The Princess of Wales had a message for the people of Ukraine as she joined a relief effort today: ‘We are thinking of you.’
Kate, 41, wrote the thoughtful message on an aid box of food and toiletries on a visit to a community hub sending aid to Kyiv.
The royal also helped women and children making patriotic ribbons to be sold for the war effort, and added her handprint to a tree of peace originally created to mark the first anniversary of the February 2022 Russian invasion.
While most of her family are still in Ukraine her daughter, Liza, eight, was there to meet the Princess.
Kate talked to her about music and told her how the sound of Princess Charlotte singing a hymn had brightened up her morning.
The Princess of Wales revealed Princess Charlotte has a lovely singing voice as she chatted to a Ukrainian singer at a community hub in Bracknell today
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‘I heard my daughter singing this morning and it’s a song called Shine Jesus Shine and it made me very happy this morning,’ she said.
Liza said she knew it from Ukraine. ‘Do you know that song? Does it have the same tune? I heard that this morning and it made me very happy this morning,’ the princess asked, adding: ‘I’m going to look up that song in Ukrainian.’
Rocking a fashion forward £120 grey sweater vest from Samantha Cameron’s clothing line, Cefinn, and £130 Sezane trousers, the future Queen went to Vsi Razom Ukrainian community hub at a shopping centre in Bracknell, Berkshire, surprising shoppers when she appeared in the mall for a previously unannounced visit.
She told the British and Ukrainian volunteers and refugees helping out at the hub in the Lexicon shopping centre: ‘Thank you. Please keep up the amazing work you are doing. It’s great to see the work that’s going on.’
Her office contacted the founders of Vsi Razom, which means All Together in Ukrainian, to ask if she could come and see the work they were doing.
‘I thought it was someone joking,’ said Natalia Vil, who co-founded the hub with Ashleigh Toomey to help people back in Ukraine.
Natalia, 40, who is Estonian, is married to a Ukrainian and the couple came to Britain 25 years ago, settling in Bracknell.
When the war broke out they began collecting aid for the people resisting the invasion and Ashleigh, 39, who is British and has no connection with Ukraine, offered to help. Since then they have sent six lorries and countless cars and vans full of aid.
The Princess of Wales appeared to be helping the little girl create a collage during the session at the community hub
During her visit, the Princess of Wales shook hands with a royal fan who is a wheelchair user, and said hello
Princess Kate smiled and waved as she left the community hub carrying her bunch of flowers themed in the Ukrainian colours
Elsewhere in her visit, the Princess of Wales met with volunteers who pack aid boxes which are sent to people stull living in Ukraine
The Princess of Wales rolled up her sleeves on the visit to the community hub and contributed her handprint in paint to a canvas
Kate’s bouquet contained yellow and blue flowers to represent the colours in the Ukrainian flag, plus a touch of eucalyptus
The Princess of Wales looked smart in knitwear as she visited the Vsi Razom Community Hub, in the Lexicon Shopping Centre, Bracknell, this morning
The Prince and her husband, Prince William, as well as other senior royals, have been vocal supporters of Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression and of the international relief effort to help victims of the war.
Kate spoke to psychologist Tetinia Sverdlova, who provides weekly sessions for displaced Ukrainians to discuss the challenges of adjusting to life in the UK.
Mrs Sverdlova came to Britain under the Homes for Ukrainian People programme in April 2023, was given shelter by a family in Bracknell, with whom she is still staying.
‘It’s been wonderful. Bracknell is a very nice city. People are very welcoming. We feel a lot of support,’ she said.
The Princess got stuck into packing an aid box soon after arriving at the hub, which is housed for free in an empty shop unit in the Lexicon centre.
‘Which box are we doing? Is there a technique? ‘ she asked.
Natalia’s son Alexei Ovchinnik, 15, told her it was best to put the heaviest items at the bottom of the box, as the two chatted about the continuing need for donations and volunteers.
After she has closed up her box and written on her message, she moved on to a group of women making patriotic ribbons in the yellow and blue of Ukraine to be sent to soldiers or to be sold to the public to raise money for the relief effort.
Kate had a go at tying two strips of ribbon up into a bow and made a decent fist of it despite modestly declaring: ‘I’m not sure you’re going to be able to sell this one.’
She proudly pinned one of the ribbons to her chest and was then given another yellow and blue emblem cut into the shape of an angel. ‘I’ll have to try making one of these with my kiddies at home,’ she said.
Before talking to the psychologist she also donned a blue disposable glove to put her handprint on the tree of peace. ‘I’ve never done a handprint with a glove on. It will be a bit cleaner. Normally the children end up putting paint everywhere,’ she said.
After she had left, Natalia, the co-founder, expressed hope that the royal visit would raise the hub’s profile and lead to further support from local businesses.
