The Duchess of Cambridge visited the Pegasus Primary School in Oxford today on behalf of Family Links UK. The organization’s work is in line with Kate’s focus on the mental health of women and children, with a focus on early intervention.
Kate was greeted by schoolchildren upon her arrival, giving us our traditional shots of her making her way down the line amidst a sea of smiles and tiny flags.
Inside, she participated in discussions with Family Links staff and parents to hear more about their experiences with accessing and using available resources.
She also joined students for “circle time,” a structure aimed at facilitating the sharing of thoughts and feelings. The Daily Mail noted that Kate said having such a dedicated time is “unusual but pretty fantastic.”
Kate recycled a white (or cream) coat from JoJo Maman Bebe. She first wore the piece back in 2015 when she visited the set of Downton Abbey shortly before the birth of Princess Charlotte.
She carried out that engagement at a similar point in her pregnancy, but as you can see from the photo above, she is definitely a bit bigger the third time around! I was glad to see the coat again – it was one of my favorite looks from her second pregnancy and I’ve been waiting for it to pop up.
On that note, The Sun reported over the weekend that Kate is believed to be due on April 23 (St. George’s Day). This may very well be true, though I have to say I’m surprised it’s that late in the month. Given the timing of the announcement in September and the date of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding on May 19, I’ve been assuming the baby was due in the first half of April. But the 23rd is certainly feasible and if so, it’s all the more notable that Kate will at such a high-profile event just three weeks after giving birth.
While we’re on the topic, we might as well cover off on another assumption I’ve been making, which is that Kate won’t take as long of a maternity leave this round as she did in 2015. That’s been based on the increased workload announced last summer and the family’s residence in London, but one royal reporter is expecting the Duchess to bow out until the autumn.
Personally, I hope that isn’t the case. It’s a safe bet Kate will turn up for Trooping the Colour in June and Wimbledon in July, but my (partly selfish) wish is that she reappears with at least some regularity by mid-summer. That way she can bang out a few engagements before bowing out for most of August and hit the ground running per usual in September. We shall see – or, more likely, we shall cover the backlash that inevitably happens when this all goes down in a few months(!)
We’ll see Kate again tomorrow and then cover Harry and Meghan’s engagement in Birmingham on Thursday.