Kate Middleton has touching response after child asks what it’s like to be a princess

Princess of Wales made surprise appearance at Chelsea Flower Show’s first children’s picnic

The Princess of Wales had the sweetest response after a young girl asked her what it was like to be princess.

The 41-year-old royal made a surprise appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show on Monday 22 May, when she joined children from 10 different schools as part of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Campaign for School Gardening.

Princess Kate, who was dressed in a pink ME+EM shirt dress, joined the students at the flower show’s first children’s picnic. While speaking with the school children, she was asked by one young girl what her day-to-day is like as a royal.

“What is it like being a princess?” the young girl asked, in a video captured by The Daily Mail.

“You have to work hard,” the mother of three replied. “But, you know, the best thing about it is meeting kiddies like you.”

Princess Kate fielded many other questions from the students, including her favourite colour and why she’s not allowed to sign photographs. When one student reportedly asked, “Do you make the law?” she smiled and replied: “No, the Prime Minister makes the laws.”

As for her favourite colour, Kate encouraged the children to guess, before grinning when they correctly answered “green”.

The Princess of Wales also joined students in the Royal Entomological Society garden, where she was forced to follow royal protocol by not signing autographs. As the pupils drew their sketches, some of them asked for Kate to sign their papers. “I can’t write my name,” she was overheard saying, per People. “But I can draw.”

Princess of Wales joins students at the first Children’s Picnic ahead of the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The princess proceeded to draw a flower for a seven-year-old girl named Ruby, a tree for another girl, and a pond surrounded by plants for a third child. When questioned why she couldn’t sign her name, she reportedly replied: “My name’s Catherine. I’m not allowed to write my signature, it’s just one of those rules.”

It’s a long-standing tradition that members of the British royal family are told not to sign autographs to avoid the risk of their signature being forged.

The Royal Horticultural Society’s annual Chelsea Flower Show begins this year on Tuesday 23 May until Saturday 27 May. The theme of this year’s floral and gardening showcase focuses on restorative gardens and the ways that gardening can contribute positively to health and wellbeing.

In 2019, the then-Dutchess of Cambridge co-designed a Chelsea Flower Show garden to encourage the public to get back in touch with nature. However, this year’s event marks the first Chelsea Flower Show since the late Queen Elizabeth II died last September.

The Princess of Wales’ surprise appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show comes nearly two weeks after she attended the coronation of her father-in-law and step-mother-in-law, King Charles III and Queen Camilla.