Despite being perhaps one of the most famous women in the world, it seems even Kate Middleton finds herself slipping under the radar every now and then. In fact, she was recently mistaken for a member of Palace staff – but, thankfully, the Duchess of Cambridge's response proved she didn't take much offence to the mixup.
The encounter in question happened in August last year, when Kate and Prince William were on an official visit to the Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff. During their visit they met with 87-year-old Joan Drew-Smith, who asked Prince William, "Is that your assistant?" while pointing at wife Kate.
"Well, I am your assistant", the Duchess laughed in response [per HOLA!], adding, "I have been for a long time!"
Clearly, the resident felt quite comfortable around the royals, as she also made fun of their bingo calling skills – after they had hosted a game of bingo for the residents via Zoom during the pandemic, later meeting them IRL during their official visit.
Over Zoom, Joan joked withe the Duke and Duchess that their bingo skills weren't "as good as [they] should’ve been." Upon meeting, William reminded her "You said we didn’t do a very good job," to which she replied: "You did a bloody s****y job."
Luckily, Kate and William took Joan's comments in their stride, even telling the care home's staff that they appreciated her rather, err, harsh words. "She’s brilliant," William said. "If only everyone was as honest as her."
Everyone's clicking on...
Speaking about the occasion on their official Instagram account, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said: "The Cambridges' favourite Bingo partners! Having entertained the Welsh care home as bingo hosts in May, The Duke and Duchess re-visited Shire Hall in person! It was great to see firsthand the amazing work done by staff and families to keep Shire Hall safe throughout lockdown."
As for what life as a royal staffer might look like for Kate – if she really were William's assistant – she'd have to pass her own strict employment rules. Understandably, privacy is of the upmost importance to the royals, and as such, the Cambridge's have made it very clear on previous job advertisements that there's a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to any gossiping. To be exact, one job ad said that "maintaining confidentiality and exercising discretion" is key.
Noted!
