When out and about on royal duties, the Princess of Wales is known for displaying her chic wardrobe and polished beauty looks.
But once, she appeared also unrecognisable in a rare photo that showed her taking part in an unexpected hobby at her Norfolk home. The snap, shared last year, saw the princess donning beige overalls, specialist headgear as well as large gloves – and that’s because she is a fan of beekeping.
Last year to mark World Bee Day, the Prince and Princess of Wales Instaggram account shared a picture of Kate tending to a hive. It was taken in the summer of 2022 at the Anmer Hall property Kate shares with Prince William on the Sandringham Estate and where she keeps bees.
A tweet posted alongside the photograph, reads: “We are buzzing about #WorldBeeDay. Bees are a vital part of our ecosystem and today is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy.” It is believed that beekeeping is a hobby that Kate shares with her younger brother James but royal fans commented on the photo on Instagram in “surprise” at Kate’s pastime.
And after sharing the photo, many royal fans were left in disbelief. One asked: “Is there anything that this lady can’t do?” while another commented: “HRH keeps surprising us all.” Another royal fan wrote: “Absolutely brilliant!! The Princess of Wales is full of surprises!”
It comes after Kate once handed out her homemade honey at an engagement in the past. It came as she visited the Natural History Museum in 2021 when she revealed she kept beehives at Anmer Hall and offered schoolchildren a try of her homemade honey. Speaking at the time, she said: “‘Would you like to try some? I’ve got one spoon each. This came specially from my beehive. See if it tastes the same as at home. Does it taste like honey from the shops? Does it taste like flowers?”
Meanwhile, Queen Camilla is also a keen apiarist and keeps bees at Raymill – her six-bedroom retreat in Lacock, Wiltshire, 17 miles from the King’s Highgrove home.
During a visit to Launceston, Cornwall, in 2022, Camilla met honey producers selling jars in the town square and told them she was a hands-on beekeeper and had only lost one colony during the previous winter. She is also president of Bees For Development, a charity training beekeepers and protecting bee habitats in more than 50 countries.
Buckingham Palace is home to four beehives on an island in a lake in the garden, and are two hives in Clarence House’s garden. The hives produced more than 300 jars of honey in 2022 for the palace kitchens, and it was often served in honey madeleines, as a filling for chocolate truffles or in honey and cream sponge.