As we discussed, yesterday the Duchess of Cambridge made a trip to the Natural History Museum in London, where she visited the museum’s Urban Nature Project. It’s basically an outdoor garden wilderness where kids are welcome, and where you can learn about birds, insects and foxes. It’s pretty smart for a natural history museum in the middle of a bustling city to introduce an urban nature exhibit, and I bet the city kids love the little slice of real nature. Kate apparently decided to give those kids a slice of Anmer Hall as well: did y’all know that Kate has beehives? And that she jars her own Norfolk honey? Hmm.
Kate Middleton and her younger brother, James Middleton, share a buzz-worthy interest! The royal visited London’s Natural History Museum on Tuesday to learn about their Urban Nature Project. Kate, 39, brought a special treat for the local schoolchildren she met: homemade honey from Anmer Hall, the Norfolk home where she enjoys time in the country with Prince William and their three children: Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Prince Louis, 3.
“Would you like to try some? This came specially from my beehive,” she told the kids, according to a report from the event. “Does it taste like honey from the shops? Does it taste like flowers? Every time you see a bee, say thank you so much because they make delicious honey.”
The children smiled as they licked spoons of the tasty treat.
Parents of small children: if a duchess brought a jar of honey from home and encouraged your child to eat some, would you allow your child to try it? It feels like it’s some kind of parenting faux pas honestly, and my mother would have been the one stage-whispering something judgy. But it’s better than she normally does – like, she planned ahead and brought something to share with kids, and apparently there were enough spoons to go around. I’d be very curious to see her hive set-up, or maybe she has a full-on apiary. I wonder if this is specific to the Anmer Hall property, or if the honey is from the Sandringham hives. Charles has had an apiary in Highgrove for years, and I feel like he’s probably got some hives at Sandringham too. So maybe Kate didn’t bring honey from HER beehive, but rather the Sandringham beehive? Then again, who knows. Maybe Kate has been Queen Bee all along. Growing her little bee army to take out the bald enemy.
It’s really funny to me that there’s someone at Kensington Palace making Keen fancams and posting them to @KensingtonRoyal.
Exploring the Natural History Museum's Urban Nature Project 🍃
Designed to inspire the next generation to care for nature, the project forms part of @NHM_London's work to transform their Wildlife Garden into an urban biodiversity hub. pic.twitter.com/uHuVyQoJTW
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) June 22, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Kensington Royal social.
Great photo choices–they really tell the story, lol. (also great commentary)
Another photo op to correct the last photo op of the announcement before the announcement. The bee keeping is a new one. If it’s true it would have been leaked/exploited before now.
Didn’t the Keens recently advertise for a new Head Gardener at Anmer? That’s probably who tends the bees there, too. Agree with @Elizabeth Regina: We would have seen Kate in a puffy white beekeepers outfit by now, if she were at all involved in actual honeying.
another photo-op specifically with strategically placed children of color
I can’t tell how old those children are, but you aren’t supposed to give honey to children under five years old, I think.
I had a friend who watched children at her house and one of the mothers put honey in the bottom of her toddler’s bottle every day. The toddler was playing in my friend’s backyard one morning, and a few minutes later he was lying on the ground dead.
It took over a year to get autopsy results, but they said his stomach was poisoned. This was back in the 1980s. A few years later, pediatricians started warning about giving honey to small children.
I don’t really believe this because I think this detail would’ve been out already, just like all of the chickens she supposedly has. And doesn’t Camilla have bees? I could’ve swore that she did.
Yup, see my comment below. Camilla sells her honey at Fortnum and Mason.
If she had bees, why wasn’t there a KP post on National Bee Day or anything specifically about the Cambridge hives? That would be an easy PR win.
Hmmm… Perfect KKKween is quite the busy bee herself! Let’s see: she makes chutney, bakes bread, cakes and cookies, homemade pastas, is the family chef making healthy, organic, Keto meals, and the mostest hands on mother that ever lived! She does all the gardening, she works out like a fiend, shops online, gets blowouts, and now, add Bee Keeper to this!! Whew!! I’m exhausted just typing all this!!! /s
NO WONDER she has no time for Royal Duties!!
@Becks: You ask a good question. Kate is supposed to be into nature and gardening and there is never an Instagram post talking about these topics.
Lacking a personality of her own, she is trying to mirror everyone’s personalities. Sometimes it’s Philip, sometimes it’s Diana and now we see it’s Camilla (and Charles). Her favourite though is The Duchess of Sussex – the blueprint.
