If you’re not subjected to normal, everyday demands like getting to work on time and sticking to a budget, then going underground to cram yourself onto a smelly train might seem like a novelty. It moves so quickly, and sometimes makes your ears pop when it travels under rivers! It rattles and sways and makes loud noises! For members of the royal family, this is about as exciting as life gets, so they gamely pose for pictures on the Tube occasionally. Camilla and Charles did so in January, giggling at the funny-looking ticket machines and testing out the seat cushions; today, the Queen and Kate Middleton went out for a spin in honor of the London Underground’s 150th anniversary. (Kate, as a former commoner, is a Tube veteran by comparison.)
This is the third official outing that Kate and the Queen have made together, and the Express reports that Kate actually requested to be included. “She just fancied it. She asked if she could come along,” said a royal aide. (You know you’re bored when you’re begging to visit a Tube station.) Honored by her bump’s presence, public transit employees presented her with a pin that said “Baby on Board.” She reportedly declined to put it on, but said she would “wear it at home.”
This raises the question: What does Kate do with all that random swag people give her when she’s out and about? All those teddy bears, for instance, and this pin? Does it all go into a room full of tchotchkes back at the castle? Sure, it probably gets donated to charity, but isn’t it fun to imagine that she might keep at least some of it, perhaps for last-minute Christmas gifts or something? Oh, and about that fun hat she’s got on: She’s worn it before at least once, to a wedding in 2011; her coat is by Malene Birger.
