Kate Middleton News: Duchess Flies Commercial, ‘Shocks Everyone’


Kate Middleton knows how to turn heads, even without her children and handsome husband. All the Duchess of Cambridge has to do is board an airplane, and everyone in sight is “shocked.”

Okay, it wasn’t just the news that she was getting on an airplane. Her busy royal schedule has Kate and her husband hopping on and off planes much of the time. But Middleton did something very unusual for a member of the British Royal Family.

The Duchess took a commercial flight back from her solo trip to the Netherlands instead of a private jet.

According to Elle magazine, the regular non-royal people on the “7:15 P.M. British Airways flight to London from Rotterdam” were totally not expecting anything out of the ordinary as they settled into their seats.

“She was seen boarding the flight, still wearing the same Catherine Walker skirt suit she had worn for the day’s appearances.”

They were completely stunned at the sight of Kate Middleton stepping onto the plane, acting as if it was a normal thing for her to do. No wonder the other passengers were excited and “promptly lost it” trying to get a glimpse and a photo of Kate.

The Daily Mail reports that Kate, 34, wore the “vintage style’ pale blue skirt suit” as gracefully as if she hadn’t been buttoned into it all day as she completed the final day’s engagements on the “whirl wind” tour.

Prince William’s wife did receive some special treatment in recognition that she’s a royal. The Duchess was escorted on to the plane by her personal bodyguards and “sat in the front row” with her team.

All through the 50-minute flight, passengers tried to get a glimpse of what she was doing, but when Kate first boarded the plane, everyone “grabbed their phones and snapped pics of her.”

A source who was on the plane described the paparazzi atmosphere when passengers realized who had just boarded the flight.

“[I’ve] never seen so many iPhones pop up at once.”

This was Kate’s first solo out-of-country assignment, and she clearly wanted to make a statement about her down-to-earth attitude.

The trip was a bit of a “professional milestone” for Middleton, and she made sure to do it her way, at least to some extent. It’s not the first time any royal has ever taken a commercial flight, but it’s certainly an “unusual” move.

Kate Middleton and Prince William “famously” flew back from Los Angeles in 2011 on a commercial flight, but they were comfortably sequestered in first class on that occasion.

Prince William has been spotted flying coach in the past. It’s just about unheard of though for the heir’s wife to calmly catch a ride on British Airways on the way back from a demanding official tour.

Middleton appeared to be calm and kept “a low-profile” during the flight. She occupied herself by chatting “with a member of her team” before making her early exit at the end of the flight.

To choose to forgo the privacy of a royal jet after the strain of fulfilling her duties completely on her own really says something about Middleton. She appears to be hanging on to her commoner roots and not letting the weight of royalty change her too much.

Kate did get “one perk” aside from being accompanied by bodyguards. When the plane landed, she was “escorted off the plane first, once it landed, “a couple minutes” before the other passengers.” We really can’t imagine how it would have gone if Middleton had disembarked as one of the crowd!

One thing we can be pretty sure of now. The neverending rumors that Kate Middleton is pregnant can’t be true. If Kate were pregnant, there’s no way the Queen would let her forego the royal jet.

What would you do if you suddenly found out that Kate Middleton was sitting a few rows away on the same flight?

[Featured Image by Chris Jackson – Pool/Getty Images]

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