Kensington Palace confirmed that today’s engagements mark the last for the Duchess of Cambridge before she begins maternity leave. While there are a few occasions over the next few months at which we’re certain to see her, it’s entirely likely that she won’t resume a full time schedule until September. As for what that means for us here, well, it’ll give us more time for history and I have a feeling following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will keep us plenty busy through the spring and summer.
In any event, let’s turn to today. The two engagements that William and Kate undertook were meant to celebrate the Commonwealth ahead of next month’s Heads of Government meetings taking place in London. When they occur, Kate will be out of commission, but rumor has it that Meghan is expected to play a part alongside William and Harry. The real pressure will be on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, however, but we’ll circle back to some other time.
After receiving a welcome from students from Chobham Academy, the couple made their way to the Olympic Park’s Copper Box arena on behalf of SportsAid. Today, they met with wheelchair basketball athletes, including Ade Adepitan, who won the bronze medal for the sport at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
It was he who was responsible for getting William to try the sport out, which the Duke acknowledged was harder than it looks. One athlete who competed in Rio in 2016 told reporters, “He was pretty good. Normally people can’t reach the basket or they try to jump out of the wheelchair when they shoot but he was quite natural.”
Reporter Richard Palmer captured some video, which he shared on Twitter:
Charles and Camilla are due to be in Australia in two weeks to open this year’s Commonwealth Games.
William and Kate also participated in a Commonwealth Quiz, answering trivia about member nations. KP shared video below:
The next engagement was at St Luke’s Community Centre to help prepare for a Commonwealth Big Lunch, a communal “get together” for locals in various locations. There was one hosted at Marlborough House last week, for example.
William and Kate participated in a cook-off and shared that they both enjoy cooking, though over the years it’s definitely sounded like Kate handles the lion’s share. William noted that he particularly enjoys curries, pasta and pizza, while both Cambridges said that Prince George and Princess Charlotte enjoy making pizzas at home. “They love that, don’t they?” said Kate. “Because they can get their hands messy.”
According to the Mail:
“The royal couple were asked to put garnishes on the dishes before they were taken out to members of the local community to dine on. Told he would help with a Malaysian dish, William said: ‘Not Durian Fruit [ a pungent Asian delicacy] is it? I fell for that one before, never again!’ He was also asked if he spoke Spanish . ‘Un poquito [a little] ,’ he laughed,’but I’m not brave enough to try it here!'”
As for fashion, Kate definitely mixed it up this afternoon by wearing skinny jeans. The look was paired with a top by Hobbs and her cream GOAT coat, which she most recently wore for a private meeting at KP focused on youth involvement in tennis.
In other news, KP also announced today that the invitations for Harry and Meghan’s wedding have been sent out. That includes 600 invites for the ceremony in St George’s Chapel and the luncheon following in St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle, and then 200 for an evening reception at Frogmore House.
Perhaps to make life easier for a couple with two sets of divorced parents, the reception invitation is simply a request for attendance from Charles. KP shared some details on Twitter (following up on earlier posts detailing the cake, which will be lemon and elderflower).
And that is all, folks. Tomorrow we’ll return to history. As of right now, there are no further engagements on the books Harry and Meghan, but when there are I’ll update the schedule accordingly.