On Thursday, March 6, Kate Middleton visited the town of Leicester, enjoying a relaxed visit not hampered by royal protocols, mixing with the people and enjoying her time with them.
While there, the future queen did something that is typically not done during royal engagements. While celebrating Holi with Hindu worshipers in the town, she took off her camel-colored stilettos and danced with bare feet. It was clear that she thoroughly enjoyed the experience and people who were there enjoyed her relaxed company. Readers can enjoy photos and video taken during her visit in the Instagram post below.
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Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales paired her stilettos with a cream-colored custom Chris Kerr coat and a pleated knit Ralph Lauren midi dress. The future queen accessorized with a string of pearls and roses, given to her when she arrived at the community center in Leicester that was celebrating Holi, the Indian festival of color, love and spring.
Kate enjoyed watching a group of Bollywood dancers perform a routine just for her and she told the group that her three children would “love” their dance moves. As noted by the Telegraph, Kate said, “You must be super fit because it’s super energetic,” adding, “My children would love that – they love their dancing. [Prince] Louis would love your dance routine.”
Kate Middleton, Member of British Royal family Breaks Royal protocol and goes Barefoot respecting temple customs and joins Garba dance at Shreeji Dham mandir in Leicester
Beautiful Bhartiy rituals ☺️☺️ pic.twitter.com/sxyTvnJwVF
— Sheetal Chopra 🇮🇳 (@SheetalPronamo) March 6, 2026
As she watched another performance, Kate reportedly seemed hesitant to applause before anyone else did, which led someone to joke, “You can clap now,” which drew laughter from Kate. “That was so moving,” she said. “Extraordinary.”
Keeping on with her praise of the dancing, the Princess of Wales added, “Thank you. That was really fantastic.”
Kate then mingled with people at the event, while saying, “Thank you for coming to see me.”
Meanwhile, Kate was welcomed with honking horns and crowds jostled to shake her hand while she visited Leicester’s Golden Mile. “Welcome to Leicester, Ma’am,” said one shopper who stopped her outside a jeweler’s. Moreover, an elderly woman handed her a printed blessing to take away. Meanwhile, shoppers seemed surprised to see the Princess of Wales walking down the street with no road closures.
She then took a tour of family businesses and the Princess of Wales mentioned that it was good to return to the city under “happier circumstances,” as her last visit in 2018 with Prince William they were there to pay respects to five victims of a helicopter crash.
Meanwhile, she visited a family business at Bobby’s Restaurant, which was named after a 1973 Bollywood movie of the same name. Kate said, “What’s lovely about a family business is that the values still stay. That’s the heart of it. That’s really what matters to the customers, those relationships.”
Moreover, the Princess of Wales said how important it was to “make sure families and communities still have time to come together and stop and slow down and connect together.”
“Even the simple act of eating a meal together becomes harder and harder,” she added.
Social media users were thrilled to see Kate dropping the royal protocols to enjoy her visit to Leicester. One wrote on Instagram, “It’s always wonderful to see moments like this that celebrate community, culture and local businesses. Thank you for sharing such a meaningful visit.”
Another Instagram user mentioned the “gorgeous future queen,” while another commented, writing, “The Princess is so respectful of the Indian community. She’s gorgeous.”
Yet another royal fan wrote, “People look into the face of the beautiful Catherine of Wales and recognize her magic!!! Simply wonderful!!!”
