Kate Middleton, Beekeeper, Delivers Her Own Honey to Urban Nature Project

The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton may not be in the same league with her brother beekeeper James Middleton, but Kate fell into her own groove with a group of school children at the Urban Nature Project at London’s Natural History Museum in South Kensington, where Kate is the royal patron.

The children attend St. Mary of the Angels Primary School in London.

The Duchess arrived with a special gift of homemade honey from Anmer Hall, an occasional getaway place for her and Prince William, with their three children Prince George, Prince Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Always the lover of children, Kate sat cross-legged with the school children learning more about spiders through an arts and crafts activity. Last stop on Middleton’s brief visit was the Wildlife Garden where Kate equipped a cherry tree with an acoustic monitoring device that tracks bird, mammal, and insect activity in the garden.

Beekeeping is a very romantic notion, especially in urban areas, where conscientious environmentalists are genuinely concerned about the dire assault of modern life on the world’s pollinators and guardians of the world’s food supply.

The Forward Thinking Museum in London — a virtual space for contemporary photography and videos —exhibited wonderful photos of urban beekeepers around the world. Images include Brian Mc Callum and his hives on the roof of Sir John Cass Primary School. Callum is a pro-bee activist trying to set up as many hives as possible in London.

What a lovely idea, we all exclaim! But wait one moment. Kate Middleton’s very patronage — London’s Natural History Museum, site of her bee honey visit with school children — issued a very alarming report in September 2020. I’ve heard this same call to action about beekeeping in other urban areas. Beekeeping in cities is harming other wildlife, writes the NHM.

Evidence is revealing that there is insufficient nectar and pollen to support current beehive numbers in UK cities, particularly London.

It means the popular hobby could be actively harming biodiversity, especially wild bees, rather than saving it.

AOC shares details of this new concern about urban bee keeping tomorrow.