She added: ‘It was really amazing. She was so friendly. She took time and talked to everyone in the room.’
As she left the Vsi Razom Community Hub, Kate smiled while carrying her flowers
The Princess of Wales posed with a Ukrainian mother and her son during her visit to the hub
During her visit, Kate heard from Ukrainian families now living in the UK who have been displaced by the war in their home country
After trying her hand at making bow badges using ribbons in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, Kate proudly displayed one on her chest
During a crafting session where she learnt how to make the bows, the Princess of Wales didn’t think much of her creation – but it turned out pretty well
After packaging up her aid box, which will be sent to people living in Ukraine amid the conflict, the Princess of Wales wrote a note to the recipients
Kate’s touching note to the recipients of the aid box read: ‘We are all thinking of you’
As she placed items into boxes, the Princess of Wales asked if there was a method to the packing – and was advised to put heavy items in the bottom
Kate gets crafty! The mother-of-three joined an arts and crafts session run by the hub for Ukrainian children
Kate helped the tot, who was regal in a shining tiara, create an artistic masterpiece in the arts and crafts session
The Princess of Wales shared a sweet moment with another little princess during her visit to the arts and crafts centre
Princess Kate chatted to a sweet schoolgirl who wore a blue and yellow bow in her hair and had a painting for the royal
The sweet little girl looked a little bashful as she met the real-life princess, but Kate proved once again she has a natural affinity with children
The Princess opted to wear her thick brunette locks in loose curls hanging down her shoulders for the visit
The Princess’s visit saw her meet several refugees, plus volunteers who work with the hub to support Ukrainians in the UK
Kate chose a white and grey outfit to visit the community hub in Bracknell today, opting for a £120 knitted vest from Cefinn
The Princess, 41, wore her thick brunette locks in loose curls and opted for her signature pearled hoops
Princess Kate opted for the autumnal look of a Cefin sweater vest and Sezane trousers in grey
Since the conflict in Ukraine began, The Prince and Princess of Wales have carried out a number of visits to highlight the plight of people in Ukraine and the generous support that communities and organisations across the UK have offered in response.
In addition, last November, The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales convened a virtual roundtable meeting to provide advice and share best practice to help support the First Lady of Ukraine’s mental health strategy, which is addressing the impact the ongoing conflict is having upon the mental wellbeing of Ukrainians.
Today’s visit to the hub is a solo trip for Kate, after she and William travelled to Cardiff on Tuesday to meet with Windrush elders in a celebration of Black History month.
The visit marked the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush on UK shores, and the Prince and Princess met with members of a community group in the Welsh capital to hear about how the Windrush generation shaped society.
During the visit, the competitive couple each picked team members to go head-to-head in a doubles game of table tennis.
Upon arrival at the Grange Pavilion in Grangetown suburb of the Welsh capital the royal couple met schoolchildren who were keen to meet a real-life Prince and Princess.
Their royal highnesses shook hands with the young royal fans, while also giving some pupils a little fist-bump or a high five.
As they said hello to the young fans, who were waving flags from Wales and other nations around the world, Prince William seemed mesmerised by a young pupil’s headband which featured two pink pom poms.
Femail Verdict
By Alice Hare Junior Fashion Editor
Royal fashion obsessives know that in the 1990s, Princess Diana made a purposeful shift in her wardrobe.
No longer playing at being the perfect ingenue wife, she found a new maturity and confidence. Gone were the early days, trailing behind her husband as he cut ribbons and made speeches. Diana meant business – and her wardrobe full of suits reflected this.
Perhaps there’s a similar impetus behind Kate’s recent move towards tailoring. Yesterday, visiting a Berkshire charity hub sending parcels to Ukraine, she chose a pair of exquisitely cut grey wool trousers, £130 from French brand Sezane, a crisp white shirt and £120 grey knitted tank top from Samantha Cameron’s label Cefinn.
She accessorised the look with block-heeled shoes from JCrew and £68 earrings from British brand Shyla London. It’s a outfit that wouldn’t look amiss in the boardroom.
On Tuesday, she stepped out in Cardiff in a navy pinstripe suit, the same one she wore a few days earlier to meet Apple CEO Tim Cook. In September, she looked impossibly chic in a Roland Mouret camel suit to visit a youth intervention charity.
The very next day, a suit was her choice again to visit Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton. Days later, she wore a green Burberry trouser suit to visit textile mills in Yorkshire.
Gone are the flowy midi dresses of old. September, for Kate, was a positive homage to impeccable tailoring.
Twelve years into her marriage, Kate no longer feels the need to ‘perform’ princess in coatdresses and twinsets. She is a fully embedded royal, trusted to be the face of their most important engagements.
Who said a princess belongs in glass slippers and fussy gowns? This one certainly doesn’t.