Well meghan has chickens and eggs, got to compete somehow. Got it.
Margaret, that was my first thought, too. Meghan has chickens and gave fresh eggs to Oprah, as well as having lemon trees and making lemon cakes to give away. Of course, Kate has to prove she is just as “authentic” as Meg. Eye-roll.
I think these comments are weird. Wealthy people with big rural properties or estates do this kind of thing. Just rural people in general My inlaws live on a farm and do honey and eggs. It is pretty common.
@ Chrissy — we don’t need a reason — just a fake headline and it’s off to the races.
Yeah I believe that she jars her own honey about the same amount I believe she makes her own chutney. Middletons love lording – they would never not go all in with servants for that. Their hired help does the work and they take the credit. She’s never had to really work a day in her life (other than working to get William) or live on her own.
William is very keen on Norfolk honey too.
Oooooohhh!!!!! Hahahaha! CLAPBACK!
He particularly goes mad for the rose-scented honey 🙂
I so appreciate this comment with my morning coffee.
Ha!
Dead! 🎯
There sure is something about that Norfolk honey for sure. Haha that is a riot
Lolol
Hilarious Hench omg too good
Comment of the week! I am deaceased.
I am done. Well, that woke me up this afternoon. Well done!
There was a story on Clarence House a few months ago about Camilla and her beehives. Wait I just googled – she has 9 hives installed at Ray Mill and is selling her honey for 20 pounds a jar and the proceeds are going to three different charities. And she was named the “president of bees for development.”
Now maybe all the royals have beehives and its something they do for fun (or their beekeeper does for fun.) but I can’t see Kate out there tracking the hive and pulling out the combs etc. (I went to a scout event last week with a beekeeper. I know everything now. LOL.)
But doesn’t this just sort of seem……I don’t know, like part of a push for Kate’s image as the country lady? I feel like next time she is going to bring eggs from her rescue chickens.
Or banana bread made from ‘her’ chicken’s eggs and ‘her’ honey.
It’s part of the whole “fake it til you make it” PR gig they’re on
I kinda feel sorry for her. The constant piggybacking off others in the family including her dead mother in law. This woman is indeed an empty vase.
Isn’t that the exact pr they’ve been going for these past 10 years tho? William and kate the boring middle class country couple? And apparently also very environmental aware, despite all the helicopter trips.
You might notice that neither the article nor Kate says that she made the honey (in the quoted bit anyway, I’m not giving them a click). Just that it came from beehives at her home.
I noticed. I don’t even understand why this is a story — women gives kids honey and says this from my hive.
Not, I built this hive from scratch, not I collected and processed this honey — woman has hive on estate, gives honey to kids, outrage ensues.
It doesn’t say it but it’s clearly trying to give that impression in a very careful way. Of course Kate didn’t do any of the work associated with the hive, she was handed the jar of honey and went on her merry way. But the KP PR machine is trying to make it sound like she was more involved than that – but that’s par for the course for them.
ETA and to be clear I don’t think Camilla is doing the work either. But I also think that Camilla’s PR is better.
I’m a beekeeper and just did hive inspections and am currently busy requeening. Seriously, I have a ukulele case filled with queens ready to go! It’s going to be a busy day.
I sincerely doubt that Kate or Camilla do the actual work. I know that Prince Charles employs a veritable fleet of professional gardeners, and I’m sure there are a few beekeepers in there as well. She has hives sure, and probably likes visiting them, but this is real work. The help takes care of it all.
Here in Boston we have a company that installs and manages hives for corporations and rich people. I might end up working for them.
Ooh! That sounds really cool! (Ukele case full of queens *and* getting paid to do what you love)
I’ve always dreamed of keeping chickens and bees (and goats maybe) but I live on the edge of suburbia and work 12 hour days. A friend has hives and invited me to set up one at her place, but if I’m not able to go regularly, it’s going to be a lot of work on her, right? I don’t want to impose – she’s way too generous.
This is so interesting. How do you prevent them from leaving if they are all in the same case? And how long have you been keeping bees? How did you get started?
I’ve always wanted to keep bees. We have goats and chickens in the Bahamas.
Aw paranormalgirl – you are living my dream! I’m sure it’s a lot of work, but boy does that sound lovely! In the Bahamas no less. *happy sigh*
Miss jupitero
I have a few flow hives now and that’s all I can handle. If those didn’t do the work for me idk how I could have it as a hobby.
No way Kate makes her own. I agree.
