The Princess in Familiar Styles for Wales Engagements

The Princess of Wales chose familiar styles for engagements in Wales today. She started the day at Tŷ Hafan Children’s Hospice in Sully, near Cardiff.

This was her first “away day” since beginning her return to more regular engagements following her surgery and chemotherapy. Kate Mansey of The Times shared two quick videos of the Princess arriving at the hospice. 

NEW: The Princess of Wales has arrived in Wales where she is following in the footsteps of Princess Diana by becoming royal patron of @tyhafan children’s hospice near Cardiff.
The position was then taken up by the King and now Kate. It’s part of a gradual return to work for Kate pic.twitter.com/nlPINNf21G

— Kate Mansey (@KateMansey) January 30, 2025

As noted in the caption for the videos above, the Princess is the new royal patron for the hospice, taking on the role from King Charles. Diana, Princess of Wales, was the organization’s first royal patron while the facility was under construction. Here, you see her at a 1995 fundraiser for the facility, “A Concert of Hope,” at the Cardiff International Arena. 
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King Charles has been the hospice’s patron since 2001. Here, you see him at a 2001 engagement at the hospice.
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And at a 2007 engagement. 
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Tŷ Hafan translates from Welsh to ‘Haven House’ in English.

It was the first children’s hospice to open in Wales.

More information about the hospice can be found on its website. 

Tŷ Hafan…provides free care and support to children with life-shortening conditions and their families, both within the hospice and in homes and communities in Wales. Tŷ Hafan offers a lifeline vital throughout a child’s life, as well as at the end of life – through bereavement and beyond.

At the heart of Tŷ Hafan is a commitment to providing holistic support, focusing on the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the children in its care and their families. The organisation is also focused on fostering connections, creating a feeling of community that ensures children and families feel more supported through their shared experiences.

The Princess spent time with patients, their families, staff, and volunteers.

We learn about today’s engagement from The Evening Standard’s story. 

During the visit she joined a “stay and play” musical session with children and family members and spoke to two bereaved couples whose children were cared for at the hospice.

When she chatted to a number of parents and their children during the musical therapy she said about the hospice: “I know what a lifeline it is and makes a difference.”

The Princess met 5-year-old Oscar. Wales Online reports Oscar has “a rare multi-system condition which results in severe global developmental delay and epilepsy.” 

Felix was at the hospice with his parents, Alex and Dan Forbes, and his sisters Lottie, who turns 10 on Jan. 31, and Maggie, 4. 

There are handprints along the main corridor leading to the canteen in the central hub of the hospice, giving it a bright and welcoming feel.

“She was talking about the handprints and how lovely they are, and we said we had all done ours — but we did it before our youngest daughter Maggie was born,” Felix’s mom Alex tells PEOPLE. “So she said to Maggie, ‘I’m getting mine done today, shall we do it together?’”

So the Princess and children made hand prints. Here, she is painting Maggie’s hand.

More from The Daily Mail’s coverage.

Catherine grabbed her hand and said: ‘Shall we do it together? Would you like me to paint your hand?’

She held her hand and brushed on red paint and said: ‘Tell me it tickles. Is it ticklish? My kiddies would love this if I went and did this back at home today.’

And here is Lottie painting the Princess’s hand.

We return to the People article.

While her parents say Maggie was a bit bashful about the whole experience, “Lottie’s now aware she’s all over the internet,” dad Dan says.

“It was really warming and easy,” Alex says of the experience interacting with Princess Kate. “You can tell she is a mom. It was easy to see in the way she was so engaging with the girls. She was lovely. She got Lottie to come in and asked, ‘Do you want to paint my hand?’ ”

Here is the finished product with the Princess’s print and another made by 4-year-old Maggie.

Another image of the Princess and Maggie. 

It turns out the Princess wasn’t the first royal to make a handprint for the hospice. Prince Charles did the same during a 2001 visit.
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The Princess saw the hospice’s garden. 

She spent time in the gazebo with parents who lost a child. 

The Princess spoke with Anton Griffiths and Candice Jones from Llanelli, south Wales.

Their 14-month-old daughter, Winnie, received end-of-life care at Tŷ Hafan in 2023.  We go back to The Evening Standard story. 

The couple, who have two boys, spoke to the princess about their daughter, who had white matter disease, a condition affecting the brain, while sitting in the hospice’s garden with stunning views over the Severn estuary. 

Mr Griffiths, a baker, said about Kate: “She said she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be in that situation.”

His partner added: “And she’s got two boys and a little girl the same as us, so I think it it’s very close to her heart, as well as ours.”

