It’s typical for members of Britain’s royal family to travel via helicopter, motorcade and chauffered limousines — or, on certain special occasions, in a gilded horse-drawn carriage.
One means of transportation royals generally avoid is the London Underground, the vast network of subterranean subways that Londoners have dubbed the Tube.
Leave it to royal rebel Princess Catherine to shake things up, which she certainly did when she and daughter Princess Charlotte took an unannounced trip on the Tube.
A Trip on the Tube
On Saturday, October 10, passengers on the Elizabeth Line — which takes commuters from Greater London to parts of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire — were shocked to see the erstwhile Kate Middleton and her 11-year-old daughter riding alongside them.
As one of those passengers told Hello!, the young royal seemed to be “amazed” by her experience on the train.
“They spoke to members of the public sitting across from them,” the source told the outlet.
“They had security with them and Catherine held Charlotte’s hand getting off at Tottenham Court Road. The security didn’t make it obvious they were there and they tried to make it as ‘normal’ as possible,” the source added.
Catherine was reportedly wearing a burgundy outfit with matching heels, and seemed perfectly at home on the Tube.
“Catherine had her phone with her and was looking at her phone for a couple of minutes,” the source continued. “They seemed very relaxed and were chatting together, smiling. It was a brief interaction with people opposite them but they seemed very happy.”
‘I Miss Traveling On the Tube’
Before she began dating future husband Prince William, the Tube was Princess Catherine’s primary means of transportation.
Back in 2013, the then-pregnant royal was on hand at London’s Baker Street Tube station to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, where she traveled via Tube.
At the time, she lamented no longer being able to get around that way.
“I miss traveling on the Tube,” she said, as reported by Hello!
As The Express reported, the royal — then known as the Duchess of Cambridge — hadn’t been scheduled to appear at that event, but decided to drop by on the spur of the moment, joining her in-laws Queen Elizbeth II and husband Prince Philip.
“She just fancied it,” a senior royal aide explained. “She asked if she could come along.”
During her visit, she was presented with a “Baby On Board” badge, which she found to be rather amusing.
While she didn’t put the badge on, she promised, “I’ll make sure I wear it at home.”
“Kate told me, ‘Oh yes I’ve seen this before,’ she used to travel the Tube so she probably saw them then,” London Underground’s chief operating officer Howard Collins, who presented her with the badge, told The Express.
“She asked me ‘how do they work?’ and I said they’re fantastic, they really do make a difference — saves men the embarrassment of having to guess if a woman is pregnant,” Collins added. “The Duchess asked so many great questions of the staff and seemed really interested our work.”
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Kate Middleton and Daughter Charlotte Take a Surprise Trip on the London Tube