During an engagement at a local garden centre yesterday, The Duchess of Cambridge revealed that her children love spending time at garden centres.
“They love it,” Catherine said. “It’s such a great space for children and families to come to garden centres.”
The Duchess was at Fakenham Garden Centre, to check in with the staff as to how the pandemic has affected their business. The royal visitor was dressed down in trainers and a gilet, as she chatted to owners Martin and Jennie Turner.
Martin told her they had had to furlough 15 of their 50 staff members, and a handful were made redundant. The business was closed for seven weeks until May 15.
“This has been the most challenging thing we’ve ever experienced,” Mr Turner said. ” We completely shut until after Easter and then we opened for some collections and deliveries in the car park.”
But he explained that there had been an increase in people looking for plants in the last few weeks since they re-opened.
She said: “Really, that’s great, and now people have the time to do it. For those who are keen gardeners, have they struggled not being able to come in and maybe look or buy things?”
Kensington Palace revealed Kate’s first public engagement since lockdown today, as Prince William headed to a local bakery.
She spoke of her jaunts out during lockdown, which haven’t been many.”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.”
Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Fakenham Garden Centre in Norfolk – her first public engagement since the Coronavirus lockdown began
She also said that she and her husband had found the social effects of the pandemic unsettling: “When we do our food shopping, we notice that everyone keeps their head down and it’s hard for that social interaction.”
The Duchess of Camrbidge also used a yellow trolley as she browsed plants, selecting a few to take home to Anmer Hall, where the Cambridges have spent lockdown.
Prince George, the Royal explained, loves playing with Venus fly trap plants and all three of her children have been growing tomato plants at home. “They were very excited to grow them from seeds and now they’re as tall as them,” she added.
