Ever wondered how the royals do holidays? Well, wonder no more.
An LA-based jewellery designer has spilled the beans on what it’s really like to vacay with royalty – on a private Caribbean island, of course.
Martin Katz, a jewellery designer from Beverly Hills who famously designed Kim Kardashian’s wedding day earrings, has revealed his close encounter with a holidaying Prince William and a pre-Princess Kate in 2008 on the luxury island Mustique.
The designer, who was traveling with wife Kelly, bumped into the royal duo at the hotel bar where they quickly struck up a conversation.
“I was standing at the [hotel] bar ordering one of the fancy drinks and Kate actually came up to the bar and was quite pleasant and chatty. She couldn’t be more friendly and more open,” Martin told People.
But, of course, no royal encounter would be complete without a moment of mortification.
“We started talking about scuba diving. They had gone that day or the day before, and while I was talking, I was holding a glass of fruit punch and it slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor and sprayed all over the Prince’s feet. He was in flip-flops,” Martin said.
“I was mortified of course, but all I heard was, ‘Oh my, that was quite refreshing, thank you.’ His mother would have been quite proud that he handled himself with such dignity.”
“It was a very embarrassing moment for me, and he was very kind about it, and my wife never lets me forget that moment. I tried [to get him another drink], but I don’t think he was partaking in any more rounds,” laughed Katz.
Kate and Wills’ favourite holiday spot, Mustique Island.
“Kate looked very casual, she wasn’t particularly wearing makeup, she looked lovely. She just couldn’t be more gracious and talked to everybody who would talk to her. It wasn’t like she was working the room, but if someone wanted to speak to her, she was happy to speak,” recounted Katz to People.
“They were lovely and they couldn’t be more present,” Katz says. “I think what struck me was that they were human like everybody else, dressing to fit in like everybody else.”
Martin and wife, Kelly, later went deep water diving with Wills and Kate, who were in the bay to swim with sharks.
“They’re quite the sportsmen,” Martin said, “We went diving and they went very deep, more than 90ft. Our instructor said [we] weren’t qualified to go on the shark dives they went on.”
Mustique, an island in St Vincent and the Grenadines, is a favourite vacation spot for the loved-up pair. They have made more than three separate trips there, including both their babymoons and another family trip.
And it’s not hard to see why!
