When royals speak out at engagements, members of the public they are meeting are usually keen to listen without any interruptions.
But when the Princess of Wales visited a children’s centre on an important engagement last year, she was distracted from her conversation – and it was all down to a baby who interrupted the princess in a most unexpected way. Kate had been visiting Riversley Park Children’s Centre in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, where she met health visitors as well as parents with their young babies. At one point, she sat and chatted with a group of women, who were all bouncing little ones on their laps – including Mischa Kerr, 36, and her then nine-month-old Talia Saliba-Kerr – who spent the entire session holding Kate’s right hand.
But as she chatted, another infant in the room, then 10-week-old Raphael Pickering dared interrupt the conversation – by letting out a huge surprise burp. It came as he was being winded by red-faced mum Brogan Goodwin, with Kate immediately turning around to check out the noise as she and the other women chuckled. And in an instant, she told the youngster: “Well done you!”
Afterwards, she added: “It’s always really reassuring, you spend ages trying to make that happen.” The mum said afterwards: “I thought he was going to be sick, I thought ‘please don’t vomit on the princess’, but luckily it was only a burp. I’m going to wait till his 18th birthday to tell him.”
While mum-of-four Mischa also said after her daughter held Kate’s hand: “I’m sure someone recorded it (hand holding) and will show it to me but her brothers will be jealous. It’s great that she came down as it’s important that everyone learns what resources are available and the incredible work the health visitors are doing.”
Kate is currently taking a break from royal duties as he continues her recovery from abdominal surgery, which took place at the start of the year. Details of the princess’s condition have not been disclosed but Kensington Palace previously said it was not cancer-related and that Kate wished her personal medical information to remain private.
The 42-year-old future queen was last pictured in public during a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, Norfolk. Kate is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter, and William, 41, temporarily stepped back from his royal role to juggle caring for her and their children as she recovered.
Kensington Palace was left reeling this week after the princess admitted editing a picture taken by William of Kate and their three children, released on Mother’s Day, which was criticised for being ‘manipulated’ and subsequently deleted from the libraries of the world’s leading photographic agencies.
