As a mum of two daughters, Gaby Roslin is ideally placed to design shoes for a little girl. So the TV and radio presenter – on top of the world as she looks out over the London skyline for HELLO!'s exclusive photoshoot (taken before the coronavirus lockdown at The Trafalgar St. James Hotel) – is excited to tell us all about the funky footwear she is going to send as a gift to Princess Charlotte.
"These are happy shoes," says Gaby, 55, of the handmade trainers, which feature neon pink, yellow and orange stripes and innovative memory and recovery foam technology. She has teamed up with British footwear brand Air & Grace to create the limited-edition products – only 130 pairs have been made – to raise money for The Prince's Trust, the youth charity set up by the Prince of Wales in 1976; Gaby has been an ambassador for the trust for more than 25 years.
And the one-off miniature pair made for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's daughter is surely the perfect birthday present for the sporty little girl, who is five on Saturday.
"It made sense to give them to Prince Charles's granddaughter. I hope to see her in them. I wanted her to have a pair because I don’t think Charles will wear them!" says Gaby, who has worked closely with the Prince and his son the Duke of Sussex over the years.
"It would be a dream come true to see our shoes on a Princess," says Claire Burrows, founder of Air & Grace. "This has inspired me to start designing shoes for children."
Gaby pictured with Prince Charles
Gaby recalls: "My mum was a huge fan of the royals. The first time I went to Buckingham Palace, my mum said: 'Please behave. Say your pleases and thank yous.'
"Many years ago, I was at a private charity dinner and a lady walked past wearing a coat and a scarf around her head, taking the dogs for a walk. I then realised it was the Queen taking her dogs into the back garden! I’ll never forget that moment."
Gaby and Prince Harry pictured last year at an event
Helping to create the limited-edition trainers has been a labour of love for Gaby. She isn't making any money from the project; instead, every sale of the £159 footwear will see £50 go to the trust, to help disadvantaged young people in the UK.
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