Carole Middleton was supported by Prince William at Royal Ascot amid an awkward moment that her daughter Kate’s faced before.
The Princess of Wales’s mother was the epitome of elegance as she made her first public appearance so far this year on Day 3 of Royal Ascot. Stepping out with her husband Michael, Carole Middleton wore a beautiful powder blue floral dress with navy accessories to watch the races in what was also her first time at Ascot for two years. Whilst this particular outfit was worthy of any summer capsule wardrobe, her heels proved briefly tricky and Prince William stepped in to assist his mother-in-law during a rare awkward moment.
Walking on grass is never easy at the best of times but even your best white trainers aren’t Ascot appropriate and the delicate heel of one of Carole’s navy court shoes ended up getting stuck and coming off her foot.
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Never one to be flustered, she took it in her stride and Prince William came to her rescue, holding her hand to support her whilst she put her shoe back on. Parts of this moment were captured in photographs taken from the day and it’s clear from the shocked but amused looks on both Carole and the Prince of Wales’s faces that they found this slight wardrobe malfunction rather hilarious. Prince William was clearly more than happy to help and it’s not like a heel getting stuck is something he’s never had to assist with before.
Back in 2013 when he and Kate were visiting the Mons Barracks for the annual St Patrick’s Day parade he supported her in exactly the same way when a similar thing happened. One of the Princess of Wales’s heels got temporarily stuck in the grate of a drain. Prince William was pictured holding carefully onto his wife’s hand whilst she seamlessly sorted out her shoe.
Both Kate and Carole couldn’t have resolved their shoe mishaps more gracefully, thanks to the support of the future King. Whilst mother and daughter haven’t been spotted wearing them, shoe protectors are Zara Tindall’s shoe trick to help prevent her heels from sinking into grass.
They were spotted attached to her Emmy London Rebecca heels at a Buckingham Palace garden party back in May and can be picked up from as little as £6.59 on Amazon. It’s a practical choice and they can be very subtle, although over the years it’s been suggested that the royals have also simply become experts at putting the pressure on their toes when they walk across grass to avoid sinking into it.
Carole’s recent heel mishap didn’t seem to diminish her enjoyment of the races and she was seen chatting animatedly with not only Prince William, but Princess Eugenie and Duchess Sophie too. She and her son-in-law are understood to have a close relationship and royal expert Katie Nicholl previously described Carole and Michael as Prince William and Kate’s "anchor".
As per OK!, Katie claimed, "William has always loved spending time with all the Middletons as it’s his escapism. He’s close to Carole and Michael and always insisted the royal family treat them well".
She added, "William has found weekends away with them so relaxing. It’s a close-knit family and more than anything, they’re very normal. It’s the family dynamic he wished he’d had growing up and it’s how he’s trying to raise his own kids."
Carole and Prince William looked to have thoroughly enjoyed Day 3 of Ascot and many fans might well be hoping that the Princess of Wales’s mother attends Wimbledon again this year too once it starts on 1st July.
