The Duchess of Cambridge stepped out for an engagement at the Foundling Museum today, but let’s get real, the only thing anyone cares about right now is yesterday’s engagement news. Naturally, Kate was asked straight away to comment and, still naturally, it is her answer that is driving the afternoon headlines:
“William and I are absolutely thrilled. It’s such exciting news. It’s a really happy time for any couple and we wish them all the best and hope they enjoy this happy moment.”
This question was wholly expected and Kate came prepared with a canned response. It prompted a brief conversation on Twitter that garnered this response from royal reporter Emily Andrews about how often Kate speaks to the members of the press who cover her engagements:
Her statement comes after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle specifically noted how supportive she has been throughout their relationship, with Harry saying in their first interview:
“It was exciting, I mean I’ve – you know, I’d been seeing her for a period of time when I literally didn’t tell anybody at all. And then William was longing to meet her and so was Catherine, so you know, being our neighbours, we managed to get that in a couple of, well, quite a few times now, and Catherine has been absolutely amazing, as has William as well, you know, fantastic support. The family together have been absolutely, you know, a solid support, and my grandparents as well have been, have been wonderful throughout this whole process, and they’ve known for quite some time.”
In the middle of this, Meghan interrupted to chime in that Kate has been “wonderful.”
So, yes, after six years of handling engagements outnumbered with the Duke of Cambridge and Harry, Kate will finally have a sister-in-law to balance things out. Unfortunately, it probably means the end of engagements where “the royal trio” are out about, but it does mean opportunities for Kate and Meghan to work together. Doors closing, windows opening and such.
Below is the Duchess of Cornwall handling the same question while out on her own engagement:
Anyway, today: the Foundling Museum captures the history of the Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first children’s charity and public gallery, which boasts educational programs aimed at supporting at-risk children and their families. It’s a wonderfully historic organization – one which first received its Royal Charter from George II in 1739 – and it is still focused on how the arts can support philanthropy and childcare.
Kate debuted a new day dress by Kate Spade featuring a diamond print and stripe detailing on the sleeves, waistline and hem. The bodice’s buttoning keeps it on the casual side, while the pleated, below-the-knee length skirt dresses it up to an appropriate professional garment for today.
She paired the look with burgundy Gianvito Rossi heels and a matching clutch by Mulberry.
This is going to sound weird, but I honestly don’t know what my opinion is of this dress. I don’t dislike it, but I can’t quite bring myself to like it. I like the style of it, I like the stripe detailing and the clashing patterns and I actually love the coordination between the dress and those heels. But the diamond print loses me and all together, it’s a little ho-hum.
It’s also a bit short-waisted, which works because of Kate’s pregnancy, but I can’t imagine this not looking a bit off at any other time. And while I’d say this might be Kate’s version of maternity wear, she actually tends to favor a short-waisted silhouette at time for reasons about which we can only speculate.
Anyway, today’s engagement was straight and to-the-point, but it was kind of refreshing to see Kate after yesterday’s wall-to-wall coverage of Harry and Meghan. You know, the OG of royal brides. She has another engagement tomorrow at the Hood Primary School, which we will of course cover here.
Oh, almost forgot! While this was going on, William was over at Buckingham Palace lending his grandmother a hand with the President of Germany. It’s a job that once would have gone to the Duke of Edinburgh and, as he’s done in the past, William is stepping in now that his grandfather has retired. I always like it when William, the Queen and/or the Prince of Wales interact – there’s just something special about successive monarchs carrying out royal work together.