Here are more photos of the Princess of Wales’s event on Tuesday, her first in two and a half weeks. She visited the new “V&A East Storehouse,” which is like a gritty and industrial version of the Victoria & Albert Museum (of which Kate is a patron). Basically, the V&A Museum decided to open up a second quasi-museum space where people can see and have access to all of the art and archival pieces in the museum’s extensive storage. I actually find this really cool, I can’t lie. Apparently, if you make arrangements ahead of time, you can have specific pieces pulled out of storage and you can study those pieces in a semi-private space. Kate did just that – she asked for certain items to be pulled, and she got to see them up-close and personal.
The Princess of Wales has tried out the “Uber” service of the museum world, ordering items that she is personally interested in from the new V&A. The Princess, visiting V&A East Storehouse on Tuesday, requested five objects including a musical instrument, some William Morris fabric samples and “items relating to nature”.
The service, which is available to any visiting member of the public, allows people to view items that they would otherwise not have access to. The new museum, which was nicknamed the “nation’s Victorian attic” by one art critic, includes 250,000 objects, 350,000 books and 1,000 special archives, with displays designed to reduce barriers and glass cabinets. It puts items that would otherwise be in storage on public display.
The Princess called the concept of the storehouse a “fantastic idea”. Although the V&A website warns visitors that they may wish to wear flat shoes because of the metal grid flooring, the Princess made her way around successfully wearing heels.
She said: “What an opportunity for everyone to see these historic pieces in first person. It’s so eclectic. And all parts of the process of displaying and curating.”
The Princess was shown items including a small ballet slipper, an Alexander McQueen dress and the world’s largest Picasso work. The picture, which the Princess stood in front of, is a copy of the original 1922 painting Two Women Running on the Beach, created by another artist but which so impressed Picasso that he later signed it personally, making it authentic in the eyes of the art world.
William Morris fabric? That’s interesting. It’s basically asking to see vintage chintz. I chuckled at “items relating to nature.” That’s how you know Kate’s request list was curated by her staff – they were like “let’s ask to see anything related to the Early Years OR nature!”
Anyway, I have some additional details about Kate’s look. The Telegraph mentioned that Kate wore heels, even though this storehouse/museum recommends that women absolutely avoid wearing heels and even kitten heels. It’s something to do with “the metal grid flooring.” Kate also paired her repeat McQueen suit with her Laura Lombardi necklace and Carousel Jewels earrings. The necklace looks like something Kamala Harris would wear, but the earrings are very… 1980s clip-ons.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red,Backgrid.
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- MccLi0014289 ©Eddie Mulholland ROTA The Princess of Wales visiting the V&A East Storehouse, a brand-new cultural destination in east London,to highlight the importance of creative opportunity and celebrate the joy found in creative expression. Opened on 31 May, V&A East Storehouse reinvents the idea of a museum store and offers free,unprecedented public access to the V&A collections and archives. PIC : HRH with Oriole Cullen, Senior Fashion and Textiles Curator and Kate Parsons Director of Collections Care and Access with a 19th Century Riding Habit.,Image: 1009294907, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon
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- MccLi0014289 ©Eddie Mulholland ROTA The Princess of Wales visiting the V&A East Storehouse, a brand-new cultural destination in east London,to highlight the importance of creative opportunity and celebrate the joy found in creative expression. Opened on 31 May, V&A East Storehouse reinvents the idea of a museum store and offers free,unprecedented public access to the V&A collections and archives. PIC : HRH in The Cloth Working Centre.,Image: 1009294977, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon
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- MccLi0014289 ©Eddie Mulholland ROTA The Princess of Wales visiting the V&A East Storehouse, a brand-new cultural destination in east London,to highlight the importance of creative opportunity and celebrate the joy found in creative expression. Opened on 31 May, V&A East Storehouse reinvents the idea of a museum store and offers free,unprecedented public access to the V&A collections and archives. PIC : HRH in The Cloth Working Centre.,Image: 1009294993, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon
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- MccLi0014289 ©Eddie Mulholland ROTA The Princess of Wales visiting the V&A East Storehouse, a brand-new cultural destination in east London,to highlight the importance of creative opportunity and celebrate the joy found in creative expression. Opened on 31 May, V&A East Storehouse reinvents the idea of a museum store and offers free,unprecedented public access to the V&A collections and archives. PIC : HRH escorted by Tristram Hunt Director of The V&A.,Image: 1009295014, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon
