker at all.

      I’m tempted to watch just so I can count how long is the longest shot of her actually reading, because I’m thinking it’s going to be only a few seconds.

      If we hardly see her speaking at all, and just mainly see shots of the book or reaction shots of the kids, then we’ll know that it went really, really, REALLY badly.

  9. Woke says:

    She’s always so late on trends that when she finally jump on a trend her sycophants prop it up as a groundbreaking thing. It’s like she’s so insecure she can’t do anything at the same time as others by fear of not receiving enough limelight.
    Anyway good for her it’s a cute thing to do for kids.

  10. Tbonesmum says:

    Kaiser, Rege-Jean Page has also done a reading.

    https://youtu.be/owHJl23GP7Y

    It is very sweet.

    • swirlmamad says:

      I would MUCH rather listen to this reading….but then again, I’d listen to Rege-Jean read the dictionary.

    • Babz says:

      Lord have mercy, that man’s voice…he could definitely read me a bedtime story. 😉

      • CC says:

        Rege-Jean Page Also has a reading on the calm app, so he can actually read you a bed time story!

  11. Justplainme says:

    Hyping up a Keen event. Yawn.

  12. Catherine says:

    Further proof that the boycott was never a boycott. Not that we didn’t know it already given William’s Earthshot partnership. This is yet another example of a failed opportunity. It was nearly two years ago that she did that engagement with the BBC’s children’s learning and literacy program and there been nothing since. If she was actually working on Early Years this would have been an easy partnership to get some work done but as we all know the Early Years stuff is just performative. And I can’t believe they are actually trying to convince people that her trip to Denmark is a research trip. It’s very strange to me that in the year of the Jubbly the Cambridge’s are touring separately to non commonwealth nations to start. Also, I’m curious when this was filmed. Her hair has been darker this year.

  13. Likeyoucare says:

    What ever happen make sure everyone can see my ring.
    She need to learn how to smile.
    Will BBC put subtittle?

  14. Scorpion says:

    Coming to a book store near you in the nearby future:

    Husband Hunting for Dummies

    The Ultimate Guide to Landing a Husband in 10 years by Kitty Keen

    Should be a bestseller 😂

  15. Jen says:

    The book she is reading is a really long book 😂. I use it as part of a topic theme in my reception (kindergarten) class. It’ll be interesting to see how much they cut out lol.

  16. Gingerbee says:

    Copy Catty strikes again.

  17. Nic919 says:

    That sweater absolutely did not need buttons on the shoulders and sleeves with the busy pattern there already but of course she wears the one that looks attacked by a crafting addict with a glue gun.

    • Jais says:

      So I love this sweater, buttons and all, and I love the jeans. I don’t know; it’s just my personal jam. However, all day, I’ve been trying to figure out what the vibe of this pic is. Finally, I’ve landed on this: she’s being held hostage by stuffies, nervously smiling, yet trying to telegraph through her eyes that she needs help. Help me please! Charles is forcing me to do actual work now! When will it stop????

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        I’m a fan of the Fair Isle sweater/jeans look. Something I’ve worn regardless if it was currently in fashion or not. Don’t like those buttons though. The vibe of the pic is supposed to appeal to young mom’s maybe? Like, I’m just like you (and the popularity of the Sussexes jean wearing Christmas card did not go unnoticed). Kate really needs to cut 4-6 inches of her hair off.imo

        lol @ When will it stop?

    • OriginalPenguin says:

      She has a much better Fair Isle from Brora.

      Holland Cooper is a Made in Chelsea-esque vanity label that I doubt would survive if Jade Holland Cooper wasn’t married to Julian Dunkerton (Superdry)

    • ItsMe! says:

      I actually love this sweater but I’m crazy for cozy, woolen jumpers like this one.

  18. Digital Unicorn says:

    Given that there was always going to be postive press around TQ’s ascension day, this is just another example of Mutton jumping on another’s coattails. While i don’t think she knew in advance about the announcement about Cams, she would have known in advance about anything to do with ascension day.

    There is def something going on between with the Keens. Feels like they are trying to get ahead of something.

    • Chloe says:

      Ahead of what? What is even more weird is that william hasn’t been seen anywhere. While kate is all over the place. She was even papped while shopping!

      • Jan90067 says:

        Seriously…how much cramming does he need for his Dubai trip? All he’s packing is a swimsuit and lotion I’m sure.

      • Jan90067 says:

        Adding on (as I can’t seem to Edit on my MacBook):

        I’m wondering if he has Covid again? A breakthrough of Omicron still can be a big deal. A friend of mine, double vaxxed and boosted, was feeling crummy for two weeks because of it (she has asthma, but situational asthma (brought on by colds etc)).

