Here are more photos from Tuesday’s palace reception marking the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday. While the Prince and Princess of Wales totally skipped the earlier memorial service at the British Museum, they turned up for this palace reception. Kate wore a lilac Emilia Wickstead dress and QEII’s three-strand pearl necklace, as well as the same Bahrain pearl-and-diamond earrings she always gets to borrow. Sidenote: I think Kate always gets those earrings because Camilla hordes the bigger, more impressive pieces. The left-behinds also posed for a “working royal” portrait, which is just as unseasoned and dusty as can be. It’s perfect.
Anyway, in many of the photos, you can see that Kate once again plopped a hairpiece onto the back of her head. I’m constantly aghast that her hair stylists let her wander around like that. She’s also rocking yet another finger band-aid, which was a really common occurrence back in 2023, before the “Kate Missington” saga. I’m actually getting 2023 vibes across the board with Kate, which is concerning. Meanwhile, Kate also mumbled some words at the palace reception:
Kate Middleton offered an honest comment about what she finds tricky about some royal situations at a Buckingham Palace reception commemorating Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday.
The Princess of Wales, 44, shared her take at the palace party on April 21 while speaking to a small group of women.
“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!’ ” Princess Kate said in fan footage shared to X, as the rest of the reception buzzed in the background.
The Princess of Wales took on a working royal role after she married Prince William in 2011 and previously revealed that a childhood nickname of hers was Squeak.
She does have a soft voice, and she’s never learned how to speak up or project her voice, even for her rare public speeches. She’s never going to learn how to do it either – she’s 44, and she’s been in this public role for 15 years. She’s just not going to do it. This is her brand: soft-spoken mumbling, gawping, jazz hands. She’s also trying to add “hugger” to her brand again – she goes through phases where she forgets to hug people, but something happened recently (the Sussexes’ Australian tour) which reminded Kate that she too is tactile and a hugger. She tried to awkwardly hug an older guy and he had no idea where to put his hands so he ended up briefly resting his hands on her waist and then her hips. She deftly moved his hands away.
The Princess of Wales hugging George Cross hero Tony Gledhill, 88, today.
He looked emotional as he shared a moment with Catherine,
explaining afterwards that his wife had recently died – and she had told him he must attend the palace event before she died. pic.twitter.com/m4cQmJ87iR— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) April 21, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
-
- (left-right) the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093346300, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt/Avalon
-
- The Prince of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace, London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093346365, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
-
- The Princess of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093346640, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt/Avalon
-
- The Princess of Wales speaks to 100 year-old John Jervois during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093347168, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jordan Pettitt/Avalon
-
- The Prince and Princess of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace, London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093347285, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
-
- The Prince and Princess of Wales during a reception at Buckingham Palace, London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Picture date: Tuesday April 21, 2026.,Image: 1093347597, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
-
- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: The Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: The Prince and Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: The Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: The Princess of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: (Left to right) The Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, the Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
The hug was very awkward. I remember the derangers attempting to defend Kate for her aloofness towards Meghan when they first met by saying that it was impolite to hug strangers. Now after seeing what happened in Australia last week, Kate is back to hugging people. No doubt Kate knew that the cameras were there and went in for hug instead of just holding the man’s hands.
Kate has been a public figure for over twenty years. She has been the Princess of Wales since September 2022. She attended university. She has been attending royal engagements since before her wedding in 2011. She has had access to elocution lessons, presentation coaches, communications advisors and every possible form of preparation that the institutional infrastructure of the British monarchy can provide.
And she is still finding these environments really hard.
Let me introduce Diana Spencer into this conversation because the comparison is instructive and one commenter raised it rightly.
Diana was nineteen when her relationship with Charles became public. She was twenty when she became engaged. She was twenty when she did her first official royal engagements under a level of press scrutiny that makes anything Kate has faced look modest. She was naturally shy. She had a soft voice. She had no institutional preparation, no communications team, no elocution coaching in the early years and no roadmap for what she was being asked to do.
