Kate Middleton Makes a Fashion-Forward Surprise Visit to Knitwear Factory in South Wales
The Princess of Wales made two stops in South Wales on Jan. 30 amid her gradual comeback to public duty
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Catherine, Princess of Wales (L) meets with members of the production team during a visit to Corgi, a family run textiles manufacturer focused on the production of socks and knitwear on Jan. 30, 2025 in Ammanford, WalesKate Middleton is continuing her immersion in the textile and fashion industry as she gradually returns to her public role.
The Princess of Wales, 43, who is known around the world for her own style choices, visited a knitwear factory in South Wales on Jan. 30.
Corgi, based in Ammanford, Carmathenshire, was created in 1892 to supply socks to miners in the nearby Amman Valley and has since branched out into creating knitwear.
Getting a flavor of what the factory produces, Princess Kate was taken around the design team to be shown their creative process, especially how Corgi's staff collaborate with world-leading brands. Kate also spent time on the factory floor to meet and hear from the production team as they showed her some of the technical processes they employ.
Her visit followed an intensely moving morning 60 miles away, as she spent time at a hospice, meeting children being cared for as well as their families and staff. She was also introduced to bereaved families supported by the hospice throughout their children’s lives, deaths and beyond.
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Catherine, Princess of Wales visits TA Hafan, a children's hospice based in Sully, near Cardiff, which supports families in Wales to ensure that children with life-shortening conditions live fulfilling lives, on Jan. 30, 2025 in Sully, WalesThe day in South Wales is the second outing in several days for the princess, who is gradually getting back into her public role following the Jan. 14 news that she is in remission from cancer. On Jan. 27, she joined her husband Prince William at the London commemoration of the Holocaust victims and survivors.
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Kate, who spent much of last year being treated for cancer and away from public life, has previously visited textiles manufacturers in Lancashire and in Leeds, learning more about the heritage, history and innovation of a manufacturing sector that is important to the British economy.
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Catherine, Princess of Wales arrives for a visit to Corgi, a family run textiles manufacturer focused on the production of socks and knitwear on Jan. 30, 2025 in Ammanford, WalesShe has a longstanding interest in the textiles industry, one possibly forged through family links. Her paternal ancestors were the owners of wool manufacturer and merchant William Lupton & Co, in Leeds, Yorkshire and, in September 2023, she headed to AW Hainsworth, a family-owned heritage textile mill on the outskirts of the city. Lupton & Co. was sold to AW Hainsworth in 1958.
Kate’s great-grandfather Noel Middleton, who married Olive Lupton in 1914, was a director of the company. Noel and Olive had three sons including Peter Middleton, Kate’s grandfather and dad to her father, Michael Middleton.
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"She had had a chat with her parents, and they had been filling her in,” Rachel Taylor, a member of the Hainsworth family whose father was the sixth generation running the company, told PEOPLE at the time of Kate's visit. "They had obviously done some research. She spoke to a lot of people today. We were able to put a bit of bells and whistles onto that."
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