The touching moment Princess Kate paused a royal walkabout to pose for a selfie with a nervous fan has been praised online after footage from an important appearance in 2023 resurfaced on social-media site TikTok.
Interest in Kate has spiked in 2024, after she stepped out of the public eye in January, facing health challenges. Initially, the princess underwent abdominal surgery that required a lengthy recovery process; then she received a cancer diagnosis requiring chemotherapy treatment and more time away from royal duties.
Kate made her tentative public comeback on June 15, making her first official appearance of 2024 at King Charles' Trooping the Colour birthday celebrations in London. This followed a positive health update from the princess herself. She said that, though she was still receiving treatment and is "not out of the woods" yet, she hopes to begin working from home and attend some more engagements over the summer.
In the absence of new appearances from the princess, royal fans have taken to social media to share highlights and favorite moments of hers from past years.
Uploaded to TikTok by user @helensmccrory, on June 24, footage from an engagement in January 2023 has gone viral, gaining over 361,000 views so far.
The exchange with the fan was captured during a solo visit to the city of Leeds in northern England. It was a milestone event for Kate as she launched her "Shaping Us" early years childhood awareness campaign. It was Kate's biggest working output to date, started in connection with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which she founded in 2021.
During the princess's visit to the city, Kate was asked by a well-wisher if she would pose for a photograph with them.
"Sorry, can I get a selfie?" the unidentified man asked, to which Kate paused and responded: "Yes, very quickly!"
"Sorry, I'm a little bit autistic. I'm really nervous," the man added, to which the princess offered some gentle reassurance.
"Please don't worry!" Kate said. "It's OK. We all get nervous. Nice to meet you."
The viral post also includes a compilation of clips taken from various public appearances made by Kate in recent years, including her most recent at the June 15 Trooping the Colour events in London.
The TikTok video has received almost 60,000 likes and over 170 comments so far, many of which have praised Kate and her kind fan interaction.
"The way she said 'PLEASE DONT WORRY ITS OK'," wrote one user.
"She's so beautiful inside and out," posted another, with a third adding: "She was born to be a queen."
A number of commenters have drawn comparisons between Kate and the late Princess Diana, who was celebrated for breaking down social barriers between members of the royal family and the public to engage in a more-tactile relationship.
"Diana would've loved her," wrote one user, with another adding: "She has the kindness and compassion of her MIL [mother in law]."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
