Princess Kate is ‘charming’ and ‘good at putting people at ease’ according to a CEO who has worked with her for over a decade – he says that she inspires young people across the country
Princess Kate and Prince William will celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary at the end of the month. In the time since she joined the Royal Family, Kate has emerged as one of the most popular members, with her good grace and down-to-earth nature making her a huge hit with members of the public.
And she’s exactly the same away from the cameras, according to the CEO of the Scouts, Matt Hyde, who previously spoke to the Mirror about what it’s really like to work alongside the Princess.
Kate joined the Scouts as a volunteer in January 2012, less than a year after joining the Royal Family, and in September 2020, she became Joint President of the Scouts Association. Just as she does with all of the organisations she works with, the royal stays in regular contact behind the scenes.
According to Matt, “She’s totally charming and very good at putting people at ease. As you imagine, whether you’re a scout leader or a young person, when you’re meeting the [then] Duchess of Cambridge some people are in awe or starstruck.
“Behind the scenes she’s consistent with what you see in public. I think there are some people in the public eye who have such resonance with the public, and that’s because what you see is what you get.
“She’s fantastic at asking the right questions and listening to people. She’s naturally good at engaging with people of all ages. She really does bring the best out of young people and she really wants to hear their stories.”
Matt continued: “It’s always such an exciting moment when you get to spend time with her and you can see her shine but also bring the best out of others.
“She’s not afraid to muck in and get involved and the children love that. Some of the younger ones have a view of what’s going to arrive as a princess, like a Disney princess or something like that, so that always takes a bit of getting used to.”
He further explained: “We’ve tried to align things we want to talk about as Scouts with things she’s passionate about, whether that’s younger years or mental health.
“She’s good at asking the right questions in order for them to talk and share their own stories. That’s pretty amazing.
“If you’re a young person and you’ve had that experience you’ll think about that for the rest of your life. For that moment you’re their sole focus of attention. It’s really powerful. I think we underestimate that at our peril, there is a bit of joy. It’s a privilege to see as it really lights up people’s lives.”
Kate’s involvement with Scouts has brought them into the spotlight and encouraged thousands more people to get involved.
Matt explained: “We’ve had fantastic engagement with her ever since [she joined]. It was such a brilliant opportunity to promote flexible volunteering, which is what she did helping out with a Cub pack in Anglesey.
“The advantage of being a volunteer herself is that she isn’t daunted by [getting involved] and she enjoys doing it. This is something that is really core to her belief and what she’s passionate about. She’s experienced the power of being outdoors on her own well-being and the family’s well-being, and she wants other people to experience that as well. She’s an incredible role model for the girls and young women in the Scout movement.
And Kate always looks the part when she arrives at Scouting events, normally wearing her Scout Scarf in what’s known as a Friendship Knot.
“Rather than the traditional Woggle, it’s a bit more of a relaxed style. Across the world there are 55million Scouts and all of them wear one and that’s one of the things that binds us all together,” Matt said. “When we do things with [Kate] I’m always being contacted by Scouts who have seen the coverage and the footage. Her impact is far bigger than what is felt in the UK. It has a really, really big impact.”
Matt’s favourite memory of Kate is from an early year’s pilot that the princess joined them for. After the press photographers had moved on to get into place ready for the next event, Kate stayed behind to carry on playing with the kids.
He explained: “[Kate] had been left with the young people who really wanted to do den building with her. They wanted to check whether it was waterproof or not. It was great, they made her go in there and they were all there armed with water to check if it was going to go on top of them.
“Suddenly you could see that the press were missing out on this fantastic picture running back to get this incredible image. It was just that moment of magic you could see unfolding, and there was this slightly mischievous moment from these four and five year olds. But she absolutely went with it.”
A version of this story was first published on 30 April 2021.
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