I’m pretty sure I have hired that company (if it’s Best Bees) to manage the hive on my property. I have always wanted bees but, after taking a bee keeping extension course, knew that I didn’t want to actually do the work of keeping a hive. It’s a lot of work. I happily pay the professionals to set up, maintain and harvest our honey. I get pounds of honey a year and give jars and jars of it away to friends and family. All that said (and I’m no Kate fan) I do call it my honey even though I’m not doing the work. They’re my bees, I have planted a garden for them, I worry about them and I happily eat their honey!
The queens are all in separate queen cages, accompanied by attendant bees, and I’ve rigged additional separators so that they won’t be stressed out by one another.
The cages protect the queen while the new hive gets to know her– each cage has a candy doorway which they will eat through in a day. With luck, this will be enough time for everyone to get to know one another.
The uke case is useful because it’s warm, dark, and protects them from nosey cats and street noise. It’s an easy way to transport them with a minimum of jostling. They will all be installed in their respective hives within 12 hours.
I just started this year! I took a class, then ordered bees, and now I am learning as I go along, relying heavily on YouTube and other beekeepers.
It’s way more work than I imagined, and sweaty work as well. I love it! I’m obsessed. But I can’t imagine work shy Kate getting her hands dirty. I am sure “the help” does everything haha.
Miss Jupitero, have you given any thought to miner/solo bees? I’ve read they are better polinators than honeybees and far less work for the human caretaker. No honey, but more successful veggies and flowers in your garden.
It’s part of the whole lady of the manor shtick. Over time she’s dabbled in painting, photography, gardening, “cooking” (I don’t believe for a second that she actually cooks for the family other than the odd cookie baking funtimes, they surely have a chef for that), charity work…
ETA: 20 pounds for a jar of honey? How big is that jar? lol
Oh yeah they definitely have a chef, maid, and nannies for all that. Their household staff is much larger than they’ve let out. There is no way she is managing two large homes by herself. Besides she likes to pretend she’s middle class but she doesn’t actually want to LIVE like a typical middle class person.
If the jars are for charity, they probably marked it way up for donation purposes.
No way would I pay that much for a jar of honey. Was it that in dollars? Wow.
I am looking on the website now lol. I don’t see Camilla’s honey but the Highgrove honey is a lot cheaper. Wonder if hers was a limited edition or something?
I wonder how hard they worked to get the POC child in frame for PR but not actually let said child get close to her because she’s a racist a-hole.
It was possibly top of the checklist, just so they can pat each other’s backs and say “See, Meghan, we don’t mind ‘people of colour’,” and that’s what they’d have called her, too: a POC.
Yes they would definitely call her a “POC child” or an “Ethnic child”.
Probably kept her away to stop her from making dumb remarks like what Charles did. “So do you feel as if being, you know POC made your early years harder? Would it be better if you weren’t so, you know POC. Please say hello to the other POC out there.”
This actually infuriates me – EVERY time she does a photo op now there’s a POC child in it! Stop using children of color as props, dammit!
I assume most estates with a significant garden would have their own bees so that they don’t have to bring in commercial swarms. Pollination is a big deal, and there’s been so much bee collapse that it’s difficult to rely on the wild bee population in many parts of the world. So I think her gardeners would have asked to make this happen if they didn’t already have their own for decades now.
Makes sense. Charles has his own beehives at Highgrove and sells honey.
Anmer isn’t some massive estate with acreage; it is a large house on a few hectares of land. Most of that land is filled with buildings and the tennis court, not gardens.
She sounds just exhausting to live with.
good heavens…never thought of that, because she’s exhausting in a still photograph, intolerable to watch on the news or “live” somewhere…Lord, to be around that?!
I think she probably has a lot of issues surrounding anxiety, which can result in and be caused by trying to be perfect. It can also be generated by feeling you have no role, and most of all by not having a loving relationship to support and understand you. Her life feels incredibly empty but overwhelmingly full. Yes, I can see that she must be tiring. Her whole life has led to a vacuum of purpose and love, and she is trying to fill it with perfection and never ending nonsense.
If she’d been nicer to her sil, she would have had a friend for life.
Yes you may be right. Her demeanor during her engagement interview was so sad. Her anxiety was plain for all to see and it should have been worked on considering her role is a high profile one. But she did enter into this with her eyes open as she spent 10 years prior to her marriage around the royals.
You don’t honestly think she’s doing any of the work around this, do you?
of course not. But I don’t really see where she claimed to.
