The British royal family has kept busy while at home during coronavirus lockdown in the United Kingdom, with many a Zoom call and virtual work event. Now, the royals are getting back to public engagements post-isolation, as Prince Charles, Camilla Parker-Bowles, Princess Anne and Prince William all made recently their first appearances post-isolation. This week, Kate Middleton also emerged for her first in-person engagement.
Non-essential businesses are beginning to reopen in the U.K., and the Duchess of Cambridge visited the Fakenham Garden Center in Norfolk yesterday, where she chatted with the owners, Martin and Jennie Turner, and the staff about how they’ve been impacted by the coronavirus, and the changes they’ve implemented to reopen so that customers can safely come shop at the store.
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The independent family-run business, which has been closed for the past seven weeks, is just around 20 minutes away from Anmer Hall, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been living with their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Kate spoke about how much her kids love visiting garden centers, and how it’s “such a great space for children and families.”
It was a perfectly fitting engagement for the Duchess of Cambridge, as she has long been a proponent of spending time outdoors, and is a very enthusiastic gardener. Last year, Kate designed a special garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, and she’s been continuing to garden with her children during isolation. She told the staff at Fakenham that they’ve all been growing tomato plants at home amid lockdown, and that George, Charlotte and Louis were excited to grow them from seeds, and now they are “as tall as them.”
Kate, whose last public outing was on March 19, admitted that she and her family haven’t been out much aside from food shopping, but now that lockdown is starting to lift, encouraged people to begin stepping out a bit more. “It’s good and so important, now as things start to ease, people know they can go out and particularly to places like this,” she explained.
The Duke of Cambridge also showed his support for local business in Nofolk this week, as he visited a family-run bakery in King’s Lynn, Smiths the Bakers. Smiths the Bakers actually has a Royal Warrant, and supplies Sandringham Estate with baked goods. Prince William was presented with a special cake in advance of his upcoming 38th birthday on June 21, and he also made sure to pick up a few treats for his children. Surely there will be another cake for his big day on Sunday, though—Kate has spoken about how it’s become a family tradition that she bakes a cake from scratch for everyone’s birthdays.