Carole Middleton uses her "favourite room" for home "discos" and Princess Charlotte has inherited her love for them.
The Princess of Wales’s mother is known to have a close bond with her royal grandchildren and was apparently a "regular" visitor" at Kensington Palace when the Wales family lived there. Since their move to Adelaide Cottage in Berkshire, Prince William and Kate and their children are far closer to Carole’s Bucklebury home and likely visit a lot. We’ve only ever been treated to a few brief glimpses of Carole’s home, but when it comes to hosting, the mum-of-three has been very open about how she likes to do things. Her idea of a great dinner party is far more relaxed than fans might expect - and it involves enjoying a bit of a "disco" afterwards in her absolute favourite room, which Princess Charlotte also loves.
According to Hello!, Carole once revealed in an interview with Good Housekeeping that the kitchen is her "favourite" room and the "heart of the house", before explaining that she likes to boogie the night away in it.
"I love a kitchen supper," Carole reportedly declared. "Where I have a small number of guests. I'll cook something delicious and make it look lovely, then we'll finish with a kitchen disco."
A disco sounds like a brilliant way to finish off a dinner party and it seems Carole’s love of dancing in the kitchen has been inherited by Princess Charlotte. Prince William shared a sweet anecdote about his daughter’s dancing on an episode of Apple Fitness +’s Time to Walk podcast in 2021.
"Charlotte, particularly, is running around the kitchen in her dresses and ballet stuff and everything," the future King said. "She goes completely crazy with Louis following her around trying to do the same thing. It's a really happy moment where the children just enjoy dancing, messing around, and, and singing."
This seems to suggest that Princess Charlotte also views the family’s cosy kitchen as the perfect space for performing, whether that be dancing, or singing or a bit of both. Prince Louis is clearly keen to join in with his beloved big sister’s dance moves too. It’s possible that Carole’s love of dancing - and doing so in the kitchen - could’ve inspired her granddaughter or at least showed her that a kitchen doesn’t have to only be used for cooking.
This is a view that Carole passed on to Kate and the Prince and Princess of Wales are said to have wanted an open-plan kitchen when they renovated their Anmer Hall home in Norfolk. Royal author Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch, claimed to People in 2022 that the late Queen Elizabeth wasn’t such a fan of the Waleses’ kitchen set-up.
"I remember when they had just finished renovating Anmer Hall, and they invited the Queen over for lunch," Sally alleged. "They have one of those big kitchens with eating areas, and she said, 'I can't understand why everybody spends their time in the kitchen.'"
Dancing in the kitchen is another use for this heart of the home and one that sounds like a firm favourite with Carole and Princess Charlotte. Carole and Kate are also said to be big fans of BBC dance show, Strictly Come Dancing, according to Prince William.
"I have watched the show a couple of times. Catherine is a huge fan and my mother-in-law loves it," he reportedly said at a charity gala which was attended by Strictly’s head judge Shirley Ballas and presenter Claudia Winkleman.
