Kate Plants a Commemorative Tree

Readers…she’s done it again!

The Duchess of Cambridge – known for recycling her wardrobe – dipped way into her closet today and picked a blue Reiss frock to deliver her first public address. Kate teamed the dress – also seen on mum Carole Middleton during the Royal Ascot in 2008 – with a black belt, suede pumps and clutch.

Kate Gets Crafty with Brooke Jennings

The Duchess arrived to around 600 supporters at The Treehouse, a new $4.78 million hospice facility in Ipswich, Suffolk that cares for seriously and terminally ill children in Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

Kate was first given a tour of the new facility, for which she is a royal patron. There she met with parents and children who currently staying at the hospice.  She spent time with the children doing crafts and visiting the music therapy room before planting a commemorative tree on the grounds.

Despite admitting to one guest that she finds doing speeches, “nerve wracking,” the Duchess’ three-minute speech – which her aides stressed that she had written herself – was relatively flawless.

The speech in it’s entirely is as follows (for a viewing, head to CBS News):

First of all, I’d like to say thank you. Thank you for not only accepting me as your Patron but thank you also for inviting me here today.

You have all made me feel so welcome and I feel hugely honoured to be here to see this wonderful centre.

I am only sorry that William can’t be here today; he would love it here. A view of his – that I share – is that through teamwork, so much can be achieved.

What you have all achieved here is extraordinary.

You as a community have built the Treehouse; a group of people who have made every effort to support and help each other.

When I first visited the Hospice in Milton, I had a pre-conceived idea as to what to expect. Far from being a clinical, depressing place for sick children, it was a home. Most importantly, it was a family home, a happy place of stability, support and care. It was a place of fun.

Today I have seen again that the Treehouse is all about family and fun. For many, this is a home from home – a lifeline, enabling families to live as normally as possible, during a very precious period of time.

What you do is inspirational, it is a shining example of the support and the care that is delivered, not just here, but in the children’s hospice movement at large, up and down the country.

The feelings you inspire – feelings of love and of hope – offer a chance to families to live a life they never thought could be possible.

So thank you again for inviting me here today. I feel enormously proud to be part of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and to see the wonderful life-changing work that you do. Thank you.

Kate Decorates Conmeal with a Shamrock Sprig

The Duchess of Cambridge wrapped up her week of Royal duties today, spending St. Patrick’s Day with a visit to 450 very lucky Irish Guards.

Looking beautiful in a green swing coat dress by Emilia Wickstead and brown pillbox “Betty Boop” hat with bow detailing ($388) by Lock and Co, Kate handed out shamrock sprigs to members of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards (and their mascot Irish wolfhound Conmeal) in Aldershot, Hampshire, on Saturday. She then met with senior members of the regiment.

What's in the Glass?

In keeping with the festivity of the day, she accessorized her look with a gold shamrock pin and her own sprig of shamrock – the floral symbol of Ireland.

The visit was no doubt close to the Duchess’ heart, as Prince William was named an honorary Colonel in the regiment and even donned the uniform on their wedding day last year.

Perhaps this is why Kate has taken over the visit to the regiment, which has been in the past carried out by Princess Anne following the death of the Queen Mum ten-years ago.

We have to say, we’re pretty impressed with the way Kate has kept herself busy over the past six weeks while William has been away. She has certainly proven that she can stand on her own during these special engagements. We bet Wills will be pretty excited to congratulate her upon his return next week.

Well done, Duchess!

Kate Chats with a Hockey Team Member

It was a busy day for the Duchess of Cambridge today as she made her way around London for a couple of appearances.

Kate first showed off the field-hockey skills she perfected during her days at Marlborough College during a private visit to Olympic Park in Stratford this morning to meet with the Team Great Britain (Team GB) women’s hockey team.  The Duchess is a Team GB and Paralympics GB 2012 Ambassador.

After arriving in a colorful outfit of coral cropped-skinny jeans paired with a navy blazer and official Team GB colorful scarf, the Duchess took a quick tour of the training facility. She then changed into a Team GB jacket and took some time out to speak with the coaches and took some shots with the team. From the photo, it looks like she hasn’t lost her touch!

Nice Shot, Duchess!

Following her morning of physical activity, Kate changed gears dramatically, heading to south London with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall to visit the Dulwich Picture Gallery, one of England’s oldest public art galleries.

Kate Arrives with Prince Charles

The Mail reports that the three met with artists who work with children who have taken part in the Great Art Quest – a program that introduces them to local galleries, professional artists and storytellers. They also learned about Children & the Arts Face Britain project, the UK’s largest mass collaborative art project.

Portraits from children aged four to 16 will create a montage image of The Queen, which will be projected on to the front of Buckingham Palace to herald the start of the Jubilee and Olympic celebrations in April.

Lucky students from Goodrich Community Primary School in East Dulwich, Globe Academy in Southwark, Langbourne Primary School and Luke’s CofE Primary School attended the event, where the Royals viewed the children’s work.

Kate certainly cleaned-up well for the event, wearing a beautiful grey pleated dress with black-flowered detailing by Irish designer Orla Kiely. She teamed the look with her signature black-suede pumps and clutch. We love the look!

Flawless in M Missoni!

It was a “Girl’s Day Out” today for the Duchess of Cambridge as she accompanied the Queen and Camilla for a mid-morning tea party at London’s swank Fortnum & Mason.

The Royals took time to tour the Piccadilly store where they were were shown a host of Diamond Jubilee themed items. Camilla was said to be very taken with the bakery area while Kate enjoyed learning about the high-end chocolates and tea varieties.

Kate was seeking out information on the perfect cup of tea, telling the staff, ”I would really like to learn to make the perfect cup of tea, as when I last made a pot of tea with dried tea leaves I got it very wrong.” She also claimed that her brother, James, is also a big fan and promised to send him to the store for a visit.

Following the tour, the three joined invited guests at a tea party where the Queen renamed the store’s restaurant the Diamond Jubilee Tea Station. The ladies were then presented with gift hampers full of goodies to take home – including venison flavored dog biscuits for their hounds!

The gifts no-doubt pleased the Royals as a source said, “There was lots of joy, especially over the biscuits. The [Queen's] Corgis are going to be lucky tonight. They’ll be in doggie heaven.”

Kate kicked-up her fashion game, wearing a blue designer coat by M Missoni. She paired the look with grey suede “Malone” pumps ($600) by Rupert Sanderson and a pin of two daffodils (said to be in honor of St. David’s Day).

The Ladies Check out Their Wares!

We’ll be seeing a bit more of Kate with the Queen as she will be accompanying her to a series of events in Leicester. Can’t wait to see her upcoming fashion choices!