Are beehives the new Chick-Inns?
lol
it’s all part of her usual one-upmanship with Meghan…
Meaning Kate’s team of gardeners have-and-tend beehives.
right? as if she’s ever had anything to do with the beehives…
Top CEO and early years pioneers makes her own jam? Hmm. Or is it, bored woman with no talent makes jam and signs off on pie charts.
It’s giving the witch from Hansel and Gretel luring children with candy 😂
Wonder what will happen to the beehive when they move to berkshire.
It all comes of like she wants to be Meghan, I’m starting to think that kate is a big Meghan fan. Or is it to little too late ???
Well harry likes meghan, so if she is more like meghan, just maybe…..
It’s really something that we can’t even take sweet things like this at face value because of the way they behaved these past few years.
If it’s true and genuine then good for her, the kids must have been delighted.
it is something alright
Sorry, but when you behave like an evil, racist. conniving, manipulating, blood-thirsty liar who lies and drives people out of the country due to your own petty jealousy and insecurities, don’t expect a pat on the head for passing out some tasty honey to the kiddies. I’ve got no time nor any delight for this lazy, one-upping mean girl.
Exactly this. Honestly, I could give a shit anymore about anything this aging Mean Girl wears or does for show to pretend she’s a good person. We’ve all seen her clearly for who she is. We all know Mother Maya’s saying — “When someone shows you who they are, BELIEVE THEM the first time.”
Because bringing honey made by your staff on one occasion to random kids doesn’t make up for letting a hurtful lie about your sister in law remain in the media for years and be used as part of a character assassination that continues to this day. And still there has been no apology or retraction of the false story.
Nope, we can’t take this at face value. I hope Kate is happy sitting cross-legged with her random post-early years kiddos and the visiting fox because she drove Meghan out of the UK in order to get all the attention for herself. So we are not about to cave in to her manipulations and say how sweet this all is. Kate owning the royal spotight without femaile competition comes at a price and Meghan is paying it.
This is a woman who thought it was appropriate to act like a petty bitch in full view of the public at the commonwealth service because of a stupid procession and knowing that Meghan was suicidal at one point prior to that. This woman is cold and if her life isn’t what she planned for that is too damn bad because she’s the one who created this situation. Everything about her is PR to make up for her empty shell.
Nope. The ‘sweeter’ it appears to be, the more blatantly it is a pile of lies for PR.
Maybe it’s her brothers who knows. On a serious note do you think her kids are really fond of her. I read few years back when George was a baby he tend to prefer William over Kate. The way george always cling to William and Charlotte somewhat close to William, while kate is dotting Louis. I still dont buy her as mother Teresa of kids. They only branded her that way she was a disaster when comes to talking to adult we all saw that with ours eyes with dr. Jill. That’s why they make her to be kids and you can say little and dumb things to kids. I dont think she is fond of other kids too. If she really is good with kids , she would have many godchildren she has only one, even chuck has many , bald too. Heck to this day we didnt see single photo of Kate with her nephew. Most kids in her engagement looks elsewhere and close to crying . This kids engagement is ok for now. But she cant do this forever and get away with it.
I’m sure she’s fine with her own kids, but I remember thinking that I have never seen a single photograph of her, either formal or tabloid, with George where they’re looking into each other’s eyes, except the christening photo. Not one. Photo assumption is usually a mug’s game though
Clearly her children aren’t fond of her. I’m sure they barely know her and most be reminded to call her Mummy in public .
I doubt she is a beekeeper herself. My husband has “only” 5 beehives and that is so much work, esp. in spring and summer, I can´t imagine KweenKaren doing so much work, without any credit for it. And the kids are going to school in London, right? So, she is not that much in Norfolk while school is underway and you HAVE to take care of the hive at least once a week, more often in april/ may.
That is why I suspect they employ beekeepers or it´s honey from Sandringham, and why I always took the “Camilla is a beekeeper” with a grain of salt. It´s too much work for all the engagements Camilla does.
Edit to subscribe to everything @Miss Jupitero said above.
I would imagine it is like that (to some extent) for all of them, including Charles. I think they probably “garden, bake, bees” etc. as hobbies rather than actual obligations and they swan in and putter about and “do” stuff…then the professional gardeners, bee keepers, stable hands, wildlife managers etc. step in and do the actual work.
I always find it weird that she doesn’t take her kids to events like this…
And yes, as the mother of a 7yo, I would absolutely throw a fit if a stranger, keen future future peacemaking revolutionary queen or not, randomly gave my daughter an open snack on a spoon. During a pandemic. WTAF? Who does that?
that’s a no win proposition. Either she’s working, which I suppose technically she is but we all agree that Royal “work” is laughable — or if she brings the kids it will be parading them around for PR. She does few enough of these but that she should be able to focus and not be wrangling her own offspring.
