Kate Middleton's humorous side revealed after sharing jokes with Reese Witherspoon

The Duchess of Cambridge impressed the Hollywood actress with her jokes, personality and royal dedication

Kate Middleton told jokes, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge meets actress Reese Witherspoon as she attends a reception to mark the Launch of Tusk Trust's US Patron's Circle on July 10, 2011 in Santa Barbara, California.
(Image credit: Chris Jackson / Staff Getty)

Kate Middleton impressed Reese Witherspoon with the jokes she told when the pair chatted as they met for the first time.

The Hollywood actress has recalled the moment when she got to rub shoulders with the Duchess of Cambridge and was wowed by her personality and joke-telling. But even though she woke at 4 am to look her best, not even the best mascara could fully prepare her for meeting a member of the royal family.

Reese, 45, wrote about the meeting in her 2018 autobiography and cookbook, Whiskey in a Teacup, in which she described Kate as someone who made "rays of happiness shoot out of [her] face".

Reese said, 'I felt relatively immune from the obsession with the royals until a few years ago when I was invited to meet Kate Middleton. She had just married Prince William, and she was coming to Los Angeles for a fundraiser. I don't even know how I got so lucky as to receive the invitation. The scream that issued from my lips upon receiving it - you would have thought I was going to die.'

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge meets actress Reese Witherspoon as she attends a reception to mark the Launch of Tusk Trust's US Patron's Circle on July 10, 2011 in Santa Barbara, California.

(Image credit: Chris Jackson / Staff Getty)

Kate Middleton told jokes to Reece when she attended a reception to mark the launch of Tusk Trust's US Patron's Circle on July 10, 2011, in Santa Barbara, California. 

At the time, the newly married royal couple, who sleep separately when travelling by train, was on the final day of their first joint overseas tour of the USA, after spending nine days in Canada having joined millions of Canadians in Canada Day celebrations which mark Canada's 144th Birthday. 

Reece even got up super early to look her best for the Duchess. 'I was up at 4 am doing my hair. That's early, even for me. I was up, dressed, and waiting by the door by 7 am. Jim took pictures of me in the car. You can see rays of happiness shooting out of my face. I love Kate Middleton that much. And she did not disappoint! She was just lovely and warm, elegant and composed. She also told a joke, and I immediately fell under her spell. She's just as magnificent as she seems to be. She's a very compassionate, socially conscious, deeply caring person.'

Meanwhile, speaking about the Duchess's ultimate sacrifice since joining the royal family, Reece also praised Kate's dedication to royal duty. 

She said, 'It takes a very special person to decide to commit to that kind of life. To choose to be under public scrutiny every moment. Now that she's in that position, her entire life is in service, forever. I am so in awe of that kind of dedication.'

When Kate Middleton told jokes to Reece her secret connection to Tinsel town wasn't known, as it was previously revealed her cousins are Hollywood stars who have been in countless films.

Selina Maycock

Selina is a Senior Entertainment Writer with more than 15 years of experience in newspapers and magazines. She has covered all things Entertainment for GoodtoKnow, Woman&Home and My Imperfect Life. Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand.