Kate Middleton’s hobby that King Charles finds ‘less than satisfying’ as he admitted it was ‘impossible’

The Princess of Wales’ hobby is something that King Charles finds “less than satisfying” as he once admitted it was “impossible” to achieve this with it.

The Royal Family might spend a lot of their time undertaking engagements and overseas tours, but they are also known for their various hobbies. From Queen Camilla’s love of books that sparked the creation of her Reading Room book club, to Prince William’s polo playing and Princess Charlotte’s dancing, they have quite the range of personal passions. However, it seems some royals aren’t as big fans of their nearest and dearest's activities of choice. This includes Kate’s hobby that King Charles finds “less than satisfying”.

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As revealed by the Prince’s Foundation when an exhibition of some of His Majesty’s work went on display in January 2022, the monarch doesn’t seem to be that fond of photography. He explained this himself in a display panel for his watercolours and shared how he felt it was “impossible” to achieve the same effect with photographs.

“I took up painting entirely because I found photography less than satisfying,” he declared candidly. “Quite simply, I experienced an overwhelming urge to express what I saw through the medium of watercolour and to convey that almost ‘inner’ sense of texture which is impossible to achieve via photography.”

Whilst sadly photography doesn’t seem to be King Charles’ favourite past-time, it’s long been known to be Kate’s hobby of choice.

The future Queen Consort has regularly shared personal photos of Prince George, Charlotte and Louis on social media to mark their birthdays. Queen Camilla has also been captured by Kate in the gardens at her Ray Mill House home for the cover of her guest-edited Country Life edition. 

It was also the Princess of Wales behind the camera for the iconic photo of the late Queen Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren and two of her grandchildren with her at Balmoral Castle taken the summer before she passed away. For Kate it seems photography is incredibly “satisfying” and her skills have been admired by professionals over the years too.

Back in 2021, the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Instagram account shared a picture of Kate holding a camera in the countryside. Photographer Matt Porteous later spoke to Hello! about how the Princess assisted him in getting the perfect shot. 

"Catherine is an amazing photographer, we have both shared tips on location and talked about light, settings and styles,” he said. "Catherine has an amazing eye for photos so will always point us in the right direction for light and backdrops. I'm always looking for the best light and will work with this in every scene.”

Since becoming Princess of Wales fans have seen fewer photos taken by her shared on social media, perhaps potentially because she’s now even busier balancing her many royal responsibilities.

However, whenever one is posted it consistently delights fans and although Kate’s hobby is something King Charles doesn’t find “satisfying”, the two royals might well bond over their love of their separate creative activities. It’s also said to have been the Princess of Wales who helped bring together the Waleses, Sussexes and King Charles and Queen Camilla for a family portrait in honour of his 70th birthday that is wonderfully special.