Princess Kate is no wallflower, but she does have her limits.
The Princess of Wales got candid on why she finds large events socially challenging while attending a reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, April 21.
Kate, who often delivers speeches as part of her royal duties, told a group of attendees that the loudness of crowded functions often clashes with her soft-spoken nature, as seen in fan footage shared on social media.
“I find these environments to be really hard,” Princess Kate said. “I’ve also got a very soft voice, so I always get told, ‘Speak up a bit louder!'”
Princess Kate speaks with 100-year-old Joan Illingworth during a reception at Buckingham Palace, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth II, in London on April 21, 2026.
This isn’t the first time Princess Kate has spoken about her public speaking woes.
After giving her first speech as a working royal in March 2012, the princess reportedly told a guest at the event, “I find doing speeches nerve-wracking,” according to The Guardian.
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The British royal returned to the speaker’s podium in November after completing her cancer treatment earlier in the year. Princess Kate gave remarks at the U.K. Future Workforce Summit, speaking in London about the importance of weaving “dignity” and “tenderness” into business practices for the purpose of a “happier, healthier society.”
Tuesday’s reception was also a sentimental occasion for the Princess of Wales. The event, a centennial birthday celebration for the late Queen Elizabeth II, saw Kate pay homage to Queen Elizabeth’s iconic fashion by wearing a three-strand pearl necklace and Bahrain pearl drop earrings that previously belonged to the queen.
Princess Kate honors Queen Elizabeth: Royal wears Elizabeth’s jewelry to mark monarch’s 100th birthday
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-living monarch, died in 2022 at age 96 and would’ve turned 100 on April 21. She spent more than 70 years on the throne, starting in 1952, longer than any prior British monarch.
Kate previously wore the Bahrain pearl drop earrings to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022, along with a four-strand pearl choker necklace that also belonged to the queen, People magazine reported at the time. She later wore the earrings again for Holocaust Remembrance Day services in January 2025, per the magazine.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo and Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kate Middleton reveals ‘really hard’ part of royal life
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