And she became one of the most effective communicators in the history of the modern monarchy.
Diana had many strengths and was an effective communicator through fashion, but I don’t think of her as being an inspiring and memorable public speaker. I tend to think of her as being soft spoken as well but it worked out in her favour that people liked how she presented herself on a personal level. I definitely can’t remember anything she said in her speeches like I can with Obama or JFK.
I forgot to add – I think Diana is iconic partly because of how her story unfolded (her husband cheated on her and she wanted to save her marriage) and many women related to her in that level, but I think it’s the strangeness of the archetypal situation she was in that communicated something to the public for her rather than her actually communicating extremely well.
Diana took elocution lessons. We know because her teacher published her recorded speech lessons and they were made into one of the most humanizing documentaries about her (even though it’s sketchy that her private words and lessons were published without her being able to give consent). No one expected much from her because she was so young and uneducated, but she took specific steps to improve herself to better fit her role–and perhaps she was even thinking ahead to a likely separation and needed to up her game. She never gave an “occasion speech” like Obama or JFK or Mandela, but when she did speak in the 1990s, she spoke with gravitas. Kate has been infantilized since the day she was married. She has made zero progress in 15 years on the job, and is content to be seen as a whisper-voiced trad wife. It would be embarrassing if she were actually held to any real scrutiny. She has willingly made herself into KateBot. Or worse, she has allowed herself to be molded into KateBot. She’s the epitome of the right wing fascist image of the perfect woman. Seen and not heard.
Yes, I know she took elocution lessons. That still doesn’t make me think she’s one of the best communicators at public speaking who learned to speak with. A nice-sounding voice and that still doesn’t mean I’d ever want to listen to her for more than 45 seconds. There may have been some gravitas there she strived for, but to be honest I don’t think she has a voice I’d want to listen to, despite the practice she put in. I usually fast forward when I see one of her speeches in YouTube. That said, I still like her as an icon with an interesting life story and I would never dispute her beauty and fashion sense.
Who tells her to speak up? Hmm… I know she’s awful but I feel sorry for her because she doesn’t look well and it seems to me that she’s not treated well, to put it very mildly.
My thing is that if u know you’re not good with speaking loudly/projecting, then practice. There’s no excuse.
She has every resource available to her. A soft voice is not an excuse for a lack of work ethic. The more you practice something, the better you get at it.
Did she push that man back or did he take a huge step back? Honestly he looked pretty uncomfortable about the whole thing himself. It feels like he may be the type who doesn’t expect the hugs from royals or maybe people he doesn’t know.
This is what happens when you try to just copy and paste behavior from other people on to yourself, the context behind it doesn’t translate. You can’t just go around hugging people because someone that you’re trying to imitate hugs people.
You have to read body language, and this guy definitely seems more like the gripped shoulder/pat on the shoulder type. But I suppose it doesn’t really matter because he was just a piece in the performance equation, what he really needed didn’t matter.
Wow, you nailed it. He was just a piece in the performance equation.
She finds these types of receptions hard? What about her job does she find easy or does she enjoy? She’s not good at talking in small groups, she’s not good at public speaking, she’s not good at big projects, she’s not good at bread and butter events, etc. I feel like it takes effort to not be good at ANY aspect of your job when your job is what hers is. QEII was fairly soft spoken when I heard her speak in those reception type of environments. Harry isn’t especially loud.
Did it feel like some shade there from People reminding us she’s been a working royal for over 15 years?
The earring thing is weird bc Camilla doesn’t have pierced ears. So anything she wears has to be fitted as clip ons and I am assuming she cant do that with every pair of earrings in the royal collection. So she really is just hoarding the jewelry, lol.
finally I admit I found this reception a little weird. They had a birthday cake for the late queen and everything. It just strikes me as a little morbid, a little too much of “trying to steal the old queen’s popularity.”
You know now that you mention it, she is frequently described as being” really quite shy”. Given her known behavior I don’t know how much I believe that, but I definitely believe she’s shy about doing the things that would encompass her job.
