Kate Middleton was confronted by a woman and told she's not "in her own country" while on a trip on Thursday afternoon (October 6). The exchange unfolded when Kate and William, the new Prince and Princess of Wales, were undertaking an impromptu meet and greet with people in Northern Ireland.
While shaking hands with Kate, the woman said: “Nice to meet you but it would be better if it was when you were in your own country.” The woman, who appeared to be videoing the exchange on a mobile phone, added: “Ireland belongs to the Irish.”
Kate, who was visiting Belfast, appeared to remain composed throughout and laughed off the comment before going on to meet other well-wishers. Hundreds of people had lined the Marine Highway in Carrickfergus as the Prince and Princess of Wales continue their visit to the Co Antrim town.
The royal couple shared an image of the meet and greet on their Instagram page but appeared to crop the woman who made the comment to Kate out of the photograph. And Kate also exchanged a beaming smile with baby Barney, who showed his teddy off to the princess.
Kate recognised the stuffed toy before commenting: "I recognise those... our kiddy’s have quite a few of those." Barney is son of Laura-Ann, a prominent Instagrammer with 172,000 followers, and a keen royalist.
After meeting the royals, Laura Ann said: "What a morning .. I need a lie down from all the excitement." William and Kate were taking part in a walkabout along the seafront to meet local people.
They exchanged a number of handshakes and fist-bumps with local schoolchildren who had waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.
And Kate and William got stuck into a spirited cocktail-making race at an outdoor market in Belfast city centre this afternoon. The next-in-line-to-the-throne and his wife laughed during the duel to be the quickest to make the potent drink, before William was declared the winner.
The prince and princess visited Trademarket on the second stop of the day during a visit to Northern Ireland. They met with local entrepreneur, Will Neill, and heard about his aim to showcase new businesses while also increasing footfall in a less visited area of the city centre, reports the Mirror.
They also met with representatives from Kainos, a Belfast-based software company who came on board and provided the site for the market at a peppercorn rent, and heard about the measures that have been put in place to ensure the site is both ethically and environmentally sustainable, including the removal of single use plastics and a commitment to paying staff a real living wage.
Yesterday, Kate met mothers and babies on a solo visit to a maternity unit. Mum-of-three Kate, dressed in a sunshine yellow belted dress with her hair down, toured the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford to hear about the holistic support it provides to pregnant women and new mothers.
The visit marked Kate’s first major solo engagement since being made the Princess of Wales by the King, the day after the death of the late Queen.
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