The Princess of Wales was treated to a noisy rockstar welcome on her visit to Reggio Emilia on her first overseas working trip in nearly four years – and Jennie Bond believes it will mean one thing
The Princess of Wales certainly seemed to charm Italy on her first official overseas visit since her cancer diagnosis – pulling in crowds wherever she went.
Thousands packed into the main square of Reggio Emilia to try and catch a glimpse of Kate as she kicked off her two-day working visit, which was a fact-finding mission for her early years project. Fans handed over flowers as she snapped selfies with them and even cooed over a little baby, who had been held over the crowd control barriers.
Meanwhile, on a visit to a school in the city in Northern Italy, children all clamoured for hugs while teachers got emotional and shed tears as she was leaving.
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The visit marked a milestone for Kate, being her first official foreign tour since she was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 and had to undergo chemotherapy treatment.
And royal expert Jennie Bond told the Mirror that the visit certainly showed what the Royal Family has been missing in that time. The former BBC royal correspondent said: “The extraordinary glamour and youthful star quality that the Princess brings to any event has been somewhat missing during her absence.
“The PR team will not, of course, be putting any pressure on Catherine, but they must be hoping that the success of this trip to Italy is a precursor to more overseas tours, flying the flag for Britain and the British monarchy.
“I think it’s only when you see the stars of our royal family on tour that you realise the extraordinary pulling power of the British monarchy.
“There are 10 European monarchies in all, and yet it’s our Monarch and our heirs to the throne who consistently draw the biggest crowds wherever they go.”
The huge crowds that turned out for Kate made many compare the scenes to when her late mother-in-law Princess Diana would make overseas trips as part of her royal duties and later charity work.
Jennie accompanied Diana on many of those trips and says the similarities are clear. She explained: “Seeing the throngs who turned out to cheer Catherine in Italy gave me a sense of déjà vu from all the years I spent travelling with her late mother-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales.
“Some had queued for hours just to get a glimpse of Catherine; they screamed in excitement when they saw her, and teachers at a school she visited cried when she left. It was the sort of near mass hysteria I witnessed pretty much wherever Diana went.
“I saw it in the States, in France, Japan, India, Nepal, and Australia. Back then they called it Di-mania. This has already been dubbed Kate fever.
“It’s hard to imagine other European royals such as Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden — who’s just a few years older than Catherine and very popular in her home country – being given the rockstar treatment on a visit to the UK. But everyone, it seems, wants to meet our Catherine, and, indeed, William, Charles, and Camilla.”
Of course, Kate now has the same title – Princess of Wales – as Diana, inheriting it when Prince William was made Prince of Wales after the death of the late Queen in 2022.
Before Elizabeth II’s death, it is said Kate wanted to forge her own path in the Royal Family outside of the legacy of Diana. In his book, William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story , by The Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers, it is revealed that at the time, Kate ‘privately’ expressed her reservations about taking over the royal title, given it has become synonymous with her late mother-in-law.
But addressing the comparisons, Jennie added: “I think it’s something Kate should find flattering. Diana‘s popularity was global and astonishing, and it enabled her to have a highly influential voice on issues she cared about – such as AIDS, leprosy and landmines. Catherine is developing the same clout with her campaign about early years education. She should be proud.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