Which again is just basic social interaction on a lot of levels. She’s not a diplomat so people aren’t expecting her to actually negotiate treaties or close deals. She basically has to attend happy hour or a networking event as her role. I’m an introvert my social battery gets low that would be annoying to me, but I also didn’t marry the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom.
So you have to wonder what exactly did she expect to be doing? Because they’re allowing her and William to be lazy, she didn’t come in with the expectation that they would be as lazy as they are in 2026.
As for the birthday party, I know it’s not odd to celebrate a major birthday even if that person is gone, but everything they do feels like don’t forget we’re related to her.
Right, my social battery would be running pretty low after an event like that lol but like you said, I didn’t marry the heir to the throne.
I do think part of her issue is that she lacks intellectual curiosity or any sense of caring about other people. So its hard to make small talk when you just don’t care what the other person is saying.
And you ask a good question – what did she expect her job to be?? I know, as Lamb Chop pointed out below, she didnt want the “work” aspects of this role – but she knew there were expectations. Was she promised even then that she wouldn’t have to fulfill them?
Years ago around the time of the wedding, one of her counsins was interviewed and said that Kate doesn’t think of much beyond what affects her directly. Even if that would have seemed like a sour assessment, it has proven to be very accurate.
As for Kate speaking softly… that’s bs. Her fake accent and veneers affect her speech, but trying to push this whole shy image is just to excuse her laziness. And probably she does feel more awkward when William is next to her with a Bloody Mary in hand during the day. But that’s not a shyness issue, but a bad marriage issue.
Every English girl knew what Diana was expected to do and it was covered daily. For Kate to act like interacting with people would not be a part of the expectations is just the media lowering expectations once again.
I know its redundant because-sarcasm- but to say it out loud, she doesn’t want the job or do the job. Let’s spell it out. She wants money, jewels but mostly Kate wants power over everyone else – it’s the only way she’ll get any. Do nothing, waited on hand and foot, turn upto one or two events a month which are roughly 30 mins. Have 3 ski holidays. 4 or 5 beach holidays. And an entire media ecosystem saying you’re a perfect princess.
I mean, its good work if you can get it (the other things you mentioned, not the actual job, lol.) Because you’re right, she doesn’t want the job, she doesn’t want the work aspects of her role. And maybe that’s why she’s a good fit for William because he’s in it for the money and power as well and doesnt care about the work. Would she be less lazy if he were less lazy? or vice versa? or is their laziness and entitlement one of the things that unites them?
What a contrast to Harry last week talking about how he didn’t want this job either but then decided if he had this position he was going to make the most of it and do what he could with it. Meanwhile William is all “so I’m just going to go skiing again, see you in a month.”
They’ve obviously just come back from Mustique with those deep tans. No one’s saying you can’t have a holiday, but holiday and ‘school run’ and looking after those poor little tiny tiny children… we all know, the sycophantic media- it’s idiotic. She’s clearly utterly unable to function as a grown up, but they’re never going to admit that about Princess perfect. She really does enjoy the power. That seems the only power she has in her life,her title because of willy.
Lol, I was just asking myself that. Everything is SO hard. And that led me to asking – who is this woman? I mean we know a lot about her, but at the same time we know very little. She likes buttons….
I think she’s saying that she’s just a girl. So please, lower your expectations of her but don’t forget to bow or curtsey to her.
This is it. William and Kate want to do very little, but they still want all the perks and especially the deference.
She’s too lazy to get speech lessons where she would learn to project her voice
She gives the festive glances to scooter who looks unenthusiastic
LOL….and is that a Bloody Mary or a Caesar in his hand??
She acquired a fake posh accent she could have also taken public speaking lessons. This is the life she chose.
Hope the bandages arent a sign of worse things.
Diana was also quite shy and found the public engagements overwhelming at first, but she learned. She took speech lessons and found her passion in working with certain charities. Kate’s been doing this job for 15 years. Can anyone name anything she’s passionate about besides men’s tennis or photography? I don’t think she’s even that passionate about her pet project, the Early Years.
