Today, the Duchess of Cambridge convened a symposium on the necessity of early intervention in addressing children’s mental health issues, which featured experts and representatives from a number of the charitable organizations she patronizes. But before we get to that, let’s take note of a comment that the Duke of Cambridge made yesterday while knighting Ringo Starr (go figure).
When asked about the new baby, William responded that Kate was due to give birth “any minute now,” seemingly contradicting rumors that she isn’t due until late April. Obviously we won’t know until we know, but my inclination is to believe her due date is before then given the timing of the announcement in September and William’s remark theoretically supports that. Instead, what appears to be happening is that Kate is working closer to her due date than she has in the past, which could be a function of embracing the full-time working royal role or a way to mitigate her absence from the public eye for much of the spring and summer.
For her sake, I hope she is due sooner rather than later – not only is she likely uncomfortable at this point, but with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding on May 19, I can’t imagine having to undergo that level of attention three weeks after giving birth.
Anyway, back to to day – Kate convened a group of experts that included the CEO of the Anna Freud Centre, a patronage of hers for a few years now. Photos of her arriving at the Royal Society of Medicine (by the way, I could have sworn this event was originally supposed to have taken place at Kensington Palace) show her meeting with both Anna Freud’s Peter Fonagy and a representative from the Royal Foundation.
The focus of the event was on the necessity of identifying mental health issues in children and adolescents and getting them the resources and care they need, with one statistic highlighted by KP being particularly jarring:
Kate also delivered a speech, which as we well know is always a bit of a thing given her fear of public speaking. Though, I have to say, she’s made several speeches in the past year, so perhaps it’s time to turn the corner on this narrative. Video of it is below:
Finally, fashion – Kate debuted a new light green bespoke coat dress by Jenny Packham. It’s reminiscent of the blue one she wore last month that featured white piping – both are made of some kind of silk and worn over a similarly hued dress – however while that one was a complete disaster, today’s is a win. The color is a nice change of pace and nod to spring (though as I say that I’m watching snow fall). All in all, I would call today a win.
We’re due to see the Duchess again tomorrow, with some saying it could very well be her last engagement before maternity leave. Quite possibly, though we also all thought that about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade!
In the meantime, there’s all sort of speculation out there about whether Kate will have a boy or a girl and what it’s name will be. The most popular choices right now are “Arthur” for a boy and “Alice” for a girl. Personally, I’m hoping for another girl. So, in the spirit of the #greatkatewait3, a poll for you to cast your vote is below: