Royal Tour of Sweden officially kicked off today, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge carrying out a number of engagements in Stockholm. We’ve been hearing about this tour for months now, from the initial press release back in August that introduced an undefined tour to the delay thanks to Kate’s pregnancy to the final announcement, so it’s hard to believe it’s finally upon us.
William and Kate arrived in Stockholm yesterday evening, having pushed their departure until after Prince George and Princess Charlotte returned home from school. They were snapped arriving and are currently staying at the British Ambassador’s residence thanks to renovations going on at the Royal Palace. Even so, there wasn’t a formal arrival, such as what we usually get with tours, so much as the couple traveled yesterday so as to be able to hit the ground running today. We do know, however, that Kate wore her pink Mulberry coat recently recycled in Coventry.
Today’s first engagement was playing bandy hockey at Vasaparken where they not only tried their hand at the sport, but met with athletes as well. One player present noted:
“Kate had played field hockey and I was expecting her to be good — and she was very good. She knew how to hold the stick and she had a very good swing. I was impressed. […] I could see that maybe they like to beat each other. Also they were pushing each other to do well.”
After their time on the ice, William and Kate warmed up with some hot chocolate with a group visiting schoolchildren who had been playing earlier. This followed an alcohol-free tipple, or Glögg, given to the couple prior to the game. And all of this, I presume, was necessary and welcome because the weather was a cool -1°C. If either of them were feeling groggy when they arrived, I think it’s safe to say that got knocked out of them!
Reporters on hand (who should have all of our sympathies given the weather!) captured some great video of the two out on the ice – these are courtesy of Rebecca English:
I loved this first outfit from Kate. As briefly mentioned last week, I wasn’t sure how many new pieces we would see during this tour since I wasn’t convinced the Duchess would invest in an entirely new set of maternity outfits. So far, I’m happy to be wrong! This engagement featured a new black shearling coat from Burberry, black skinny jeans, a burgundy sweater (that we can’t see) from Fjällräven and snow boots from Sorel. The hat, which I adore, is Eugenia Kim.
But the real centerpiece of this look is most definitely the coat, which you can a better straight-on look at below:
The faux fur and color make this actually a nice sartorial update to Kate’s closet and it was exactly the sort of addition I was hoping for. And yes, to reiterate, it is indeed faux fur.
Looks like today is going to be a three-post day, kids. I’ll circle back later on to cover the Cambridges’ luncheon at the Palace and afternoon events with Crown Princess Victoria and Crown Prince Daniel. And I’m on pins and needles to see what look Kate debuts this evening!
Photo of the morning: