Meeting Kate Middleton and Prince William Was "Like Talking to Your Neighbor," Says Market Stall Owner

That's so nice!!!

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Visit Wales
(Image credit: Getty/Karwai Tang)

It's fair to say the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made a great impression when they shopped around the Abergavenny market during their recent visit to Wales.

The royal couple spoke to several sellers on the day, stopping to ask about their wares—including Carol Davies, who runs fruit and flowers stall Nuths with her sister Christine Hughes.

"It was absolutely fabulous," Davies tells Marie Claire of the visit. "We love the royals, so when they said they'd put our name forward, we were so delighted."

The two sellers often attend royal events, so meeting two senior royals was very exciting for them (um, understandable).

"We've booked for the Queen's [Jubilee] in June, and we've been to different things of theirs," Davies adds. "It was lovely to meet them so close and shake their hand, and they were so natural, it could have been like talking to your neighbor. It was fabulous."

As for what they spoke about, Davies explains that they introduced the Cambridges to the produce they sell, and that they showed a real interest in the sisters' business.

"[The duke] asked where we buy our stuff," Davies says. "We said most of our things we buy locally," though they have to "go further afield" for some of the produce like bananas, for obvious reasons. "He said, 'I understand that, you can't always have British.'"

The duchess was equally friendly, too. "She said, 'oh, you've got a lovely show of produce on you,'" Davies recalls. "Yeah, they were really, really down-to-earth."

So, was it nerve-racking meeting the future King and Queen? "My sister was a little bit nervous starting off, but I said to her, 'you like them' and I said, 'they seem so down-to-earth,' but she was fine [in the end]," Davies explains. "Once they came over, they shook your hand, they made you at ease straightaway."

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.