  19. Cessily says:

    So what will she do when Meghan and Harry start rolling out Netflix productions and podcasts? How will she try to emulate Invictus games coming up shortly? It is going to better than any British comedy to watch her “pretzel” (twist) herself trying to fill all these roles also. I guess the firm finally found away to get her to work, using this competitive mean girl personality to there advantage.

  20. Songs (Or It Didn't Happen) says:

    I mean, I don’t hate the idea of her doing this. She should be doing things like this, and should have been already. I’m not going to drag her over it.

    What’s going to ruin things is the BM giving us three months of coverage about Kate the early childhood development expert doing her absolute most bravely without putting a foot wrong, because she read a book on camera.

  21. WiththeAmerican says:

    Why does her face suddenly look long and horsey? Weird photoshop by her PR department (aka, royal “photojournalists”)

    • February Pisces says:

      I think once your past a certain age (usually mid 30s) Really long hair can start to make someone look horsey. Shoulder length hair would completely freshen her look and take years off her.

  22. Ginger says:

    She looks exhausted in that photo. It looks…off. This is something she should have done a while ago.

    • Chloe says:

      I just said the same thing. She looks tired.

    • Jan90067 says:

      Same photoshopped as the birthday pics? Looks like the same “face” she got in those.

    • Mimi says:

      It’s her hair. She’s trying to wear it like Meghan but the length is not flattering on her and it acts like curtains, drawing attention to her weathered face. Oddly enough, she looks better with it pulled completely back or in a ponytail.

      • Chrissy says:

        You’d think she would have discovered the Croydon Facelift before investing in all that Botox/ fillers over the years.

  23. girl_ninja says:

    Tom Hardy and Chris Evans also ready CBeebies bedtime stories and they both did wonderful jobs.

    This woman can barely speak and she’s gonna read a whole children’s book. Sure Jan.

  24. Em says:

    I can’t help but notice how much of a robot she’s become, even something as natural as reading a bedtime story, she’s so carefully posed and stiff with the same madam Tussaud’s wax smile she always has.

  25. Sofia says:

    I actually like the idea. But echo the sentiments above that this is something she should have done years ago. Imagine if she made it a yearly thing or something? Or even twice a year? But that requires effort and thought, both of which are lacking in KP offices from the bosses to the staff so.

    • Debbie says:

      Woah, woah, Sofia. Twice a year?!!! Let’s not get crazy now. There are “royal events”, there’s “work” which is what most of us do, and then there’s “werk” which is what RuPaul does. You are actually suggesting that Kate do an event TWICE(!) in one year? Come on now.

  26. Layla says:

    Meanwhile… on todays Meghan’s cosplay watch – the Pinterest mood board PowerPoint picked a combination of the given chat pantsuit from meghan’s Irenland tour and the outfit at Dubbo. And to think the cosplay was laying low 🤓

  27. Merricat says:

    I hope she doesn’t scare the children off reading. She doesn’t look like she’s enjoying herself.

  28. SourcesclosetoKate says:

    If she wants to cosplay a kindergarten teacher that’s fine and dandy she should be paid like one. This is unreasonable. Multimillion dollars going towards this is ridiculous. These are vanity projects that any Facebook mom puts out on weekly basis for fun and memories, she should do that amongst her own friends and family not subject the people and justify it as work because it’s not. Btw she looks like she’s wearing a neck brace in that turtleneck sweater. But I could l care less if she was wearing a sweater made of diamonds or her hair looked like a Pantene commercial or her fillers made her look like a teenager or whatever she is inexcusable. Go away.

  29. Linney says:

    I am still so confused by all this embiggening and the powers-that-be trying to make it look like Kate is such a hard-working, indispensable member of The Firm. I have said this before, but are they setting her up to fail? Is Kate pushing these things because she knows her days are numbered? Is it so that when they move into another house (or two) people won’t be as bothered? It would make much more sense if they were pushing William forward, but I haven’t read anything that says he is the savior of the monarchy, etc. It’s always Kate. And since one of the things they like about Kate is the fact she “doesn’t try to outshine her husband” why all this exposure when we haven’t seen William? There is too much weird going on here.

    • Merricat says:

      I think Kate is trying to make herself seen as indispensable. However, she is (dispensable).

      • Em says:

        I completely agree. I do not believe her marriage is solid. I can’t help but think that she and her mother are doing the most to highlight her importance and place in the royal family. They need her to be popular and an established part of the “brand” so that William can never leave her, basically.

        Deep down I do not believe he ever really loved her. Perhaps puppy love at university, but never respect. And they have never been equals. It has taken sheer will and strategic planning (to this day) to get to where she is.

