Kate Middleton Wears Splint During a Visit to a Prison

On Tuesday, Princess Kate arrived at a prison in Surrey to learn more about various addiction programs with two of her fingers taped to a splint. In a blue Alexander McQueen suit, Kate sat for an inspection by a prison guard and drug detection dog, when her injury became clear. According to The Telegraph, she said during the tour that she sustained the injury during a trampolining accident, but a spokesperson from Kensington Palace told the newspaper that it was “a small injury, nothing serious.”

As patron of Forward Trust, a national charity that delivers services related to addiction, Kate made the visit to HM Prison High Down near the town of Sutton to see three of the charity’s programs in action. She met serving prisoners who are receiving addiction support from the programs, which range from more intensive abstinence programs to family-centered therapy groups. She also visited The Clink, an on-site restaurant which provides training to prepare incarcerated people for careers in hospitality. 

During the visit, she talked to multiple men about their experiences with addiction and the treatment programs at High Down.  “I asked one of the guys, 'Would you have liked help [with your addiction] earlier?’” Kate later said, according to Hello. “And he said, 'Yes, but I didn't know I needed it.’”

Addiction was one of the first issues that Kate took on after marrying Prince William. In 2012, she announced that she was becoming patron of Action on Addiction, which merged with the Forward Trust in June 2021. In the years since becoming a senior royal she has visited the charity’s various programs across the UK, including two previous visits to prisons in 2015 and 2020.

Listen to Vanity Fair’s DYNASTY podcast now.

Bad Bunny Talks Sex, Social Media, and Kendall Jenner for the October Issue

Meet Kyle Deschanel, the Pretend Playboy Who Seems to Have Fooled Half of Manhattan