Here is a Kensington Palace social media post shared following the hospice visit. 

After her hospice engagement, the Princess then visited Corgi Hosiery.

We learn more from The Telegraph’s piece by Victoria Ward. 

The Princess wanted to use today’s visit to highlight the work of two organisations rooted in the community. 

Corgi, a textiles manufacturer in Ammanford, South Wales, which focuses on the production of socks and knitwear. The visit is said to underline her passion for the textiles industry, borne in part from family history.

More about the company from its site. 

Corgi was founded in 1892 by Carmarthenshire draper Rhys Jones who, having purchased some second-hand knitting machines, started making thigh-high woollen stockings for the local colliers. He then began to produce a range of finer quality socks, ideal for men to wear to chapel on Sundays.

Now, some 120 years and four generations later, the company is managed by Rhys’ great, great grandchildren Chris Jones and Lisa Wood.

Below, the Princess with Mr. Jones and Ms. Wood. 

Corgi holds a Royal Warrant as a Manufacturer of Knitwear and Hosiery to His Majesty The King—more from Wales Online. 

Corgi produces more than 200,000 garments a year, specialising in natural fibres, by a team of 50 staff members, sold to 34 countries. Everything is made on site. Socks are produced for the King himself, and made slightly longer, and plain coloured, per his request. He also sends nine regimental ties to Corgi, with socks made to match.

The Princess met the company’s design team and spoke with employees about projects they were working on.

Wales Online reports that the company uses “a combination of old mechanical machines and new, more modern machines.”

We return to The Daily Mail’s coverage. 

Catherine took a seat at one machine where employee Shauna Kinsey, 24, showed her how to ‘link’ the toe to the sock, stitch by stitch.

The Princess spent several minutes trying to get to grips with the process, laughing at her own efforts.

‘It’s so fiddly,’ she said. ‘It’s definitely not my forte.’

One more portion of the Wales Online coverage. 

Kate was overheard talking to machinists taking an interest in the design process. She was all smiles as she tried her hand at it herself.

But was heard to say “I’m sorry I was so terrible.”

Chris Jones spoke positively about the visit, per this report from the South Wales Guardian. 

“The princess said she wants to shine a light on manufacturing in the UK, so it’s really nice to get their support.

“And it’s lovely for the staff, the skills they have got, they don’t always get the recognition, so it’s really nice.

“We spoke about the industry, the challenges, but really she wanted to know how we made the products, and the skills involved.”

After her visit, the Princess spoke with well-wishers gathered outside Corgi. 

One little girl wanted to give the Princess her banana. 

Here is a video posted by Kensington Palace following the Corgi visit. 

Celebrating creativity, craftsmanship, and heritage at @Corgi_Socks in south Wales.

Founded in 1892, this family-run business has grown from local roots to a global brand. From design innovation to seeing the magic happen on the factory floor, it was a great look at how… pic.twitter.com/pm7venl8xA

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 30, 2025

Now for our look at what Kate wore today: repeats of a coat by tailor Chris Kerr and a Zara dress.

The cream-colored coat was custom-made for the Princess by menswear tailor Chris Kerr. It features a fitted bodice, notched lapels, three-button front closure, flap pockets, lightly padded shoulders, and flared cuffs. It was first noted during February 2023 engagements with Prince William in South Wales. NOTE: Initially, the post stated the coat was also worn for the December 2023 taping of the Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey – that is incorrect. Thank you to Sarah for her comment pointing this out!

This was the fourth appearance of the Zara dress, officially called the Printed Dress with Belt when it was released. Made of 100% polyester, the dress features a pleated skirt, v-neck with attached bow, elastic on the inside of the waistband, button cuffs, and a wide self-belt.It was first worn in January 2020 for engagements in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The next appearance was in October 2021 at University College London. The Princess wore the dress again in April 2023 when visiting the Aberfan Memorial in Wales and again today. 

The dress is long ago sold out, but available on sites like eBay and Poshmark.

The Princess wore the Russell and Bromley 100 Point Blade pumps most recently seen at the Holocaust Memorial events on Monday.

She brought back her ‘Alia’ Earrings (£95, about $118 at today’s exchange rates) by Welsh jeweler Spells of Love. The trapezoid-shaped hoops are handcrafted of recycled brass covered in 18K gold plating; they are available for preorder.

I will close the post with one more photo from today. 

VIDEOS:

The Royal Family Channel has almost 8 minutes of coverage of the hospice visit in this video.

This Royal Family Channel video covers the handprints. 

 
And this video covers the Corgi Socks visit.