Kate Middleton gave an unexpected proclamation to the Commonwealth: Make Mine Marvel!
Well, not exactly—but a conversation between the Duchess of Cambridge and a participant in the National Portrait Gallery’s Hold Still project suggests that she understands that with great power comes great responsibility. And that maybe Prince William may look dashing in a spandex suit.
In November, 2020, Kate spoke to Jason Baird who, with friend Andrew Baldock, decided to cheer up kids during lockdown by dressing up as Spider-Man and doing some impressive spidey moves. The selected photo in the exhibition shows the internationally beloved wall-crawler in mid-flip as three kids cheer on from inside their homes. It is one of the 100 finalists.
Baird, who is a martial arts teacher, figured it would be fun to bring a smile to kids in his community as the recognizable superhero, and people took to it immediately. Soon signs appeared in his town of Stockport from youngsters pleading, “Spiderman [sic] Stop Here.”
Quickly thereafter they had helpers from across different franchises and branded IPs, like Snow White, Wonder Woman, and Batman.
Impressed by Baird’s spirit, Middleton wondered if the trend might take on at Kensington Palace, and concluded that she “might have to get William a suit.” She then issued something of a royal diss at her husband, saying “he’s not going to get the air clearance” of a martial arts instructor.
The chat was recently uploaded to the Duke and Duchess’s Instagram account, with a longer version on YouTube. There have been no reports of any palace sightings of Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, or Electro.
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