Being the future queen doesn't mean you can't have a refreshingly down-to-earth hobby
Jetting around the world, hosting dinner parties for celebrities, attending fancy movie premieres and chilling at one royal palace at a time—there are a lot of things we’d do in our downtime if we were princesses. But it seems the reality isn’t quite as exciting as we picture it.
Take royal darling Kate, the Princess of Wales. She may go full glam at society events, but she spends her free time in unexpectedly down-to-earth (and, dare we say, slightly boring) ways. We might not understand what it means to be the future queen of England, but we can all relate to these surprisingly wholesome hobbies. Read on to find out exactly what she’s up to.
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What does Kate like to do in her spare time?
Believe it or not, the Princess of Wales counts sewing and knitting among her leisure passions. When visiting family-run jeans factory Hiut Denim in Cardigan, Wales, in early February, Kate surprised the staff with her hands-on skills. She helped finish a pair of jeans for her husband, Prince William, and admitted, “I love making things, so I think I would really enjoy making denims.”
Kate went on to reveal that it wasn’t the first time she’d tried her hand at sewing. “The most adventurous I got was making a pair of pajamas,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have gone now.”
On a 2020 visit to Bradford, a city in northern England, the princess told volunteers that she’d also been determined to learn knitting when her oldest son, Prince George, was a baby. Calling it “an amazing skill,” she said she “tried to knit him a very special jumper, but I got halfway down, and it just splattered.”
Is she actually good at it?
Well, Kate did manage to sew a pocket on a pair of jeans for her husband during her time at Hiut Denim.
And it wasn’t her only hands-on experience that day. Before popping into the factory, which has been producing high-quality denim since the 1960s, she visited a nearby wooden mill, where she learned how to mend delicate fabrics. According to staff member Paula Harding, Kate was a natural. “She did it right. It’s amazing […] she’s got the skill,” she raved.
Given that enthusiastic reaction, it’s safe to say the Princess of Wales has a real knack for it. Consider this just one more item on the list of Kate’s hidden talents.
What’s with the throwback pursuits?
Kate’s hobbies are surprising, and not just because she’s a princess. While the late Queen Elizabeth II may have grown up in an era of hand-sewing garments and knitting homemade sweaters (not that the queen needed to make her own clothes!), the latest generation of royals lives in a time when such skills have been all but forgotten.
And yet these throwback pastimes are on the rise, and not just among royals. Adults and teens without royal pedigrees are becoming increasingly interested in so-called grandma hobbies—think: knitting, gardening and playing mahjong. Years ago, these may have been necessary pursuits, but now they’re a much-needed break from online life.
What other grandma hobbies does Kate love?
Many, it seems! Kate has repeatedly talked about her love for baking cakes and making jams and chutney. When she first had Christmas dinner with the royal family, she gifted the late queen a jar of homemade chutney, much to the monarch’s delight. And while chatting with a bunch of young volunteers at a community garden in Wales in early 2025, Kate surprised them with her plum expertise … then promised to send the group her plum jam recipe.
Her other down-to-earth hobbies include:
- Drawing: During a Scotland tour, she showed off an impressive sketch of her college town St. Andrew’s, where she met William.
- Playing cards: The prince has said competition among the Middleton clan is so fierce that he’s made excuses to avoid card games with Kate and her family.
- Antique shopping: Most recently, she browsed furniture for her new home, Forest Lodge. The day’s haul included a dining table that seats 24.
Do any of the other royals enjoy grandma hobbies?
Queen Camilla has her own book club and loves gardening and picking mushrooms (passions she shares with her husband, King Charles III), while Elizabeth was very keen on countryside walks and Scottish country dancing—but then, both ladies were already grandmas when we found out about their downtime passions.
Meghan Markle, on the other hand, is decades younger than both of them but still quite a homebody. Her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, highlights grandma hobbies such as making jam, arranging flowers and practicing calligraphy, the latter of which was her (very lucrative) side hustle as a young actress before she shot to fame and married Prince Harry.
How does this compare with the hobbies of the other royals?
There’s nothing wrong with sewing and knitting, but some of Kate’s family are a bit more adventurous during their time off. Here’s how other royals have spent their time.
- Prince William: The crown prince loves watching soccer. He has supported British club Aston Villa since his school days and regularly cheers them on at the stadium (often alongside George, who is a big fan too). William is also very keen on zigzagging around on his e-scooter (despite the risk of fines).
- Prince Harry: California living has turned Harry into a surfer! He’s been spotted alongside surfing pros Kelly Slater and Raimana Van Bastolaer while riding both ocean waves and those of the man-made variety in Lemoore, California.
- Princess Diana: The late Princess of Wales secretly took ballet lessons and loved dancing in general—who could forget her dance with John Travolta at the White House in 1985? Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, seems to have picked up the passion and is also taking dance classes.
- Meghan Markle: The Duchess of Sussex may be all about grandma hobbies, but she’s also a passionate yogi. She even attends group classes in Montecito, California, and brought a mat on her African safari with Harry shortly after they’d met, as her husband revealed in his book, Spare.
- Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie: The sisters (daughters of disgraced ex-prince Andrew) are both music fans and festivalgoers. Beatrice, in particular, has been spotted many times mingling with the crowds at Glastonbury, the U.K.’s equivalent to Coachella.
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Sources:
- BBC: “Princess of Wales told ‘she’s got the skill’ during wool mill visit”
- BBC: “Duchess ‘gave Queen home-made chutney'”
- BBC: “Princess Diana dances with John Travolta”
- Marie Claire: “Princess Kate’s latest ‘Adventurous’ grandma hobby revealed”
- Marie Claire: “The creative hobby Princess Kate didn’t quite master”
- The Guardian: “‘Knitting is a lifeline’: young people turn to craft to cast off gloom”
- The Independent: “Queen Camilla says she spends ‘too long’ gardening: ‘Everything creaks and groans'”
- Vogue: “Wow, Meghan Markle has gorgeous handwriting”
- People: “Kate Middleton shows off artistic skills with drawing of college town to wrap Scotland tour”
- People: “Prince William Used to ‘Make an Excuse’ to Get Out of Playing Competitive Card Games with Kate Middleton’s Family”
- Vanity Fair: “Prince Harry surfs with Kelly Slater at a man-made wave facility”
- The News International: “Kate Middleton purchases luxury antique furniture for new home: Report”
