Princess Kate refused to wear gardening gloves while planting a rose bush last week

A week ago, we were surprised when the Princess of Wales made an unannounced visit to Colchester Hospital, where she mumbled a statement about how she’s “not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.” She also visited the hospital garden and planted a “Catherine’s Rose” bush. I didn’t realize it at the time, but Kate did the gardening without gardening gloves. The hospital staff apparently offered her gloves, but she wanted to “get her hands dirty.”

After speaking to patients and staff, Kate was invited to plant some ‘Catherine’s Rose’ plants in the hospital’s wellbeing garden, but surprised onlookers when she refused to wear gloves.

In this week’s episode of A Right Royal Podcast, Sky News royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills, who attended the event, shares why Kate chose to go without gloves.

“She was offered gloves when she was bending down to plant some of those Catherine roses, which were especially commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society,” Rhiannon explains. “She didn’t want gloves. She had filthy hands. My cameraman, who was there, kind of zoomed in on her filthy hands. He was like, ‘Oh, is that appropriate or not?’ And I was like, ‘yes, it’s her getting her hands dirty’.”

She added: “So while the palace keeps saying, ‘We’re going to have to all get used to that flexibility in terms of engagements she’s doing’, I think, when she’s there… they are fully in.”

Not only did Kate get her hands dirty, and her hair wet, while planting, she also took part in a mini meet and greet that hadn’t been scheduled, staying longer than planned to chat with well-wishers.

[From Hello]

Like many royal-watchers, I really go back and forth on what Kate is physically capable of these days and whether the palace would be better served by keeping a consistent narrative about what Kate is up to. We’re supposed to be like “good for her, getting her hands dirty and staying longer than people expected!” And then next week, we’ll be told that it’s practically a war crime to expect Kate to do one iota of work again before November, and that she’s desperate to have a five-month summer vacation. Add to all of that, I’ve always been astounded by how careless Kate is with Big Blue, which she was wearing at last week’s event. It’s one of the most famous rings in the world, and Kate was plowing sapphire-first into a dirt patch.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.