Not really. The kids are still a bit too young to start being introduced to royal engagements.
I can see why she wouldn’t bring her kids, especially during a pandemic. But in that same vein if she just brought a few jars of honey and they are supposed to share, that is incredibly unsanitary during a pandemic, especially since none of those kids are old enough to be vaccinated.
A more thoughtful idea would have been to bring individual jars for each child.
Did KP buy a drone? A lot of their videos have aerial shots now.
Yes, yes they did. Please go look at their IG. WHAT IS THAT. lol.
How does she make a 2k Chloé blazer look like that
Next will be a banana bread and lemon and olive oil cake from her chickens eggs and this honey… wait for it 😂
Well that crossed leg pose withe little black girl, certainly copied, a meghan pose in South Africa. She has a problem, and this coping meghan is not healthy. The girl with a eating disorder, and copying her BIL wife, do people not see there is something seriously wrong?.
I am going to try to sit like that next week, I will have to work on my flexibility because I’m not sure I can pull it off, but I am inspired.
So Meghan reveals she gets fresh eggs from her chickens and bakes cakes with lemons from her trees so magically after a decade we discover Kate jars her own honey.
#SingleWhiteFemale
1st she trying to skip camilla to be the future queen consort.
Now, she is claiming camilla work as her own now.
Doesn’t she know that camilla succesfully made Diana live a living hell because Diana dare to stop her relationship with charles.
You messed with the wrong bitch, girl.
How does she have time when she is so busy doing royal duties? Oh, wait. . .
Black children making the photo cut again . As a parent, no Kaiser my children won’t be trying any strangers food especially one jar with a pandemic going on. It’s gross in my opinion.
Because most parents think twice about allowing their kids to keep/eat things they get during other legitimate charity events featuring politicians or celebrities? Hell, they don’t think twice about letting their children eat the Halloween candy from the “neighbor” who lives 5 blocks away and they’ve never said 5 words to.
Such a fun post!! I’m keen on it.
This was genuinely a nice thing for her to do so I can’t really criticize her for it (not been a Kate fan for awhile). Now is she the one who thought of bringing the honey herself, hmm not sure. And is she the one really doing all the beekeeping, most likely not. But I could see her being involved, she is outdoorsy and likes doing outdoorsy things and I could see her involving her own kids in it.
Love the new 1700+£ jacket to play with kids and honey 🍯🤣🙄.
All the royals lean into agriculture/ hunting, rural life. She is actually appearing to work more than William while he continues his scorched earth campaign against the Sussexes. I don’t think she’s much better but at least looks like she won’t get into it as blatantly as him, apart from copying Meghans looks, and remembers she has to do more than scowl around.
William is preparing for an announcement about Earthshot. I’m dying. lol.
I can’t find any reference to her jarring her own honey in the write up?
So the description from KP says that they hoped the schoolchildren “enjoyed the duchess’s homemade honey.”
They’re not saying she jarred her own but they’re really trying to imply that.
Yes that was most certainly the implication and it worked .
No. She doesn’t. She might pay people to do it for her, but I know from experience how labor-intensive beekeeping and harvesting for honey is. My mom is an expert beekeeper and has a professional operation. She’s in her 60s and it is HARD. Seeing as how the Dutchess of Keen is allergic to work, I would need concrete proof to believe any of it… now go button some buttons Katie.
This. My grandfather kept bees and we have friends that keep bees and make honey. It is a very time consuming process.
How to be a Modern Duchess: Copy Meghan and be better!
For some reason, I feel the Middletons influence on this more approachable and accessible Kate. Clearly, they want her to appear more approachable. Interesting, maybe there is more strife and that’s why someone wants a property closer to her family.
I am interested to see if we start to get more conflicting responses from their PR.
I can find better fitting jacket in massimo dutti for 100€. How does she find those expensive pieces and make them look so cheap and ill fitting? Does she „customize” it and ruin it? This jacket looks too small for her like she couldn’t close it.
And I suppose/hope she asked the parents before about the honey because I’m very uncomfortable when strangers give my child snacks without asking first.
Notice lately pics of the queen and Catherine,they are always smiling . wide smiles, they look so at ease and happy.Now that Charles have taken over most of the queen work , the queen is going to relax and enjoy the last few yrs of her life.