I had a feeling we’d be seeing this Séraphine coat soon. The Duchess of Cambridge has been recycling several pieces debuted during her pregnancy with Princess Charlotte and this one, first shown off during a whirlwind tour of New York City in 2014, is certainly memorable.
Today’s engagement in North Kensington was with the Rugby Portobello Trust, which has worked on behalf of families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire earlier this year. The tragedy, which cost 71 lives, garnered considerable attention, not only from media, but from policymakers and the Royal Family, having raised conversations about lower-income housing and the vulnerabilities many face in costly urban areas like London.
Several members of the RF have visited victims of the fire, not least of whom was the Queen. The Duke of Cambridge visited at least twice (that I can recall), and has kept a close eye on the work of the umbrella charity organizations that have activated around the incident. On one such occasion, Kate was due to join him and Prince Harry, but it was an engagement unfortunately canceled due to the HG she suffered in the early days of her pregnancy.
In keeping with the coming holiday, Kate attended a Christmas party and helped hand out gifts to children and chat with mothers who are a part of the group, Magic Mums.
She also delivered a note from William, Harry and her which praised the hard work carried out by the Trust, the text of which can be seen below (courtesy of reporter Victoria Murphy):
Today’s engagement certainly struck a balance between acknowledging the horror of the June fire and seeing images of happy children today receiving presents. The last public event at which Kate appears before retiring for the Christmas break is usually holiday-themed and today was no exception. We will, however, see her and other members of the RF again on Thursday when they appear a memorial service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in honor of the those impacted by the fire.
As mentioned, today’s coat is a recycle. It is, however, a maternity coat, which is a transition that Kate sometimes hesitates to make during her second trimester. Featuring purple tweed, black piping and sparkle, it hit the appropriate note of nodding to winter and the festive spirit of the children’s party.
The coat was worn over a black dress for which I haven’t seen a specific ID, while the heels are her suede Tod’s.
In other news, the dates for the Cambridges’ tour of Sweden and Norway was announced yesterday. The two will spend January 30-31 in Stockholm and February 1-2 in Oslo. I have to say, I was slightly disappointed that the entire trip would only last four days, even knowing that two days in Helsinki were originally meant to be included. Nevertheless, I think this will be an exciting tour. Kate will be nearly seven months pregnant and it may very well be the only tour that she and William undertake in 2018.
Maternity leave will take her out of commission through the summer most likely and I’m having a hard time envisioning them leaving a new baby for an entire week in the autumn. Our best bet may very well be another truncated tour later next year, but we shall see. 2015 was a similar model thanks to the birth of Charlotte, however I think it’s a safe bet less time will be spent holed up in Norfolk now that Prince George is enrolled in school. Anmer Hall, William and Kate’s Norfolk home, pictured below:
As for Christmas, it’s now being reported that Harry and Meghan Markle will spend the holiday with the Royal Family at Sandringham as previously speculated. They will stay with William and Kate at Anmer Hall from Dec. 24-26, but turn up for the usual royal traditions, including the walks to church during which the family is photographed. It’s also believed that Meghan will attend the Queen’s Christmas luncheon, which is scheduled for either Dec. 19 or 20 and from which we usually get arrival photos of family members.
In the meantime, Harry and Meghan have spent the last few days apart. Harry attended a hunting trip in Germany and Meghan reportedly returned home to the U.S. to spend some time with family and friends post-announcement. It’s expected that the two will carry out more engagements throughout the country in the new year in the lead up to their planned May wedding.
That’s all for now, but we’ll circle back with current news on Thursday for the memorial service and I’ll put up another two recaps of The Crown tomorrow.