Kate Middleton and Mila | CREDIT: JANE BARLOW – WPA POOL/GETTY 

The Duchess of Cambridge’s exquisite choice of attire for formal events constantly surprises royal admirers. But one one occassion, we expected Kate to wear pink because she had already stated her desire to do so.

The Duchess of Cambridge met Mila Sneddon, a five-year-old fan with an inspirational personal story, during her royal visit of Scotland with husband Prince William. Mila, who is battling leukemia, was a participant in the duchess’ Hold Still photographic project, and her encounter with Kate had been planned for a long time.

The photograph of Mila and her father Scott, separated by their kitchen window, was chosen as one of the finalists in the Duchess of Cambridge’s Hold Still portrait project, which she established with the National Portrait Gallery to chronicle life in the UK during the first coronavirus lockdown. The photograph, titled “Shielding Mila,” was one of 100 finalists.

According to a post on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Instagram account, the Sneddon family was forced to make the difficult decision to isolate Mila in different households for her safety because the five-year-old was only four months into her chemotherapy treatment and was at high risk due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She had previously spoken with the duchess over the phone when her image was chosen for an exhibition.

Mila | CREDIT: JANE BARLOW – WPA POOL/GETTY

Mila, who is now five, greets Middleton with “Good morning, Your Royal Highness,” and asks if she has a “princess costume.”

“I’m not wearing a princess costume right now I’m afraid, Mila,” Middleton says, always truthful with children. When she learns that the girl’s favorite color is pink, she says, “I’ll have to make sure I try and find a pink dress. Hopefully when, one day, hopefully, Mia, we’ll get to meet and then I’ll wear remember to wear my pink dress for you.”

“Yay!” exclaimed Mila, who was overjoyed.

“I know all your kids’ names.” Mila said later in the conversation to Kate.

Kate said, “Do you? What are their names, can you remember? ”

“Yes,” Mila said, before naming Kate’s three children: Charlotte, George, and Louis.

“Yay,” Kate exclaimed, adding, “Louis has gotten 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!”

They met towards the end of William and Kate’s week-long tour to Scotland, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

Mila Sneddon and her family were welcomed by the duchess, who donned a gorgeous pink ME+EM attire that matched the five-year-old’s clothing.

When Kate entered the room, the small girl’s face lit up. “Hi Mila, look at you. I want to give you a big squeezy cuddle, it’s so nice to meet you in person,” Kate said.

“I love your dress, can you do a little twirl – and your shoes,” she remarked.

Mila herself wore a bright pink gown with a faux tiara on her hair.

Mila and her family live near Falkirk, Scotland, so the royal couple’s current tour to the country presented the ideal chance for the two to meet.

The Palace said in the caption of the post:

“In the week prior to lockdown last year, Mila’s family 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 leukaemia.

“The Duchess spoke to Mila on the phone a few months ago following her image being selected as one of the final 100 for the #HoldStill2020 project – hoping one day that they’d meet and wear their pink dresses together.

“Today, Mila and her family visited the Palace of Holyroodhouse to visit The Duchess for tea and a tour of the palace.”

Mila told Kate about the circumstances behind her mother’s photograph for the Hold Still show.

“It’s because Daddy had to self-isolate to keep me safe from the coronavirus and then he finally came back home,” she said.

“I’m very grateful,” Kate said. “And also for sharing such a personal time. You know, it’ll be an image that is part of a national archive, and you know, it tells a story of this particular time and a very personal story too, so thank you so much for sharing it.”