Kate joins William in Scotland with sweet admission about kids while naming Royal Navy warship

Daily Record

22-05-2025

The Royal couple met employees and their families from BAE Systems in Glasgow on Thursday
Kate has joined Prince William in Scotland to name a Royal Navy warship - and made a sweet admission about her children in the process. The Prince of Wales arrived in Scotland on Wednesday to visit a youth centre in Edinburgh.
On Thursday, he was joined by his wife, who pressed a button to smash an exclusive bottle of whisky into the hull of the grey stealth-like HMS Glasgow, the first of eight Type 26 anti-submarine frigates to be built in Glasgow.
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The Prince of Wales dubbed a new warship a "hell of a piece of kit – screams UK power" after it was officially named by his wife, who was wearing a navy blue outfit with white details and a matching hat.
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The Princess of Wales announced the moment by telling guests gathered at a River Clyde berth in Glasgow: "I have the pleasure to name this ship HMS Glasgow, may God bless her and all who sail on her."
Crowds of employees and their families from BAE Systems, which is leading the design and build of the frigates, and senior naval officers applauded as the single malt bottle sent a shower of whisky into the water.
William later told a group of BAE staff during a reception: 'It's massive, I can see that's where the future is going.
'It's quite impressive, it's a hell of a piece of kit – screams UK power.'
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The ceremony began with a royal salute from the ship's company for Kate, the official sponsor for HMS Glasgow, and William, who yesterday made a joke about a Scottish national football player joining him on his next visit north.
The couple had a tour of the vessel then met BAE staff, apprentices and members of HMS Glasgow's company in a nearby training centre.
In a show of couple rivalry, William and Kate then went up against each other to complete a pipe puzzle connecting pieces of copper piping – a secondary school Stem activity – under the watchful eye of BAE apprentices.
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The prince later complained he did not realise it was a competition, saying to laughter from Kate: "It's a race? – that's fine, then I'll race" but when his wife was declared the winner, William replied her effort was "wobbly".
Kate then referenced her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, according to Natalie Black, an apprentice who guided Kate through the test.
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She said afterwards: "We had a little discussion about what her kids get up to and I complimented her on how well she was doing up the bolts and she said it was just like playing with the kids ' toys."
Kate was given another task – to complete a traditional ship's clinometer, which measures the lean angle of a vessel – and tightened a wing nut on the simple tool which will go on display on HMS Glasgow's bridge.
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During the reception, the princess repeatedly spoke about how impressed she was by the sheer scale of the ship, the number of people involved in the build and the technology on board.
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Talking to the ship's company and their families, she said: 'It's so exciting to see it all come together, all the technology is so impressive,' she said. "What's really interesting as well is seeing the international interest.'
The 43-year-old, who is in remission from cancer, admitted she was still getting to grips with the naval language, telling one woman: "I'm still learning all my naval lingo.
"There are a lot of abbreviations that I don't fully understand. I've got a lot to learn."