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- MccLi0014289 ©Eddie Mulholland ROTA The Princess of Wales visiting the V&A East Storehouse, a brand-new cultural destination in east London,to highlight the importance of creative opportunity and celebrate the joy found in creative expression. Opened on 31 May, V&A East Storehouse reinvents the idea of a museum store and offers free,unprecedented public access to the V&A collections and archives.,Image: 1009295050, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon
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- MccLi0014289 ©Eddie Mulholland ROTA The Princess of Wales visiting the V&A East Storehouse, a brand-new cultural destination in east London,to highlight the importance of creative opportunity and celebrate the joy found in creative expression. Opened on 31 May, V&A East Storehouse reinvents the idea of a museum store and offers free,unprecedented public access to the V&A collections and archives. PIC : HRH escorted by Tristram Hunt Director of The V&A.,Image: 1009295097, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland/Avalon
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Catherine, The Princess of Wales, visits a brand new cultural destination in London. Pictured: Catherine – Princess of Wales – Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 10 JUNE 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Catherine, The Princess of Wales, visits a brand new cultural destination in London. Pictured: Catherine – Princess of Wales – Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 10 JUNE 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Catherine, The Princess of Wales, visits a brand new cultural destination in London. Pictured: Catherine – Princess of Wales – Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 10 JUNE 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – The Princess of Wales visits the V&A East Storehouse, a brand-new cultural destination to highlight the importance of creative opportunity and celebrate the joy found in creative expression in Stratford, London, UK. Pictured: Catherine, Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales BACKGRID USA 10 JUNE 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – The Princess of Wales visits the V&A East Storehouse, a brand-new cultural destination to highlight the importance of creative opportunity and celebrate the joy found in creative expression in Stratford, London, UK. Pictured: Catherine, Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales BACKGRID USA 10 JUNE 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
The hair wigs are weighing her down. Is she going to run through fields for summer
You would think the weight of those wiglets & falls would improve her posture by pulling her head back, but nope. The hunch lives on.
“and the world’s largest Picasso work”
Larger than Guernica?
At least Lazy is finally doing something related to her Mrs degree. Oops. I mean, that art history degree from St Andrew’s.
Based on a quick google, the original is significantly smaller than Guernica but maybe this copy is bigger?
The Spanish wouldn’t like this claim from the Brits. Guernica holds pride of place, and rightly so, in the Pantheon of Spanish artworks.
Just doing some fact checking with this boast by the V&A museum 😂
LOL I dont think people in Spain are following this story, but a quick google told me that Guernica is NOT picasso’s biggest painting so I think the reina sofia can rest easy lol.
I think this is a really cool service. I have worked in several museums and there is much more in the archives than what is on display.
I have always wanted to visit the V & A, but now I might he able to see the large porcelain sculpture that one of my ancestors made for the Great Exhibition of 1851.
How cool! And while you’re there one of the other five items you look at can be Kate’s demonic portrait! I’ve always wondered if she burned that out back behind the museum.
Oops, wrong museum!
Picasso had the nerve to sign someone else’s artwork? I shouldn’t be surprised.
Lots of stories abound re Picasso. Once he became famous, he’d sign other struggling artists’ paintings because he knew his signature would fetch a pretty mint in the marketplace. Not sure if he was the one who’d give a painting to a restaurant in lieu of paying a bill. Or maybe that was Dali.
Anyway, Picasso’s signature was so easily forged that his, with Chagall, abound in lots of fraudulent pieces.
Dali paid other people to paint pictures to which he would affix his signature. He did that later in life, though.
it was a copy of his original work, I think? so it sounds like from the story that he was so impressed with the copy that he signed his name so museums consider it authentic?
I’m happy to sneer at Kate, but not William Morris. The V&A has a vast textile collection and William Morris was the most influential British textile designer, not to mention poet and environmentalist. I’d be eager to see original Morris textiles, too.
same-his textiles are so beautiful.
1000% agree. And I would have William Morris style textiles used in my home if I were a Brit princess. I wonder if Rose has William Morris fabrics or designs at Houghton Hall.
@Truthiness: I believe she does. I think I saw that in an article about her, that she had a modern company replicate some William Morris wall paper that they had in the Hall.
I absolutely love the William Morris tchotchkes in the V&A museum shop—I still have placemats and a bag I got there 30 years ago.
Agreed. Likely to be hand woven, it’s amazing to see actually samples from the time. And the ideas behind William Morris’s work and design were really radical, and remain so from a political standpoint. Hardly “vintage chintz”.
