Princess Catherine's solo Italy visit draws Diana comparisons as thousands queue for hours to see her

The Princess of Wales has been praised for her remarkable public appeal following her solo two-day visit to Reggio Emilia, Italy — her first official overseas engagement since her cancer diagnosis in 2024.

Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond has drawn a striking comparison between the reception Catherine received and the extraordinary scenes she witnessed travelling with the late Princess Diana.

Diana déjà vu

Speaking to the Mirror, Bond said that seeing the throngs who turned out to cheer Catherine in Italy gave her a strong sense of déjà vu from all the years she spent travelling with Diana, Princess of Wales.

"Some had queued for hours just to get a glimpse of Catherine; they screamed in excitement when they saw her, and teachers at a school she visited cried when she left," Bond said. "It was the sort of near mass hysteria I witnessed pretty much wherever Diana went."

Bond noted that she witnessed similar scenes with Diana across the United States, France, Japan, India, Nepal, and Australia. "Back then they called it Di-mania. This has already been dubbed Kate fever," she added.

A significant moment for the Princess

The Reggio Emilia visit marked Catherine's first official international trip since 2022, when she joined Prince William in Boston for the Earthshot Prize ceremony.

The two-day engagement focused on the city's world-renowned Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood development — a subject the Princess has championed as a central part of her royal mission.

Bond observed that Catherine's "extraordinary glamour and youthful star quality" had been notably absent from the Royal Family's public profile during her period of recovery, and expressed hope that the success of the Italy visit would pave the way for more overseas tours representing Britain and the monarchy.