I think the fake posh accent is an indication that a lot of Kate’s (and Carole’s) bandwidth and energy is taken up by navigating and sucking up to the aristo and royal set and William’s circle specifically. His private circle is probably hopeless, I don’t she has ever been welcome by any of them. Neither is she in on his KP team, Jason, and other advisors and hangers on. Neither is she ever in wih his family BTS, I believe. So she needs to constantly work for approval, avoiding missteps, scolding, scapegoating etc.
She’s just angling for pity. Seriously? No one is asking her to make barn-burning speeches. No one is asking her to declaim Shakespeare from memory. No one is suggesting she field questions in Parliament from a hostile opposition. She’s being asked to make polite small talk, introductions, and pleasant lighthearted conversation with people who are prepared to fawn over her, for no particular reason. She doesn’t have to win them over. They’re a home crowd, they’re already cheering before she walks in the door. Seriously? Little Miss Snowflake just never wanted to have to grow up and get to grips with the most utterly inane aspects of her own job. Can you imagine her outside the bubble in which all of her needs are anticipated and eagerly met? In real life, it would take not millions, but billions, to replicate their lifestyle. I know this might come as a shock to Kate, but most men (and most of the world’s billionaires are still men) who work their way to billionaire status — or even inherit wealth on that scale, but assume responsibility to manage it — are not remotely interested in being partnered with women who are all but useless socially. It’s really not enough to be discrete and decorous and occasionally fragrant. That won’t cut it. William must be kicking himself daily.
Jackie Kennedy was expert at small talk and hostessing and has excellent speech. She has mastered this before her marriage to JFK and Jackie also had a career before marriage. Keen did nothing in all the years she has to wait. No self improvement efforts.
For a modern example, Queen Mary of Denmark..she doesn’t seem especially outgoing, but she worked hard, did what was needed, even learned Danish for crying out loud-Kate hasn’t mastered English. She’s a total failure who gets propped up regardless.
I don’t see anyone else holding a drink. Just Billy with his Bloody Mary. Unless it’s something like guava juice or V8, but both of those don’t seem like him, also why carry your breakfast into an afternoon reception?
I can’t get over this. He’s carrying around tomato juice. He’s gotta know that people will just assume it’s a Bloody Mary.
It probably IS a bloody mary. Or at least vodka in the tomato juice. It’s super weird that he seems to be the only one holding a drink.
Oh I believe it’s a Bloody Mary but technically he can say tomato juice if asked. Does he just not even care at this point?
Wow, I didn’t even notice that. That’s really weird, why is he the only person in multiple shots with a drink? Are they even serving drinks or did he bring his with him?
Also, I feel like this is the type of thing where their vaunted over compensation with protocol would be appropriate. How are you at a social event and you’re the only person drinking anything or eating anything?
I did see someone holding a cup in one of the background photos so there were some types of drinks or refreshment maybe? Didn’t look like “tomato juice” though. But no the majority of people there are not carrying around a drink. And def not any of the other working royals.
I mean, soft voice or not, she’s being told to speak up because she’s in a crowded room full of people over 70. None of them can hear.
The Wales hate doing anything that requires thinking or going unscripted.
this is to @blujfly, that cracked me up. LOL. Yes, indeed, she’s in a room full of people who may be a bit hard of hearing. But on a more serious note, the people for whom this is “hard” are presumably the people who managed to get to the venue on public transport, whilst coping with crutches and hearing aids. I mean. GMAFB. If Meghan had complained about a reception for older Britons being heavy sledding, everyone would have ritually gathered to throw stones in her general direction. JFC.
I think the Waleses and their staff have seen the numerous references to her being referred to as “Mumbles” and I wouldn’t put it past William to have taken up calling her that, hence this defensive comment from Kate.
I wonder how this even came up. Bc there’s curiously not much context given. Did someone ask her what she thinks about palace events or did she just randomly offer up that she’s always being asked to speak up but oh no her voice is always too soft. And yes, they are in a room full of people over 70. At the end of the day, being asked to speak up a little in a conversation isn’t the worst thing in the world. She’ll be okay.
