Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
A SUITED Kate takes a strut down memory lane — on a visit to a textiles company.
The Princess of Wales, 41, wore a forest green Burberry suit to the AW Hainsworth heritage textile mill — once owned by her great-grandfather.
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The mill, in Pudsey, West Yorks, crafts Buckingham Palace military uniforms.
Grabbing a handful of merino wool, Kate said: “I love the feel of it.”
Her paternal great-grandfather, Noel Middleton sold the family business, William Lupton & Co to A W Hainsworth in 1958.
The mill made the fabric used for the uniform worn by Prince William on his wedding day and the sweet little jacket sported by Prince Louis at King Charles’ coronation in May.
She spent several minutes marvelling at the giant looms and fabric being dyed red for Buckingham Palace military uniforms.
And the princess watched a fire retardant test and she also met a life-sized mannequin sporting the finished guards uniform
Outside she chatted to staff, bending down to pick up a sample of green felt she had been given that she accidentally dropped and explained that it was used inside pianos for the keys to strike and that she herself played.
Rachel Hainsworth, seventh generation of the family to be involved in the mill’s operations, said afterwards: “We make all the different ceremonial uniforms.
“We didn’t know until the day of his wedding that William was wearing ours, but we were incredibly proud to see it.
“We chatted about her family history, she said her parents had been talking to her about it.
“She was very interested to hear about the collar meltons and how they are still going, which was such an important part of their business.”