Kate had 10 years to use that degree. Before peg proposed. She could have worked or volunteered at a museum. She was too busy with the Mrs degree. She also could have gotten a degree in early childhood psychology. I think she got crib notes for the trip and of course mentioned she loves nature
Perhaps that’s why Willy switched to a Geography degree, to get away from the likes of her! 😂
I remember reading at the time that interest in the Arts History course multiplied when Willy announced his enrolment. Half of the interest came from Americans. Hence Tom Hanks’s daughter was at St Andrew’s at the same time as Willy.
I don’t doubt that Americans flooded St. Andrews with stars in their eyes, which is a bit cringe. But this was also a period when Americans were figuring out that Canadian and European universities offered great educations at a fraction of the cost, even as a foreign student, of US private universities. I tried to get my kids to apply abroad—I even took them to tour McGill.
William was skipping class so much and worked so little in Art History that Charles got involved and he switched to geography to prevent from dropping out altogether.
This woman will never obey anyone. It is museum not a fashion runway. As a royal it is her duty to covey the message to the people. She must make people obey the recommendations.
Already the world knows she can walk in heels. It is not necessary to do such stunt. What she should understand is, not to make others walk in heels. It will not be comfortable to everyone. There are young girls who may opt to wear heel without knowing the risk. This woman has absolutely zero intelligence.
You would think that her history of having bunions already would have her move away from the insanely high heels.
Museums are all about walking, which makes heels a bad idea even without the metal grate. Unless you only go to see about five works of art, which apparently is all she saw.
But our Cath must always wear heels, she is always elegant yo see.Does not care about anything else.
I think you’ll find she always wears heels because it improves her proportions, significantly.
In flats, you’d see how she’s long-backed and shorter in the legs than we’re used to seeing.
Yeah, that was kind of messy. I wondered if the planning was so last minute and that’s why she didn’t get the memo to not wear heels. Bc if they told her and she did anyways, that’s an asshole choice. So it’s either ignorance in preparedness or being an asshole.
She’s been lying about her height for so long that I think the constant high heels are vanity at this point.
Remember the espedrilles on an Australian beach?
Even now, the internet estimates her height between 5’9″ and 5’11”. In reality, she looks to be around 5’6″ to 5’7″. Smoke and mirrors are the only things that have been propping her up for decades, and the growing weight of her inadequacies is now visibly taking a toll.
Exactly.
The towering espadrilles on that beach were beyond ridiculous.
The museum does seem cool and this feels like the kind of thing that Kate should be doing more of really. I’m generally in favor of her doing more bread and butter type stuff. As in more. Like she goes out and does a few visits a week and greets people etc. As opposed to early years and nature commercials. Will it be inspirational and world changing? No. But it’s that being seen part.
Agree. On one level this reads like “Kate wanted to get out of the house to see some Morris textiles.” But she’s also promoting a really cool opportunity that regular Brits should know about, and that’s a good thing.
Otherwise, grammar failed her when she said people could see the art “in first person,” which generally refers to verb conjugation, instead of the correct “in person.”
That did boggle me. I didn’t know if it was a British saying or what? The sentences were odd. It’s eclectic made sense as a full sentence though.
Maybe she meant she was the FIRST one to see this in person since the exhibition’s open.
She is keen after all and likes to be first in everything.
I do think she means see in person but doesn’t know ‘first person’ is different. She’s pretty clueless, as she proves every time she speaks (mumbles).
I read that and thought “don’t all museums let people see things in person?”
No idea what she meant by that. Definitely not a British saying. And it’s been open a week or so, she’s not the first person to visit.
She really is just going to wander around babbling about nature for the next 50 years. Nothing specific, just repeating the word nature, over and over again. My God, she is just so dull.
‘And all parts of the process of displaying and curating.”–this is hardly a complete sentence, either, and yet this is what they thought they should include as a quote.
The gabble of words that she spouts now and again are, I feel, because she’ has to concentrate on projecting the silly accent such that speaking sensibly is nye on impossible for her.
It did look like a great place to go and visit but it was a visit that interested her and it wasn’t a visit to help. I think the museum is fine without a visit from her. Again Can’t is doing only what she wants to do.
Fair enough. But either way, I still find it less grating than being told the early years are important.
I agree with you there!!
If this was the third or fourth visit in the week after a few bread and butter ones, this would come off different. But I agree this is basically her leaving the house to do what she feels like doing and nothing relating to duty.
I’m convinced that this nature kick of hers is due to Meghan and her garden and chicken coop. There is nothing “natural” about her interests.