I too have a soft voice, covid was a nightmare (trying to talk through a mask!), no one could hear me, so I can understand that. However, I’m didn’t marry into a position that I KNEW would be one of public service that included a great deal of public interaction/speaking. If she can afford hundreds of coat dresses, then she can (or could have) afforded someone to help her with her public speaking abilities. It’s not that deep, she just doesn’t want to do it.
Anyone can learn to be a better public speaker. Anyone. As a retired teacher I’ve seen many students with varying abilities and all kinds of disadvantage deliver great speeches with enough practice.
I think she is just lazy.
That group photo: nursing home’s night out to the theater.
Kate: she looks so unwell. The thinnes, the gaunt face, the injured finger again is weird. Her hair is unacceptable in a public facing job.
Listen, whether I’m here or not, if the collection of people who want to gather and celebrate my 100th birthday is as dull and depressing and boring as this group, it’s A-OK with me to skip the whole thing.
Correction 🙂 : Actually, we’ve heard Kate’s REAL voice, and it is not soft at all. Not by a long stretch. The fake, posh, breathy voice she uses to draw comparisons to Diana is softer, but every so often she slips up and the hard edge comes through. If she had a naturally soft voice there would be no need for her to be hissing at her children through clenched teeth as we’ve seen her do on so many occasions. They keep lying about things which can easily be disproved.
The hug was awkward as F, as were the claw grabs and groping of a couple of other attendees. They and their PR people have clearly been studying videos of H+M again, especially from their recent trip to Australia, and instructed them to copy the actions again. It’s not natural. That’s why it looks so forced, and hence awkward. I cringed at the images. #shudder
The cameras were able to pick up her saying “what else” in a room full of kids after all.
This 👆
BTW that video is gone. If anyone can find it please post.
I seem to recall hearing her clearly when she was egging William on with that photographer.
She doesn’t speak softly. She just can’t enunciate properly with the fake accent and veneers.
Her other problem is she has no presence. She’s literally just there. I have a coworker who is very soft spoken, but she has this presence about her that makes people lean in and want to hear what she is saying. Kate doesn’t have that, and it can’t be taught. So she needs to talk louder.
But let’s be realistic. We point out how little both of them are actually doing, the ROI is deep in the negative, but there is no one to make them do their version of work. There are no privileges that would be taken away, instead they get raises and more vacations. As an American I can’t speak that knowledgably about the process, but I think it would take real effort to get rid of them or change the structure to tie their work to reimbursement and I don’t think, with everything else going on, that the British people have the energy so they lapse into apathy toward the royals.
‘Look at me, I’m so delikate with my soft spoken voice’ – Kate Middleton probably
Kate does this thing with her lower jaw when she’s doing something she doesn’t want to do, she sticks it out at a certain angle. She looks like she doesn’t want to be there. And ‘having’ to hug just because Meghan hugs must really be getting her goat?
But I just don’t understand how she got through university without having to stand up in front of the class and present a project? We did it when I was at university. It was scary but it taught us how to project your voice so you are heard at the back of the room.
The 3 strand necklace Kate is wearing looks like a 24 inch length, an opera length, whereas QE2’s favourite pearl necklace looks shorter, probably a 20 inch length, a matinee length. But then I probably shouldn’t expect the British media to research necklace lengths? And Kate’s pearls aren’t the same quality as the Queen’s pearls either, good pearls have a luster.
Can’t just wants her share of public sympathy.
Meghan spoke openly on the Australia trip about being trolled and bullied. The response was empathetic, and grateful that she uses that to uplift others, especially young people.
Can’t just had to come up with something to get on that gravy train of love, but as usual she won’t tell the truth and doesn’t have anything real to contribute.
I’m having a hard time standing in rooms full of people who defer to me! I’m constantly told to speak up, it’s such a burden!!
Good grief she’s tiresome.