The Princess of Wales left a group of schoolgirls laughing after stopping to speak with them at the end of a visit to a Kent fabric mill on Thursday, where she also tried her hand at traditional screen-printing.
Kate visited Marina Mill in Cuxton, a family-run business that hand-designs and screen-prints furnishing fabrics supplied to a number of royal residences. Outside the mill she spoke with pupils from a local primary school, asking what year they were in and whether they were glad to be back at school after the holidays. When the girls answered “no” in unison, they and the princess burst into laughter during the brief exchange.
During the visit the princess donned a protective apron and joined staff at a silk screen printing press, learning how artisans transfer colour through engraved screens onto fabric using a squeegee. She asked detailed questions about the process and practised the sweeping motion under the guidance of workers, at one point saying with a smile after completing a pass, “So I’ve passed, that’s good!” Staff described the technique as “a real labour of love” and praised her engagement with the craft.
Marina Mill supplies fabrics to homes including royal residences and continues to produce many pieces by hand, a point the princess highlighted in public remarks on the importance of artisan skills. The visit followed an earlier stop the same day at Sudbury Silk Mills in Suffolk, a larger firm that weaves cloth for fashion houses, interior designers and heritage institutions and employs more than 100 people.
At Sudbury Silk Mills the princess toured the design studio and the weaving floor, where she was shown how historic archive patterns inform contemporary designs and watched both traditional looms and modern machinery in operation. Staff said she spent time speaking with employees across departments, offering words of encouragement and noting the precision required in their work. Steven Harris, head of production, recalled her remark that a careful eye for detail was central to the craft.
Palace aides have emphasised the princess’s long-standing interest in textiles and craftsmanship. Her paternal family once owned William Lupton & Co, a woollen manufacturer in Leeds; aides said her visits to mills in recent years have been part of an ongoing effort to promote the cultural and economic importance of British textile production and the “Made in the UK” hallmark.
The two visits combined hands-on demonstrations with engagements designed to showcase the skill and heritage of the sector. In both Kent and Suffolk, workers welcomed the attention and described the princess as engaged and inquisitive, while local children and well-wishers seized the opportunity to meet her at the factory gates.
The outings reinforced the royal household’s recent focus on industry and craft skills as part of cultural and economic advocacy, with the princess using public engagements to draw attention to small manufacturers whose work supplies high-profile interiors and international markets.