Surprise Part Deux: the Duchess of Cambridge joined the Duke and Prince Harry for the Coach Core Graduation today. The engagement highlights 150 apprentices as they transition to the next phase of their athletic coaching careers and is very in line with the royal trio’s endorsement and support of sports and encouraging physical activity with younger generations.
It marked the second time this week that Kate joined her husband and brother-in-law for an unannounced public appearance and comes just 24 hours after Kensington Palace announced that the planned tour of Norway and Sweden next month has been pushed until next year due to Kate’s pregnancy-related HG.
The Cambridges were gifted two West Ham jerseys for Prince George and Princess Charlotte, but club captain Mark Noble noted:
“We know that William’s an Aston Villa fan so whether it gets put on or not I don’t know. Whether they’ll let George do that I don’t know! It was a gesture from us as a welcome to the club really. We were talking about the new stadium, football and what West Ham coming to the stadium has done for the area. It’s so nice to speak to the royals.
“For 99 per cent of the population they are figures from afar. I told my little girl, who’s only eight, that I was coming to meet the royals and she was so jealous. I can’t wait to show her photos. She’ll think I’m more of a great dad now than I was yesterday. For me, getting kids doing sport instead of sitting in front of computers is great. We need to do more of this stuff to get people active.”
Kate spoke with tennis coach Judy Murray (Andy Murray’s mother) about how she’s beginning to develop George and Charlotte’s tennis skills. Murray relayed:
“We were talking about the things you can do with kids when they’re little to help them develop those core skills. They don’t need to be taught by a coach. Parents have got a big role to play in that. The prince and the duchess are very sporty so I’m sure they’ll be keen for their kids to enjoy sport as well. We were talking about the things you can with balloons when kids are very small and that bean bags don’t roll. She’s been trying with the balloons and I was telling her to try bubbles as well. Blow bubbles and splat them with a little table tennis (ping pong) bat. It’s a fun way of developing those basic skills. Kids learn best when they’re playing.”
Kate favored a style we’ve essentially already seen before, which is a Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini blazer over a black turtleneck, black jeans and black ankle boots. It’s remarkable similar to what she wore to a RAF engagement back in February, though the boots appear to be new and the blazer today is blue and not red. Kate’s a big believer in buying items she likes in multiple colors and, hey, who doesn’t? Now, generally most of us are doing with that certain staples like jeans or sweaters, but Kate does it with cocktail dresses and blazers. Whatever works!
This blazer got mixed reviews over the winter, but I was actually a fan of it even though the length does make it a statement. I think I prefer it in red, but I don’t mind it here. Perhaps because it’s starting to get chilly and I’m recovering from a cold, but if I had to make a pop up appearance and be photographed from every angle when I wasn’t feeling my best, I think I’d opt for a similar look.
Nothing else is officially on Kate’s calendar over the next few weeks, but I would imagine we’ll keep seeing her here and there when her health permits. At least for a while, I think our best bet is to keep an eye on William’s calendar and see what Kate is able to join since solo engagements appear to be off the table for now.