Faced with a royal crossword, the answer was right under Duchess of Cambridge’s nose
When stuck on a particularly tricky crossword clue with a royal theme, there is only one thing to do: grab a passing duchess and hand the puzzle over to her.
The Duchess of Cambridge, much to her apparent surprise, helped a university student complete his crossword on Wednesday as she was faced with the clue “Forerunner of the Sovereign Grant, the funding provided to support the official duties of The Queen”.
Confirming the answer was “Civil List”, the Duchess looked “thrilled”, the student said, after fearing she “wouldn’t live it down” if she got it wrong.
The impromptu puzzle was completed as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the University of Glasgow on Wednesday. The couple spent about 20 minutes speaking to students outside before going in to hear about mental health support.
Jack Baird, a 21-year-old second-year student, caught the Duchess’s eyes by waving a printed-out copy of an old crossword puzzle from The Times.
The Duchess, who has a 2:1 degree in the history of art, accepted the A4 piece of paper and offered her best guess.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Baird said: “I was stuck on a clue. It was seven down, which was ‘Forerunner of the Sovereign Grant, the funding provided to support the official duties of The Queen’.
“It was two words of five and four letters. I couldn’t get the second word. I gave it to Kate and asked her as I’m sure she would have known. And she said it was ‘Civil List’.”
He added: “She was very excited. It didn’t look like she was going to get it for a moment.
“I’m really chuffed. I’m going to frame it. She looked thrilled. I think she thought ‘I wouldn’t live this down if I get this wrong’.
“I’d been studying in the library for exams and saw a group of people out here and wondered what was going on.”
Mr Baird, of Lisburn, Northern Ireland, carries crossword puzzles in his pocket to pass the time in quiet moments, with friends joking that he even takes them to nightclubs.
The statistics undergraduate added: “I’m a big crossword fan and have several going at once.”
The Duke and Duchess were cheered by students who filmed the couple on their phones as they left the university after spending the day in Scotland.
They had spent half an hour inside the James McCune Smith Learning Hub, speaking with students and professors about efforts to aid mental health during Covid-19 lockdown and exams.
One of the university projects, DigiGallus Connect, helped pensioners to use the internet during lockdown.
The visit came to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.
