The Duchess Talks Princess Dresses & Being Brave During Chat with a Very Special Little Girl

 As part of a new series to mark the launch of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new YouTube channel, the Palace are releasing a number of calls the Duchess made last autumn with participants from the Hold Still: A Portrait of our Nation project. In the first call, 'Shielding Mila', adorable four-year-old Mila excitedly answered the phone by greeting the Duchess with, "Good morning, Your Royal Highness!" Kate replied, "Good morning. My goodness me, you're so polite Mila!"

'Lynda took the touching photo of Mila and her after they made the difficult decision to isolate from dad. We took the decision as a family to isolate Mila at home with myself in the week prior to lockdown. After trying to find an alternative solution we took the difficult decision to isolate in different households to protect Mila, who at this point was only 4 months into her chemotherapy journey for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.  As Mila’s dad, Scott, had to continue to work and her big sister Jodi still attend school, we could not risk the possibility of infection being brought home, so they  would visit every day at the window. At first Mila did not understand why Scott could not come inside, and would ask him, "Why can’t you come in Daddy?"'

Lynda wrote: "This photograph was taken on the first day of separation. After seven weeks of temporary separation, and after being furloughed from his job, Scott was reunited with Mila. Looking back, I’m so proud of my daughter and how far she has come, the level of resilience Mila has shown during this unprecedented time is truly remarkable."

Kate asked Mila about not seeing her dad properly for so long. Mila told her it was hard. "When he came to the house, I was like, so surprised."

Of course, Mila had one very special question for Kate: "Do you have a costume?" The Duchess replied, "I'm not wearing a princess costume right now, I'm afraid Mila. Do you have lots of dressing-up outfits yourself?" Mila revealed she does and her favourite colour is pink, which prompted a special promise by the Duchess: "I have to make sure I go and try and find myself a pink dress so that, one day hopefully, Mila, we'll get to meet and then I'll remember to wear my pink dress for you. Would that be nice?"

The video included colourful images for a 'princess dress' :)

Kate asked Lynda about the challenges of lockdown and the uncertainty surrounding the length of time her family wouldn't be together. "I think initially we took the decision to isolate separately the week before lockdown because we were very conscious about what was happening, certainly in Europe, and the UK at that time." Lynda added there was "a silver lining" because Mila was still going through treatment. "Lockdown allowed us a period of time to just focus on her treatment without any interruption."

Mila very sweetly told Kate she "loved" her children's names and listed all three. Kate added, "Louis has got so big now he's very quick running around and he's on his little scooter as well. He's very quick. I can't keep up with him."

In January, Mila received the Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People Star Award.

It appears Kate wore the Whistles blouse seen in her engagement portraits by Mario Testino. I do wonder if perhaps the call took place around the tenth anniversary of their engagement. Of course, it's possible the Duchess owns more than one of the blouse and there were several versions of it released. Given the timing of the call and its proximity to the tenth anniversary of the engagement, I suspect there's a very good chance it's the blouse.

The Duchess accessorised with the Queen's pearl and diamond earrings.

Hold Still: A Portrait of our Nation in 2020 goes on sale tomorrow. The book is currently the bestselling title on Amazon UK.

Coming this Friday...📚#HoldStill2020 @NPGLondon @coopuk pic.twitter.com/Vb1OpfrZIQ

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) May 5, 2021

It will be available across bookstores and online at the National Portrait Gallery and the Book Depository.