She may be one of the most popular member of the Royal Family – but not everyone is able to recognise her.

In a recent YouGov poll Kate Middleton was ranked the second most popular member of the Royal Family, just behind her husband, Prince William. 

In 2011, 162million people across the globe watched William and Kate tie the knot at Westminster Abbey.

But in 2020, during a visit to a care home in Cardiff, Kate got a harsh reality shock when a resident looked at the princess and said: ‘Who are you?’

The Prince and Princess of Wales’ visit came a few months after playing bingo with the residents over Zoom.  

The couple were reunited with 87-year-old Joan Drew-Smith, who was quick to question their bingo skills after their game. 

‘You may not recognise us, but we played bingo with you and you won,’ said William.

‘But you said we didn’t do a very good job?’ 

In 2011, 162million people across the globe watched Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot at Westminster Abbey

William and Kate meet residents at the Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff on August 5, 2020

The couple were reunited with 87-year-old Joan Drew-Smith, who was quick to question their bingo skills after their game

‘No, you did a s*** job,’ said Joan.

‘Excellent!’ responded William, laughing. 

‘Is this your assistant?’ Joan said as she pointed to Kate, who was sitting next to William, wearing a face covering. 

Kate immediately laughed and replied: ‘Well, I’m his assistant! I have been for a long time!’

Following the resident’s outspokenness, William told the staff he ‘adored Joan.’ 

‘She’s brilliant,’ he said after the visit.

This was not the first time Kate’s face has proven not to be universally recognisable.  

In 2023 a Scottish child who asked the Princess who she was during a visit to Burghead Primary School in Moray.

The Waleses are pictured during their visit to Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff, South Wales, to meet with staff, residents and their family members

In 2023 a Scottish child who asked the Princess who she was during a visit to Burghead Primary School in Moray 

The princess is also known as the Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, which is a principal town on the Isle of Bute 

‘Who am I?’ she replied. ‘I’m married to William,’ she humbly explained, pointing to the future king who was greeting other children in the background.

The princess is also known as the Duchess of Rothesay when in Scotland, which is a principal town on the Isle of Bute.

But on this occasion, she chose not to use her royal titles and took the comment with good grace.

In another adorable exchange with a child Kate, who was visiting Orkney, Scotland, with William, met a group of local schoolchildren who were huddled outside the European Marine Energy Centre eagerly awaiting the royals’ arrival.

‘Are you a Prince?’ one child asked Kate, pointing at the mum-of-three as she bent down. 

Shaking her head, Kate replied: ‘I’m not a Prince. I’m the Duchess of Cambridge. Lots of people call me Catherine.’

When another little girl shouted out: ‘She’s a Princess!’ Kate sweetly asked her, ‘Are you? Are you a Princess?’ 

When the girl shook her head, the Duchess replied: ‘Aww, you look like one in your beautiful pink coat.’

Kate chose not to use her royal titles and took the children’s comments with good grace

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to the European Marine Energy Centre in Kirkwall, Orkney, in 2021, to learn about Orkney’s push for carbon zero and hydrogen power

The Duchess of Cambridge meets local nursery school children at Kirkwall Marina after a visit to the European Marine Energy Centre in Kirkwall

It was also reported that before she married William, there was a time when ‘nobody recognised’ Kate and she was left ‘standing alone’ at Charles’s 60th birthday party in 2008.

This was according to the Duke of Edinburgh’s royal butler Grant Harrold, who said he saw Kate at the event standing alone with no one attempting to talk to her 

‘I went over and chatted to her while we waited for Will to come in and it was quite sweet. 

‘But now – could you imagine Kate in the middle of a room and no one speaking to her? It just wouldn’t happen, she’d be mobbed,’ he told MyLondon.

Even the late Queen Elizabeth, one of the most photographed people in history, on occasion went undetected in public.

Richard Griffin, a former protection officer of the late Queen, once told how the monarch had been hiking near the grounds of her estate in Balmoral, Scotland, wearing her tweeds and a headscarf.

She walked by a group of American tourists, but they failed to recognise her and asked if she lived nearby, to which she said she did.

Yet when asked if she had met the Queen, the monarch playfully hit back: ‘No, but he has’, pointing to her protection officer.

They then asked Her Majesty to take a photograph of them with the policeman, before they also took one with her.

According to the Duke of Edinburgh’s royal butler Grant Harrold, Kate wasn’t always well-known and was once left standing alone at an event 

Members of the public queue up to catch a glimpse of Kate Middleton in Moray in 2023

Kate high fives children outside Burghead Primary School 

Griffin, who worked for the royals for more than 30 years, retold the story to Sky News during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

He said: ‘Normally on these picnic sites you’ll meet nobody. But there were two hikers coming towards us and the Queen would always stop and say hello.

‘And it was two Americans on a walking holiday. And it was clear from the moment we first stopped they hadn’t recognised the Queen, which is fine.

‘The American gentleman was telling the Queen where he came from, where they were going to next and where they’d been to in Britain.

‘And I could see it coming and sure enough he said to Her Majesty, and where do you live?

‘And she said well I live in London but I’ve got a holiday home just the other side of the hills.

‘He said how often have you been coming here? Oh, she said, I’ve been coming up here ever since I was a little girl, so over 80 years.

‘He said well if you’ve been coming up here for 80 years you must have met the Queen.

Even the late Queen Elizabeth, one of the most photographed people in history, on occasion went undetected in public

Richard Griffin, a former protection officer of the late Queen, once told how the monarch had been hiking near the grounds of her estate in Balmoral, Scotland, and was not recognised by American tourists 

‘As quick as a flash she said: ‘Well I haven’t, but Dickie here meets here regularly. The guy says to me, you’ve met the Queen? What’s she like?

‘I said well she can be very cantankerous at times but she’s got a lovely sense of humor.

‘The next thing I knew this guy comes around put his arm around my shoulder and before I see what was happening he gets his camera, gives it to the Queen and says can you take a picture?

‘Anyway we swapped places and I took a picture of them with the Queen, we never let on, and we waved goodbye and Her Majesty said to me ”I’d love to be a fly on the wall when he shows that to his friends in America.’

For many members of the Royal Family, getting noticed in public is a natural part of their day-to-day life. 

But moments like the above prove that royals are also normal people.

We would have loved to see the American tourists’ faces when they realised they had unknowingly spoken to the late Queen.