New year, new you—at least that must be how Kate Middleton feels with her birthday falling on January 9, almost perfectly aligned with the holiday and the start of 2026. This year, the Princess of Wales turns 44 and a brand-new profile published in the U.K. Times reveals much about her personality and what to make of the future queen. Still, there was one particular tidbit about a rare bad habit: As it turns out, Princess Catherine has a tendency to lose her phone.
Kate Middleton’s ‘Bad Habit’ Revealed—But It’s Also a Bit Resolution-Worthy
Hint: It’s technology-related
Published Jan 5, 2026
•4:15pm
SplashNews.com/Shutterstock
SplashNews.com/Shutterstock
It was Giovanna Fletcher who spilled the royal tea in the interview—as host of the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, she welcomed the then-Duchess of Cambridge to her airwaves back in February 2020 in one of the most revealing conversations (they chatted about everything from mom guilt to hypno-birthing) with Catherine yet. Still, it was what Catherine shared when the mics were off that caught Fletcher by surprise: “She told me that she was notoriously bad at keeping an eye on her phone. She always loses her phone,” Fletcher told the Times.
There’s more: Catherine’s tendency to misplace her tech was so well-known that Fletcher said it also impacted the gifts she received that Christmas. “All of her Christmas presents that year were related to her keeping track of her phone... It was all about her not losing her phone,” she shared.
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A bad habit? I’m sure it feels like that for anyone trying to reach Catherine and getting her voicemail time and time again. But as we enter a new year, I’ll admit that I’m focusing a bit more on scheduling phone-free gaps in my day (or at least setting it down in a singular spot in another room and leaving it there so that I can practice being a bit more present and less reactionary to non-stop notifications and pings). Catherine losing her phone does sound more like forgetfulness—but as someone who recently penned an essay about the Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World, it also sounds like she’s living according to her own values. (The less screens, the better.)
It also makes me curious about the gifts she received to counter this habit. An Apple Watch? A cute cross-body phone case? Or maybe just a Tile she could attach to her royal phone? Options abound.
Either way, it’s a fun little insight about the Princess of Wales.
