One of my favorite 30 Rock jokes was when Jenna Maroney was trying to get attention for cutting her hair and donating it to charity, but her hair was too damaged to make wigs for cancer patients so she announced that she would donate her hair to Merkins of Hope. Such a good joke! I bring this up because the Princess of Wales has always been known for her hair and her hairpieces, and people are thinking about her hair these days because she’s undergoing preventative chemotherapy. Will Kate lose her hair? Will she have to wear wigs for the next year or so? I don’t know. But People Magazine wanted to remind people of the time that Kate apparently donated her hair to a charity which creates wigs for young cancer patients.
Kate Middleton once donated some of her locks to a charity that creates wigs for young people experiencing hair loss due to cancer treatment or other conditions years before she announced her cancer diagnosis.
The Princess of Wales’ bouncy brown hair has long been a hallmark of her style, and the royal quietly donated seven inches of her tresses to the U.K. charity The Little Princess Trust in 2017. Six years ago, the Sunday Express reported that Kate, 42, had seven inches of her hair cut during an appointment at Kensington Palace and suggested to her stylist that they make good use of the locks being chopped.
Her hair was anonymously sent to the Little Princess Trust, which provides hair wigs free of charge to children and young people up to age 24 who have lost their hair during cancer treatment or experienced hair loss caused by other conditions. Kate debuted a shorter ‘do in July 2017, hinting at when the secret good deed may have happened.
“It’s lovely to think that somebody, somewhere — probably more than one person — has received a wig containing Princess Kate’s hair,” Helen Creese, a spokesperson for the charity, told PEOPLE at the time. “It’s a really lovely thought and it’s fantastic for raising awareness, plus it’s gorgeous hair — we all lust after that hair!”
First of all, “her hair was anonymously sent” and yet it was widely reported at the time. I mean, good for her and it’s great to donate your hair, especially after a really significant cut. But she wanted credit for it! Also, Kate’s hair was always dyed and processed and I do wonder if a wig charity would even accept it. Anyway, this story made me go back and look at some 2017 photos of Kate – she did a big trim early that year, and then she spent much of the year growing it back. Her hair was super-dark back then too – she’s been lightening it a lot in recent years. Of course, I keep thinking back to how many wigs and hairpieces she’s worn in the past year, and it makes me wonder if her hair loss is something that’s been happening for a while.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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I thought 10 inches was the minimum hair donation for wig charities?
That was my first thought.
It was when I looked into it, but they will make up anything prop her up it is beyond nauseating at this point.
True bit at this point I honestly believe that those kind of articles are mockery or digging on her. Because most people who wanted a good PR for het wouldnt mention the inch. Therefore they dud it só everyone with brains would realize how ridiculous it is
In canada it’s at least 8inches. That’s how much I donated. But they’re very strict that you can only donate natural, untreated hair.
In the heads together photo you can see that she colours her hair. So the charity couldn’t do anything with it anyway.
Well that’s a great charity to donate to. I still give her no cookies. She needs to give a lot more than some hair but it’s a start.
The hair would have been rejected by charities if it wasn’t coming from her because she has coloured her hair for years. And the donation is less than the required minimum. But sure let’s praise her for something that is useless for the charity from 7 years ago.
Per the Little Princess Trust website, they prefer donations of at least 12 inches, but do accept 7-11 inches; seven is their absolute minimum.
They do ask for natiral color hair though.
Their hair donation guide states that they will accept permanently dyed hair as long as it is dyed a “natural” color. And 7″ is their minimum donation, but they highly encourage people to grow their hair long enough to donate at least 12″ as it is more useful to them. So she did the minimum she could do and still say she donated.
Her kindness is always limited to words, hanger-style smiles, listening, learning and creating her own path of nothing. That hair was tossed out. So cheap.
As someone who actually tried to do this, I can say (at least in the US) they won’t accept less than 12 inches of hair and it can’t have any color on it.
Same thing in the Netherlands. At least 30 cm/ about 12 inches or more, not in smaller layers, and not damaged. I don’t remember anything about colored hair, because my daughter didn’t have that.
I donated 10 inches during the pandemic and I have highlights. Each group has its own guidelines regarding minimums. Even when they can’t use your hair directly, they say they can use it in trade for other uses.
Teddy, very same experience for me. My treated hair was welcomed by the charity; that because it was natural colour and good condition they’d for sure use it in their wig making.
Would be sad if someone didn’t donate hair they were going to cut, because they assumed nobody wanted well maintained but treated hair. Anyone in that position – give it a go, have a Google. Was easy for me but I well understand experience will differ by location.
I can’t with how they lie about things that can easily be fact checked. This is either total BS, or her people floated this as something that would be good PR, and she was so lazy and bored that she couldn’t do the bare minimum of Googling. I can believe she thinks her hair was donated, that’s it.
I think it’s total BS because you KNOW Kate would have wanted this known at the time of this alleged donation. It’s just too convenient now.
My daughter donated hair years ago. The minimum length had to be 30 cm which is about 12 inches though. At the time, one of the kids in an activity she did had been diagnosed and did a presentation on how kids could help. My daughter also did a presentation and got kids in her class to donate as well.
Female baldness (alopecia) is another reason for wigs, btw.
Your daughter deserves kudos, not Kate. She sounds like a very cool kid, with a loving and supportive mom!
