Kate Middleton makes surprise appearance as she reunites with glamorous royal pals

The Princess of Wales made a surprise appearance alongside Prince William as they welcomed two of their royal pals to Windsor Castle today.

Kate was seen smiling as she and William greeted Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and his wife Princess Rajwa during an audience this morning. The meeting had been scheduled for William and the Crown Prince but Kate and Rajwa also joined in. The Waleses’ are known to be friends of the couple, having attended their spectacular wedding in Jordan back in June 2023. The two couples posed for a photo in the castle, with Kate wearing a recycled camel-coloured Roland Mouret trouser suit while Raja opted for a smart black and white outfit. 

The friendly meeting came ahead of heirs to the throne William and Hussein heading to RAF Benson in Oxfordshire this afternoon, where they met personnel there and heard about roles on site and their experiences being deployed in operations around the world.

The RAF base provides rapid support for UK military operations around the world and is home to a number of Squadrons including No. 22 Squadron, which provides operational testing, evaluation, tactics and training. The visit also came as No. 22 Sqn celebrates its 110th anniversary.

Crew at the site also included Lt Col Mohammad Yousef Awad Alzu’bi a Jordanian pilot from RAF Shawbury and Flt Lt Peter (PJ) Howard, who instructed the Prince of Wales during flying training at RAF Shawbury.

Both the Prince of Wales and the Crown Prince of Jordan are trained helicopter pilots, with the prince training at both RAF Shawbury and then as a search and rescue pilot at RAF Valley with No. 22 Sqn which reformed at RAF Benson in 2020. The Crown Prince completed his pilot training with the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) in 2019.

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “Today’s engagements highlight the strong relationship between The Prince and The Crown Prince, as well as their mutual respect and support for the Armed Forces.”

Hussein’s close bond with fellow heir to the throne William came to light several years ago. In 2018, during a solo trip to Jordan, William stopped by Hussein’s then-swanky bachelor pad at the King’s residence of Beit al Urdun to watch a football match.

William had missed out on watching England’s emphatic victory over Panama in that year’s World Cup while travelling to the country – so the Crown Prince recorded it for him.

Kensington Palace later shared a picture of William watching the rerun on a huge screen alongside Hussein as they reclined on a huge grey corner sofa. In addition, Hussein’s mum Queen Rania is a member of William’s Earthshot Prize Council.

Hussein married Rajwa in 2023 in a wedding attended by royals from around the world, including William and Kate as well as Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Last August they welcomed their first child together, a daughter called Princess Iman.

Meanwhile, the country of Jordan is a special place for Kate, who lived there for three years as a young child. It came when her dad Michael Middleton was relocated there while working for British Airways – and Kate and sister Pippa attended a nursery there.

In 2021, the couple took their children to Jordan for a private holiday, with a family snap at the ancient city of Petra from that getaway featuring on their Christmas card that year. It came after William promised to take his family to Jordan following his 2018 visit there. 

Source: Mirror