Kate Middleton’s nine secret talents: From scuba diving to homemade sausages

The Princess of Wales has revealed a few of her secret talents over the years, most recently at the Eurovision Song contest where she showed off her piano skills.

However, some of her knacks aren’t as well-known as others. From scuba-diving to sign language, here are some of the future Queen’s lesser-known abilities.

Sign language

During a visit to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall this year, Kate greeted kids from the King Charles C of E Primary School using sign language.

Before watching a mode boat race, the Princess of Wales demonstrated her sign language skills when speaking with a child with hearing problems.

It wasn’t the first time she’d put her sign language knowledge to good use - Kate also used sign language back in 2014 when visiting a local scout club in East London, where she said the Scout’s promise “I promise to do my best, to be kind and helpful and to love my world” while signing.

Pianist

The Princess of Wales pleasantly surprised fans and royalists worldwide when she made a surprise appearance in the opening sequence of the Eurovision Final playing the piano.

It wasn’t the first glimpse of this talent - Middleton accompanied Tom Walker during her annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey back in 2021.

Walker revealed how impressed he was with the royal on Good Morning Britain: “She is fantastic, she is a really talented musician.”

Artistic talents

Kate is really a jack of all trades when it comes to her artistic abilities. The Princess is a whizz when it comes to photography - just checkout her and Prince William’s Instagram for reference - and also loves drawing and painting, boasting a degree in History of Art from St Andrew’s University.

Kate allegedly drew the 12th-century St Mark’s Church in Englefield on the front of the service booklet for her sister Pippa Middleton’s wedding. Her new brother-in-law thanked the royal for the “beautiful drawing” during his speech.

Beekeeping

Along with her brother James Middleton and other senior members of the royal family, Kate is a keen beekeeper. On World Bee Day last month, the Princess of Wales posted a picture of herself tending to her hives in Norfolk.

She’s also known to give out jars of her homemade honey during royal outings. Back in 2021, Kate asked kids from St Mary of the Angels Primary School if it “tasted like honey from the shops” during her visit to the Natural History Museum.

Scuba-diving

Another one of Kate’s surprising talents is scuba diving. While the Prince and Princess of Wales were visiting Belize, the pair were spotted scuba diving during their Caribbean tour.

In 2015, Middleton got her Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) open water diving qualification, with a Kensington Palace spokesperson confirming: “Diving is something the Duchess very much enjoys, and the Duke of Cambridge, who is of course President of the BSAC, has said in the past that he is hopeful his children will become interested in the sport.”

Cooking

Kate’s husband Prince William has often gushed about his wife’s skills in the kitchen, with the royal even making the late Queen Elizabeth's homemade chutney from her grandmother’s recipe, which she gifted the monarch for Christmas.

The Princess of Wales is also kitted out with her own sausage maker, which she uses to make tasty dinnertime meals for her kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Gardening

Kate has proven to be quite the green thumb, creating an innovative design for the Chelsea Flower Show back in 2019 to encourage families to “get outside” and “enjoy nature”.

The garden included a waterfall, rustic den, treehouse and a campfire, as well as tree stumps, steppingstones and a hollow log for kids to play on.

Rowing

A lover of the outdoors, Kate has been spotted on multiple occasions getting stuck into competitive sport. One much-loved sport the royal is keen on is rowing.

Kate was even set to take part in the dragon boat race across the English Channel in 2007, but was advised by Buckingham Palace not to participate.

Knitting

Perhaps more of a hobby than a talent, Kate admitted she loves to knit but can’t get the hang of it.

Back in 2020, she revealed to a group of women in Glasgow that she had been attempting to knit her son George a sweater, but it had “splattered” when she was halfway through making it.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.