The Princess of Wales has revealed she loves washing up, and that Prince William handles the drying as part of their family routine. Kate shared the admission during a visit to a lunch club for elderly people in West Sussex, where she also spoke about getting their children involved in household chores.
Visit to mark minibus anniversary
Kate travelled to the village of Pulborough to mark the 50th anniversary of the West Sussex Minibus, a volunteer-run service that transports elderly residents across the local area. The future queen helped pick up 94-year-old Stella Drewett, surprising her outside her home before they joined others on the bus.
As Kate helped her up the steps, she told the pensioner she was coming to the lunch club "because I want to see what it’s all about". Taking a seat next to her, the Princess joked about always forgetting her things, saying: "Everyone always runs after me [shouting] ‘you forgot your handbag.'" Encouraging her to put on her seatbelt, she added: "I have to remind my children to put their seatbelts on too."
Lunch club conversation
The group arrived at Pulborough Village Hall, where a weekly lunch club provides a welcoming space for people to come together for activities and conversation. To the surprise of guests, the future queen sat down to chat with each table, munching on crisps, and candidly shared: "I love washing up [doing the dishes]. I really do," as a guest joked, "Oh good, a volunteer!"
Asked whether William offers a helping hand, Kate said: "He does the drying. We are a good double act. And we get the children involved." Sarah Broadhurst, 87, stopped by to thank the Princess for coming to Pulborough, and Kate held her hands as they chatted. "I think it’s amazing she has come to our little place. It can be isolating so it's lovely to have a royal visit," she said.
Royal washing-up tradition
Kate is not the only royal who gets stuck into the washing up. The late Queen Elizabeth also used to partake in the chore, donning a pair of yellow dish gloves. In his biography Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, Gyles Brandreth revealed the Queen’s habit, with former Prime Minister David Cameron recalling the moment he tried to help with the dirty dishes during one of his trips to Balmoral.
David Cameron told Gyles: "I'm not making this up, you sat down and Prince Philip and Her Majesty The Queen served your dinner and cleared it away and washed it up while you sat talking with the other guests. I remember thinking it was sort of year five, I thought: ‘Well, I now surely can help’ and got up and got on the Marigolds and started doing the washing-up. And I remember Her Majesty saying: ‘What on earth is the Prime Minister doing?’ I'd broken with the protocol and rapidly sat back down and did what I was told."
