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Catherine, The Princess of Wales, wore a green Burberry suit to visit Leeds and Lancaster today to learn about the Textile industries and her family connections. Donning a familiar green suit that fits her new signature corporate look, Princess Kate visited AW Hainsworth first – The family owned heritage textile mill in Leeds, England. The mill has close family ties to the Princess, as her great-great-grandfather, Noel Middleton, sold the company to the Hainsworth family in 1958.AW Hainsworth is one of the proud Royal Warrant Holders.
The Princess’s visit was an opportunity to learn more about the textile industry and its importance to the region. She met with workers at the mill and toured the facilities, seeing firsthand how the fabric is made.
The Princess’s choice of outfit was also significant. Burberry is a British luxury brand that is known for its high-quality fabrics and craftsmanship. By wearing a Burberry suit, the Princess was showing her support for the British textile industry and its workers.
Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace
The visit gave the Royal a chance to learn about the heritage, history and innovation of the industry, the technical processes involved and how the sector is benefiting the British Economy. Catherine’s Great-Great-Granmother Olive Middleton nee Lupton inherited the William Lupton and Co from her father after her brothers died in the First world war. Her husband Noel Middleton became the director of the company and was actively participating in the business until 1958 when the family decided to sell the business to one of the most high-profile textile mill – AW Hainsworth.
The connection comes through Olive Lupton who married solicitor Richard Noel Middleton on 6th January 1914. She had been accepted to study at Cambridge University circa 1900 but chose to remain in Leeds and study locally whilst looking after her widowed father.
In 1915, during the First World War, the newly-married Olive Middleton volunteered to be a VAD nurse at Gledhow Hall, near Leeds, the home of her second cousin Florence, Baroness Airedale. The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel, including longer-term recuperation back in Britain.
All three of Olive’s brothers died in the First World War and, as the eldest daughter, she inherited the family textile firm of William Lupton & Co, in 1921 of which her husband Richard became a director and through which trust funds were set up for the Middleton family.
Her daughter-in-law, Valerie Middleton, served as a VAD nurse in World War Two. The Princess of Wales once stated that her patronage of the Nursing Now campaign meant a lot to her personally. Olive also served on the Leeds branch of the Ladies Association for the Care of Friendless Girls with her cousin, Baroness von Schunck, née Kate Lupton, who was invited to the Coronation of King George V in 1911.
During the visit to AW Hainswroth – a heritage textile mill that was established in 1783, Princess Kate was told the vital importance of the textile sector to the UK economy, and how it is constantly evolving to put an emphasis on sustainable practices. She also visited the new state-of-the-art on-site laboratory responsible for product development. She was given a tour of the mill and was shown the traditional machinery and techniques still in use today.
Kate grabbed handfuls of freshly-woven Merino wool fabric and declared: ‘ I love the feel of it and the smell of it! Starting off in the area of the mill where raw merino wool from Australia and New Zealand is combed out, the Princess said: ‘You can smell the lanolin, I love it.’
She quizzed staff about why they used more wool from overseas than British wool. ‘Is it because it is more fine?’ she asked .
The Princess’s visit to AW Hainsworth is a reminder of the close ties between the Royal Family and the textile industry. The industry has a long and rich history in the United Kingdom, and it continues to play an important role in the economy. The Princess’s support for the industry is a welcome sign of appreciation for the hard work and dedication of its workers.
To this day, AW Hainsworth which was established in 1783, remains a heritage textile mill that produces British woolen cloth and fabrics to a wide range of customers – from fashion and homeware brands to the Armed Forces. The firm supplies the fabric for the Buckingham Palace guards. Its fabrics were also on display during King Charles’ coronation earlier this May, as well as Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
The firm also supplied the fabric for Prince William’s Irish Guards Uniform on his wedding day in April 2011. Catherine wore a Madderson London dress in 2015 when she was expecting her daughter Princess Charlotte. The dress was made from the fabric supplied by the firm. Today, the dress is on display at the company.
Zeb Akhtar, senior weaver trainer who talked the princess through some of the process, said afterwards: ‘She was very interested in the process and I talked her through how we made the cloth for the Guards on the somet loom. She had a good background knowledge.
‘The princess wanted to know how it would stop if anything happened and as we were talking a thread snapped and it stopped automatically. We can make a hundred yards in an eight-hour shift.
If you remember in 2019 The then Duchess of Cambridge visited Royal Opera House in London to learn about the stage costumes. At that Kensington Palace revealed that Kate has huge interest in the sector and will be exploring the potential. But then COVID happened and we did not hear anything about it until today.
The Princess of Wales meeting ‘Oliver the mannequin’ – dressed in the Buckingham Palace Guards’ uniform.
Her eye was also caught by a group of ladies packing cream blankets with a distinctive colourful stripe for Canadian firm Hudson Bay, part of a batch of 1,600 that are being made and packed to send out in time for their Christmas market. ‘I really recognise this,’ she said.
“I think we were given one on tour to Canada as a gift. So I’ve still got it. It’s in a box. I’ll take photograph and send it to you. I use it for the children all the time. I am going to double check when I get home and look at the label.”
She added: “Is this a nice environment to work? There seems like a real family essence to the place, which is really lovely. It most be great to see the whole process.”
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