The Duchess of Cambridge was in Essex today to officially open a community-based treatment center for Action for Addiction. The facility, which technically opened its doors this past October, offers a self-help recovery program, “Clouds in the Community,” about which Kate learned today via meeting with staff, supporters and patients.
Focused on long-term results, the program offers an alternative to residential treatment and an independent evaluation of it found that nearly 80 percent of patients don’t seek additional service after completion.
Kate has been patron of Action for Addiction for over six years now, marking it one of her earliest patronages after joining the Royal Family.
In addition to participating in a roundtable discussion, unveiling a plaque and informal chats with those on-site today, Kate also delivered brief remarks. As you can see below, she’s really come a long way in appearing natural and relaxed, so good for her.
The day’s best moment came from Kate’s arrival when she briefly got her heel stuck in a grate. Ok, “best” sounds a bit mean, but sometimes it’s reassuring to see the usually unflappable HRH fall prey to the same day-to-day annoyances the rest of us face going to and from work.
Before leaving, she did a “mini walkabout” and met with people who gathered to greet her.
Today, Kate chose a royal blue coat by Goat, a brand she’s certainly been favoring with this pregnancy and from whom we’ve seen a good number of recycles and debuts since the autumn. Nor is it her only coat in this shade – it immediately called to mind one by Reiss that she debuted in the autumn of 2015.
The Goat version features a mock turtleneck featuring a bow, which offers a very Kate touch to the garment. I like this look fine, though I think it would been stronger if Kate had worn her hair up so as to better show off the collar. Otherwise, I’m fairly agnostic – it’s a nice color, a nice cut, so sure, why not?
Kate’s carrying an Aspinal of London clutch, which was developed with Beulah London as a fundraiser for the UN’s Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking. Her shoes, meanwhile, are black suede Stuart Weitzman.
As of right now, the Duchess’s next engagement is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 19, though it’s entirely possible that something else will be added to the books beforehand. In the meantime, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be in Edinburgh next Tuesday, so the February calendar is slowly but surely filling up!