Duchess Kate Dabbles in Beekeeping and Makes Her Own Honey

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The Duchess of Cambridge owns a beehive just like her brother, avid beekeeper James Middleton.

Yesterday, the duchess visited the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, to meet with schoolchildren and learn about its Urban Nature Project, which centers on biodiversity and sustainability. For her visit, she brought the children a special gift: a jar of homemade honey from Anmer Hall, where she and Prince William occasionally reside with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

"Would you like to try some? This came specially from my beehive," she reportedly said to the children, who appeared satisfied with the sweet treat. "Does it taste like honey from the shops? Does it taste like flowers?"

Kate shares her love for homemade honey with her younger brother, James Middleton, who previously revealed that, in addition to his passion for dogs, he is also a fervid beekeeper. "Bee keeping to me is a meditation," he shared with People. "It's a chance to escape my mind and be so consumed by something that hours can pass by without knowing it. Meditation is a wonderful tool to help with stress, anxiety, depression and doesn't just need to be practiced sitting down!"

He added, "Honey is one of natures finest medicines. From antibacterial properties, aiding digestion, hay fever, colds, energy and even as cure for sleeping disorders the list goes on. I have a teaspoon of honey every day and couldn't recommend it more."

Though James said that he has always been interested in beekeeping, he largely credits the duchess and the rest of their family for allowing his passion to flourish, as in 2011, the Middleton family collectively saved up to surprise James with his own box of buzzing bees. "My family—mum, dad and my sisters Catherine and Pippa—clubbed together to buy what for me was the most fantastic birthday gift imaginable," he recalled in an article he wrote for the Daily Mail. "A delivery van arrived with a large buzzing box with the cautionary label: 'Live Bees.' Inside was the nucleus—the start—of my colony: 1,000 Buckfast bees."

During Kate's museum visit, the duchess sat cross-legged with the schoolchildren while partaking in an arts and crafts activity dedicated to learning more about spiders. She additionally visited the Wildlife Garden to equip a cherry tree with an acoustic monitoring device that records ambient sound, helping to alert scientists of bird, mammal, and insect activity patterns throughout the garden.

For the occasion, the duchess wore a salmon-colored Chloé blazer, straight-leg jeans, a white Ralph Lauren top, and white Veja sneakers. She topped off the look with simple gold hoop earrings.

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