@thatGirThere
You know, Meghan is receiving an award on Saturday, so obviously Kate has to show up in a new wig:)
As for the hen house and the garden, the “Meghan effect” is spreading more and more widely. Recently, the British tabloids are full of photos of David Beckham with chickens, in the garden, with a basket of vegetables, among pink roses… Literally Meghan with a beard… 🤣 The photos and the layout are like copies.. I have been observing for a long time that the Beckhams follow the Sussexes because HM’s spectacular success irritates them, because they want the same thing. Somehow no one has noticed how many photos and activities of Beckham appear that are copies of Sussexes.😃
That award ceremony has been postponed due to the protests happening here in L.A. I was really looking forward to see Meg’s fashion choice, and to hear her speak, but both sides felt it would be insensitive to go forward at this time.
Wow @KoRAR, if that’s a new wig, she needs to go back to the old ones.
I agree that it is Meghan-related as kkkate has no ideas of her own and is too lazy to cultivate them. I also think that her handlers have given up on the “first years” crap that she seems to have no interest in or aptitude for. So she needs a new thing to pretend to care about and lecture everyone else about and maybe they thought she couldn’t screw up being interested in nature.
this is fascinating. I didnt realize yesterday that this was open to the public like this. Would love to spend some time there.
I am however laughing at the idea of kate asking for things related to nature. of course she did.
I know. And what does that even mean? Landscapes, seascapes, still life, botanicals, paintings of animals. people frolicking in the woods?
I’m gonna go with “people frolicking in the woods.” So far that’s been her video motif. Add some people sitting under trees.
I’m trying to figure out what that red military style jacket has to do with ‘nature’. Or that little ballet slipper they said they showed her. Or did she also ask for Early Years related stuff & they came up with a child’s ballet slipper?
@jais – lol, tres “Dejourner sur l’herbe”
lol just minus the nudity for the demure non-twerking princess
Nature at the V&A?
Isnt she patron of the Natural History Museum where they have lots of nature for mrs Keen?
Also trust Kate not to stick to the dresscode & give a bad example
Yes, I have the same though she “confused” V&A, besides the arts displayed inside the Museum, which stage mainly used as performance center, with any Museum of Natural History. Of course the stored items from V&A are not focus on “nature”.
As for her suits, she was just repeating copying the other Duchess.
I didnt mean her suits I meant her heels. But as you mention she is copykeening again
Yes.
A friend of mine works for the NHM and has NOTHING good to say about Kate as patron. Neither does anyone else at NHM, allegedly. Ahem.
But yeah. Asking an arts museum for nature stuff when you are literally patron of a NATURAL history museum that you rarely visit is an own goal.
Was NHM where she made all guests waitbfor her at the opening of a new exhibition, turned up late using the kids as an excuse & was then out in 10 min or something?
There might be some big landscapes at the V&A. But you’d think someone with an art history degree would have enjoyed figuring out specific works in their collection and asking for those, not just “show me what you’ve got with nature.” It all sounds like this event was thrown together 24 hours before, or she’s too lazy to do even basic prep, or both.
This grown-ass woman really has never developed any sort of sense of self, has she? Any cause she takes on just becomes her entire identity for a while.
I hope her heels got stuck in the floor and she tripped.
*Groans* She’s going to be babbling poetic about nature for the next 15 years, isn’t she? I’m experiencing second hand embarrassment for this grown woman.
On a fashion note, she is once again reminding us why the items she wears never sell out. The fit is terrible, and no one wants to look like that. The angle shot from the side evokes beloved pyjama bottoms; worn out and losing elasticity rapidly, but longtime favourites and very hard to part with.
The substance makes you think her staff treats her like a child. I imagine they all talk to her this way, too. What sort of mental deterioration is this? What sort of life is this?
A trapped one she chose willingly and waited over a decade for.
Can’t help noticing how visible that scar on top of her left eye is. Funny that the British press totally ignores it.
I was wondering why she didn’t wear flats. Didn’t her staff tell her that she wasn’t supposed to wear heels? I’m not sure if the V&A has stolen items but I suspect the real idea behind this storehouse is to give other museums a justification for holding on to the stolen items they have in storage.
I actually felt like this would have been an opportunity to wear something other than a suit. A flowy skirt with flats. Something visually interesting to theme dress the idea of art. Or even just all black to serve as a sort of background to the art. And yes, flats. I wonder if they recommended that to her staff or it was a missed detail in the planning.
Anyone who’s ever been to a museum knows that high heels are a bad idea there.
