The Princess of Wales shared a rare confession about the situations she finds tricky

Kate Middleton at a Buckingham Palace reception celebrating the life of Queen Elizabeth on April 21, 2026.Credit : Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP via Getty

Kate Middleton offered an honest comment about what she finds tricky about some royal situations at a Buckingham Palace reception commemorating Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday.

The Princess of Wales, 44, shared her take at the palace party on April 21 while speaking to a small group of women.

“I find these environments are really hard. I’ve also got a very soft voice, so I always get told, ‘Speak up a bit louder!’ ” Princess Kate said in fan footage shared to X, as the rest of the reception buzzed in the background.

The Princess of Wales took on a working royal role after she married Prince William in 2011 and previously revealed that a childhood nickname of hers was Squeak.

Kate Middleton speaks to Joan Illingworth during a reception to celebrate the life of the late Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in central London on April 21, 2026.Jordan Pettitt / POOL / AFP via Getty

Kate shared the story during an official visit to her alma mater, St. Andrew’s School, in 2012, where she reflected on the guinea pigs she used to keep.

“There was one called Pip and one called Squeak, because my sister was called Pippa and I was Squeak,” she said about the pets named after her and her sister, Pippa Middleton, The Mirror reported.

The Princess of Wales’ latest reflection that she has “a very soft voice” follows a previous comment she made about the royal rule she has trouble following.

Kate Middleton speaks with 100 year-old Joan Illingworth during a reception at Buckingham Palace, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth on April 21, 2026.Jordan Pettitt – Pool/Getty

Speaking about the nuances of walkabouts in the 2016 ITV documentary Our Queen at Ninety, Kate said, “There’s a real art to walkabouts, everybody teases me in the family that I spend far too long chatting. I still have to learn a little bit more, and to pick up a few more tips, I suppose.”

The Princess of Wales is known to be generous with her time at walkabouts and spends a while speaking with well-wishers, even falling behind her family while speaking with people at Sandringham on Christmas in 2024 and 2025.

On Tuesday, she joined her husband William, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh at the Buckingham Palace bash celebrating the late Queen’s life and legacy. Guests included representatives from a selection of the late Queen’s patronages and centenarians also born on April 21, 1926, sharing a 100th birthday with the iconic monarch.

Kate Middleton and Prince William attend a reception at Buckingham Palace, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Queen Elizabeth on April 21, 2026.Aaron Chown – Pool/Getty

Queen Elizabeth died at age 96 in September 2022 and PEOPLE explores her enduring legacy in this week’s exclusive cover story.

“She’d be proud of how William and Kate are bringing up their children,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith says about how the Prince and Princess of Wales are raising the next generation.

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s birth with a special edition of PEOPLE featuring stories about her life and legacy, on sale now.