Kate Middleton beams as she steps out to visit local garden centre in first public appearance since lockdown
KATE Middleton was beaming as she visited her local garden centre in her first public appearance since coronavirus lockdown.
The Duchess of Cambridge carried out her first public engagement in months at Fakenham Garden Centre near her Norfolk home of Anmer Hall.
Kate, 38, wore dark jeans, a padded waistcoat and Superga khaki trainers and respected social distancing guidelines.
As a keen gardener, she wanted to learn how the coronavirus outbreak had affected the family-run independent business.
She told owners Martin and Jennie Turner she loved visiting garden centres with her three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
She said, smiling: “They love it. It’s such a great space for children and families to come to garden centres.
“I’ve been food shopping but I have to say I haven’t been out a huge amount more, but it’s good and so important, now as things start to ease, people know they can go out and particularly to places like this.”
Garden centres were allowed to reopen last month as lockdown restrictions were eased.
Prince William and Prince Charles returned to royal duty earlier this week.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall met NHS heroes in the grounds of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester on Tuesday.
The Duke of Cambridge visited ambulance workers in Kings Lynn, Norfolk.
The family have spent much of the lockdown at Anmer Hall.
While unable to attend their usual royal events, they have been holding virtual visits to care centres and hospitals via video calls.
COVID-19 ALERT DROPS FROM LEVEL 4 TO 3
Britain’s coronavirus alert level has been lowered from four to three.
It paves the way for a relaxation of the two-metre rule.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the move as a “big moment for the country”.
He praised Brits’ determination to beat the disease as the number of deaths continues to fall.
The Government’s chief medical officers say transmission of the bug is no longer rising exponentially.
Kate said she and husband William had found the social effects of the pandemic unsettling.
She said: “When we do our food shopping we notice that everyone keeps their head down and it’s hard for that social interaction.”
Spending time outdoors is a cornerstone of the Duchess’s work with youngsters and is something she encourages her own children to do as much as possible.
The Duchess revealed that George loved to play with Venus flytrap plants at garden centres, and at home the three children have been growing tomatoes.
Kate said: “They were very excited to grow them from seeds and now they’re as tall as them.”
The garden centre owner Mr Turner told Kate about some the difficulties his centre had faced over the last three months.
He said: “This has been the most challenging thing we’ve ever experienced.
“We completely shut until after Easter and then we opened for some collections and deliveries in the car park.
“We have 50 staff and we had to furlough around 15 due to closing the coffee shop and family members shielding or childcare issues.
“Four or five people have very unfortunately had to be made redundant, as going forward we can’t sustain them.”
But once they started to trade again three weeks ago, he said people had flocked back to buy plants.
“There’s been a massive upsurge hasn’t there as people have been spending so much time outdoors and in their gardens,” he said.
Meeting garden workers Michaela Giura, 35, from Norwich, and Tobias Davies, 47, she asked if they were glad to be back – smiling in agreement when they asked if she was too.
“It’s good to get a structure and a routine back isn’t it?”.
The Duchess also met Sam Wade, 53, from Fakenham, who had been working in the coffee shop but was retrained by daughter Polly Wade, 25, to use the tills.
Mr Wade said: “It’s amazing that Kate came and showed everyone we’re open for business.
“That’s exactly what the royals should be doing.”
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Kate’s trip to the garden centre was followed by the Duke of Cambridge visiting Smiths the Bakers on Friday, which has been serving King’s Lynn for 50 years.
It reopened its premises on Monday after 11 weeks in lockdown.