She’d be so much more interesting if there were just actual interests. V&A must have some incredibly weird and quirky things you could ask to see and instead her personality is “relating to nature”
It’s so tedious.
Or her kids. 😄 Arleh yahs are so important, who knew.
Not items related to nature… items related to to “nay-chur”
I wonder if she needed a cue card for the “fantastic idea” remark.
Yep. And she had to check her cue card between “fantastic” and “idea”.
God, that wig!!! Something terrible. Carole must have put this construction together for her. Some people write here that they believe, but they don’t see this wig. They shouldn’t have these problems now. She has a lot of different wigs, this one has curls to her waist, so there must be a bit more of that hair there and the effect of a mound on her head is created. Her own hair is that narrow strip in the front put behind her ears, and the rest is a wig, the hair of which is much higher than her own, even though she also has strands of artificial hair under her own. In addition, the wig is a different color. It looks tacky. If Meghan doesn’t cut her hair for a long time, Kate will go bald from these wigs and extensions. Even on those last skiing, where someone took a surprise photo of them, it was obvious that Kate’s own hair is currently a thin, flimsy braid. She used to have better hair. I warn you right away not to blame it on chemistry, which she didn’t have. She destroyed them.
And that hunched figure with the head that is ahead of the feet..:(
The wigs have been easier to see for a while especially with the need to add blonde highlights to the wig part. Because the front part of her head doesn’t have any blonde highlights, and that’s not how natural hair works. And the bump on the back of the head is also noticeable in some of these pictures.
@Nic919
In these photos, this construction starts at the front. Actually, here she has a complete wig, only the “fringe” is left to camouflage it.
You’re right that wigs have been very visible for a long time, but people, strangely enough also women, said that they couldn’t see it:))
Well, she’s always worn artificial hair constructions. They were wiglets and artificial strands. Sometimes she had so much of it on her head that the hairstyle looked like it was cast in plaster:) No wonder it took over 4 hours to prepare this thing, as William reported furiously.
Her very first press release was to deny the use of hair extensions and claim she had a childhood scar, which has never been seen since.
So yes that hair has never been authentic from day one, but using wigs instead of just extensions seems to be more recent. We were definitely seeing wigs by 2023.
But what does Kate always have in her mouth? A Habanero pepper candy? Enough with that perpetually open mouth, she’ll end up dislocating her jaw-
I doubt it’s food!
“And all parts of the process of displaying and curating.”
Wut?
She cannot put together 2 coherent sentences.
They write 2 banal sentences for her and she can’t even learn them by heart (see the launching of the ship)
I do like that blue croc-effect belt though, not gonna lie.
I know I’m beating a dead horse here but it’s laughable how activities the rest of us would consider leisure or recreation are considered “work” by this woman.
Well this has slightly encouraged me to visit. Granted I knew about it and was already planning to visit, but this reminded me of it.
This article reminded me of a memorable experience some years ago when the Met (NYC) was starting renovation of its American Wing. Regularly displayed items had been pulled off the floor and housed in climate controlled cases in a very compact, very nondescript area not part of the normal viewing space. I had to double check that I was allowed back there (yes) because it was so quiet and at that time, deserted. I was enjoying the unusual privilege of an extremely up close and personal view of wonderful objects when I turned the corner and found myself face to face, literally, with the famous Madame X. Amazing day.
I was just trying to find some online reference to what I remember, and discovered that since then the Met developed a permanent space for display and study of items not currently part of the main floor exhibitions. It looks wonderful, like the V&A space. Definitely worth seeing in “the first person”.
What madame “items relating to nature” needs is something like the Grounds for Sculpture (NJ/USA) where scenes from various well know paintings have been interpreted as sculptures, in a park setting, and she can wander through the trees to her heart’s content. Ironically, @Eurydice, the first piece done for the park was a take on Dejeuner Sur L’Herbe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJOKhAzLUh0
Meh – she looks fine – the heels in the photo look low in comparison to her usual 5″ stiletto – the suit is ‘fine’ and it is an appropriate visit. Not sure the need to find fault with every detail — she isn’t earth shattering by any means, this is fine.
The heel thing was a safety issue specifically mentioned by the museum–some of the walkways are metal grates & getting a pointy heel stuck in that could break someone’s ankle. Kate chose to ignore that & got lucky.
In the 7th photo where Kate has her hands clasped in front of her ,she looks like Julia Roberts in Notting Hill telling Hugh Grant that she is just a girl , standing in front of a boy asking him to love her .