She looked better and younger with the short hair. It was a big deal back then because she debuted the hairstyle a few days before announcing her third pregnancy. We know why she’s growing back her hair since 2019-20 because She who must not be named.
Yeah, that haircut and the extra 10 pounds postpartum really worked for her. Once the Big Bad M came on the scene tho and the salty ones realized she didn’t need a weave Kate’s hair suddenly got longer and longer.
Can you donate extensions now?
Why her expression donation is being reported now?
I cry bollix, it will only accept 7 inches if the hair is in top condition and has had NO CHEMICAL TEEATMENTS. I know that for a fact as I wanted to donate my long hair before I lost it all to chemo, they were lovely about it, but said because I had had a few highlights put through my blond hair they couldn’t accept it.
Mary Pester. The lady who does my hair donates her time once a month and will cut your long hair for donation to the cancer organization that excepts hair. When it came time for me to shave it off mine was long and thick but she told me it can’t be used by them so I couldn’t donate. I just quickly swept it up and disposed of it. Hope you are doing well Mary and are home now.
@Inge!! 😂🤣😭🤣😂 My coffee cup nearly went airborne!
But seriously this is pathetic. A seven year old story about a possible hair donation because the KP comms operation still can’t come up with a undoctored photo of Kate reading get well cards.
Sigh… in the magic land of white pretty princesses (aka Kate’s imagination) this really really did happen. In reality is this story in response to the positive story about Meghan doing story time at the hospital? Kate’s got to have the bigger story plus it will remind everyone she has/ had cancer? I suspect Kate’s real hair, the stuff that grows from her head and not other’s, is in poor condition due to lack of adequate nutrition. You have to eat to grow good hair.
It’s an interesting coincidence, isn’t it?
They would have made an exception for her: heck, they would have taken a few tufts from William’s head for the publicity (and then chucked it into the bin). It’s sweet, but it’s interesting to me how much they have to scrape the bottom the barrel to find anything to say about what she’s done.
EDs are notorious for leading to hair loss, as is poor nutrition. I don’t think it’s bad that she uses wigs and wiglets–lots of women do. But if they’re going to pretend it’s all her real hair, they need to do a better job of applying them. You’d never see a wig that poorly placed on a celebrity. Some of her wigs look like I slapped it on her head and shoved her out the door, and I am a notoriously bad hair stylist (my edges are a cause for shame –or would be if I cared).
I’m wondering: have the official twitter or instagram accounts been posting anything about cancer prevention or early detection? Not even revealing what kind of cancer Kate has, but saying that such and such types of cancers have been on the rise among younger people. One day they could post about sunscreen, the next about getting your colonoscopy, the risks of smoking, then HPV vaccine, etc. they could also make posts highlighting specific charities or institutions of which the royal family is patrons.
Seems like an easy PR win.
It is really hard to say anything useful about ‘seeing your doctor when you notice x, y, z…’ when they’re not saying what her cancer, or the king’s cancer, is. There are so many variations, as you say! As are the treatments! My skin cancers were relatively easy, my mother’s multiple myeloma, not so much (not at all, actually).
It would definitely be more effective messaging to focus on whatever kind of cancer Kate (and Charles) has been diagnosed with, but I feel like there’s still an opportunity to do some good with educating people through their platform and doesn’t seem like the Wales contingent at least is doing that.
(Just announce a huge donation to cancer research – or, since they don’t like parting with their money, a matching donation drive! Something! Anything!)
In lieu of an actual authenticated photograph this article could actually be used as proof of life. It sounds like her. It has her dumb bunny style.
What is more concerning is how different she looked in 2017 (well the Heads Together photo) – pretty and healthy.
Yeah, this is right before the bitter hatred set in. It’s been downhill ever since.
Can anybody find this alleged article in the Sunday Express in 2017? I believe they may have reported the haircut–it was a pretty obvious difference–but that it went to charity? I know they’re now saying it was anonymous, but I just find the whole thing very doubtful.
Yes, Kate is a real saint.
(snark)
Okay, sure.
But can Princess Petty be around people of color without recoiling?
The fact that she’s been wearing wigs for a while had me wondering if her cancer diagnosis was much earlier than January. Anyway, I remember this story and at the time it was never confirmed whether she really did donate the hair. Plus, people here were saying that her hair couldn’t be donated because it was dyed and straightened. Kate cut her hair and then didn’t like that Meghan’s hair was longer than hers.
Eating disorders can also cause hair loss. It has been suspected that this was the reason for her sudden embrace of obvious wigs, wiglets, bump-its and other assorted extensions (apart from competing with M’s natural hair length).
However, I suspect that the Middleton PR machine, which is now distinct from the KP PR machine, will begin to craft a “poor Kate suffering with cancer for years” narrative to distract from the plausible explanation that her “major abdominal surgery” may also have been a result of an eating disorder.
You people have eagle eyes. I never noticed she was wearing wigs, and then this site started reporting it, and I was like What? I can’t tell. You guys are super sleuths.
She’s been wearing extensions since before the engagement. There are times it’s more obvious, but look for changes in color or texture. Another clue is how they move.
Conveniently, the DM is currently running a story on how Kate went skiing with William, Charles and other RF members 20 years ago, and you can see clearly what her real hair is like without extensions, wiglets or anything but a blowout to make it straight….in a few photos she even has her natural curls. Quite different from the ever thicker and longer mane we’re used to seeing as she ages/has a rumoured ED/has cancer etc. Just saying….