Prince William was left blushing by a flirtatious 96-year-old great-grandmother.
The Duke of Cambridge paid a visit to Queen’s Bay Lodge care home in Edinburgh on Sunday (23.05.21) and caught the eye of an elderly female admirer, who was desperate for a kiss off from the 38-year-old royal.
William sat down with Betty Magee in a marquee in the grounds of the facility and she said: “It’s customary in these parts to give a lady a kiss on the cheek.”
The prince replied: “Oh you are sweet. You’ll make me blush.”
And when Betty persisted in asking for a kiss, William laughed and covered his face, before promising to return when coronavirus guidelines are eased and physical contact is permitted again.
He said: “When the rules relax more I will come back and give you a kiss on the cheek Betty.”
William then went to speak to other residents and their families, before returning to Betty and have her try her luck again.
He said: “Betty, I don’t know who is flirting more, me or you.
“Talking to you makes me blush. Is there whiskey in your tea Betty?
Speaking afterwards, the pensioner described the royal visitor as “a bit of all right”.
She said: “I wanted a kiss from a prince.
“He asked how old I was and I told him I had just had my 96th birthday and I just asked him for a kiss.
“He said he couldn’t and then I reached out and stroked his cheek.
“I could go for him in a good way. He is a bit of all right.
“He said he couldn’t give me a peck on the cheek because of Covid which was a shame.”
Speaking at another table, William told a group he was looking forward to his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, joining him for the rest of his Scotland tour and admitted they had found lockdown “quite tiring” because their three children, Princes George, seven, and Louis, three, and Princess Charlotte, six, have so much energy.
Asked how his family coped during lockdown, he replied: “At the beginning it was quite tiring. [The children] just need a lot of running around.”
And the prince told the group how much his eldest son prefers to dress casually.
Resident Margot MacKenzie showed William a photo of her 14-year-old grandson wearing a kilt and said: “I saw a photo the other day of George in long trousers.”
William replied: “George is at school now. He likes his shorts. He likes always to wear shorts and t-shirts and football shirts.”
The facility provides round-the-clock care for 28 people and over the last 14 months, 10 residents have sadly died of coronavirus.
William told the staff: “I worry about the staff here and what you all had to put up with. But it is good you are all here talking.”