    • Jaded says:

      I think her marriage is completely dead in the water. Charles, who is clearly running the show now, probably called them both in for a come-to-Jesus meeting and told them to get the eff to work and stop acting like sniveling brats. My guess is William didn’t like getting marching orders from Daddy and is off sniveling to his mistress. As @Merricat says, Kate is playing the martyr and doing what Charles wants because she wants to be seen as an asset to the BRF, and determined to get the PoW tiara.

  30. The Other One says:

    Did they not curl her extensions? The hair is weird.

  31. aquarius64 says:

    My guess is that Kate is fearing William is ready to replace her. The queen’s statement about Camilla practically confirms mistresses can become royal wives and future queens. Kate provided the heir and two spares; she outlived her usefulness.

  32. KFG says:

    With queen Camilla, this sets the precedent for a mistress becoming queen. Chuck is making her sing for her supper.

  33. blujfly says:

    These kinds of celebrity fluff PR pieces would be fine if she also did real work, but she doesn’t. The press will embiggen her for this when it is something the other celebrities do without a second thought.

  34. Margaret says:

    I do recall meghan reading to children on u tube???.

  35. Ameerah says:

    What’s going on with her face? It looks lopsided. It reminds me of what happens when one side of the face has had more botox than the other and it can make the less botoxed side look droopy.

  36. Dee says:

    That yellow pillow behind her looks to have more personality.

  37. Clare says:

    What’s going on her left wrist? It looks like a bruise….

    • Lorelei says:

      @Clare, I think (?) it’s the fringe from the blanket, not a bruise, but it’s blurry when zoomed in so hard to say for sure. But I really think it’s just the way the blanket is positioned.

    • @poppedbubble says:

      looks like a shadow from the lighting.

  38. tamsin says:

    It’s one of those things that one would expect her to do, considering her interest in early childhood. I think even Princess Anne read a book for Save the Children, an organization to which she has given a life-long commitment. I think Kate looks quite youthful in the picture. I think the sweater (although a bit over-decorated) and jeans is a good look, although I don’t know why the rug is pulled over her feet. The “set” looks a bit Christmassy. Was this taped some weeks ago?

  39. MangoAngelesque says:

    Those poor kids, having to follow along with her faux-risto accent without the assistance of captions/subtitles.

    Who on earth decided that was a good idea? They’ve heard her try to speak, yes?

  40. Sof says:

    Buttons on her sweater, she is just trolling us at this point. She knows we know about her secret obsession.
    She should have recorded this on the garden she “designed” last year, right? Or something more outdoorsy, which seems to be her brand. I don’t get why they don’t find more events for her in nature, it’s obvious by now that that’s when she puts more enthusiasm.

  41. Em says:

    Has she always had that scar on her forehead?????????????

  42. Shai says:

    I mean it’s great, but when you consider she’s apparently been interested in early childhood education for years, this comes a tad bit late. She could have made this a thing, but doesn’t seem to move until Meghan (and others) do it first.

    • Tessa says:

      If she were so interested, she could have studied it. She had ten years of waiting for the ring and did little work. She has an art history degree nothing in child psychology. The real experts would need to analyze this not Kate.

      • Nic919 says:

        Broken Britain, the original name for early childhood years, was first pushed out on the Friday before Meghan’s cookbook was being launched. There was never any intention for Kate to do anything of substance with this because she panicked and had CAtherine Quinn created a project for her to not look so bad and lazy compared to Meghan. And then she didn’t do anything with this for almost 2 years and lied about having worked on the survey for eight years. Kate is a grifter and con artist, no different than the Trumps, but with a different accent and government funding.

  43. Debbie says:

    The writer said that the 10 buttons on Kate’s cuffs are unnecessary, but that’s not the end of it, Kate has MORE BUTTONS on her shoulders!!! On a sweater! At this point, these buttons must be like a security blanket for her.

  44. HeatherC says:

    Wow her smile looks more forced than usual Usually one tries to make bedtime and bedtime stories relaxing and soothing. She looks down right annoyed.

  45. Tessa says:

    Meghan read to children in Harlem. Kate is not the first, as always.

  46. jferber says:

    Christine, I loved when Meghan read Duck or Rabbit to Archie when he was one year old in a onesie (which sold out online afterward). Harry took the video and you heard him quacking like a duck at the end. Totally charming, natural and adorable. Will and Kate could NEVER accomplish such a wonderful and simple act as reading to their own child on a video. Can you even imagine? They’d f-ck it up so badly. It makes you wonder if W and K are even human.

  47. Pentellit says:

    It’s amazing how many of the royals are now posing in jeans since Meghan & Harry did it. The ones in Denmark did it and now Kate. SMDH

  48. SourcesclosetoKate says:

    Her legs look funny