On September 18, the second and final day of Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK, Kate Middleton and Melania Trump shared a few secrets. The Princess of Wales and the First Lady of the United States met in the gardens of the Frogmore estate, near Windsor, for their first-ever joint outing. The two women accompanied young members of the Squirrels, a UK scouting group, for nature and craft activities. The watchword for this historic appearance? Casual, as evidenced by the outfits chosen by Kate and Melania: suede jackets, light-colored pants or long brown flared skirts. Their outdoor looks were far removed from the formal gowns of the state banquet held the day before with great ceremony. They were seen chatting with little interlocutors, aged four to six, and even got their hands dirty by helping them to draw pictures and observe garden insects.
During the afternoon, Prince William’s wife revealed the surprisingly seasonal new passion of her youngest son, Prince Louis, aged seven: chestnuts. Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s little brother doesn’t seem to appreciate the nuts for their gustatory qualities, but rather for collecting. “We keep finding conkers in cupboards, in his bed—conkers everywhere!” his mother explained, using the British term for brown horse chestnuts. Kate added that Louis also puts the chestnuts in his miniature trucks to play with. In March, Kate and William revealed Louis’s sporting hobby at a meeting with former rugby players who had to give up their careers due to severe injuries: “Louis is six and he’s just started touch rugby, and George is 11 and he plays a bit more,” she said. “They do really enjoy it.” Prince William added. “At weekends we go from one competition to the next.”
We also know that the youngest prince loves toasted marshmallows, which he enjoyed on his first official engagement with his family in May 2023. He also loves friendship bracelets, popularized by Taylor Swift, which he likes to steal from his sister Charlotte, a big fan of the singer. As for rhythm, his musical awakening seems to be going wonderfully well, if we are to believe his father’s recent declarations: “My youngest is learning the drums, which is why I spend most of my time with my fingers in my ears,” William humorously confided to Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, during a meeting last November.
Originally published in Vanity Fair France.
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