Twenty-four hours later after the birth of Baby Boy Sussex and the House of Windsor was back at it. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge today carried out an engagement in London (that I completely forgot about, tbh) to launch The King’s Cup Regatta, while the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall arrived in Berlin and the Duke of Edinburgh made a rare appearance alongside the Queen.
Let’s start with the Cambridges. As the couple arrived on site today at Cutty Sark Kensington Palace announced that they will host the inaugural regatta on August 9 on the Isle of Wight to raise money for a number of their patronages. For Kate this will include Action for Addiction, Place2Be and the Anna Freud Centre, while William will be supporting Centrepoint, Tusk, Child Bereavement UK and the London Air Ambulance 30th anniversary campaign. They shared the below video:
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will host the inaugural regatta The King’s Cup this summer to raise awareness and funds for eight of Their Royal Highnesses’ patronages. pic.twitter.com/rcdRPCr8BA
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) May 7, 2019
Long-time followers of the Cambridges know well that they, well, are very competitive, and over the years a number of their engagements have featured them competing against one another. This started on their honeymoon and has carried through on a number of tours – I want to say the most recent was in Heidelberg in the summer of 2017, but don’t quote me on that.
Prior to that, William bested his wife in Canada in 2011, while Kate got her revenge in New Zealand during their 2014 tour. With William having won in Germany, I sincerely hope Kate is taking this seriously 😉
Anyway, today kicks the initiative off with the two meeting with representatives from their selected charities and participating in a simulated sailing race, but the first order of business was obviously asking them about the birth of their new nephew. The below clip was shared by reporter Emily Andrews:
VIDEO: William & Kate say they look forward to meeting #babysussex. Wills: “We’re absolutely thrilled & look forward to seeing them in the next few days… I’m v pleased to welcome my brother to the sleep deprivation society that is parenting!” pic.twitter.com/W6ldWWsUgn
— Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) May 7, 2019
As Kate noted, “It’s such a special time, obviously with Charlotte and Louis just having their birthdays, it’s such a great time of year to have a baby.” Indeed, between the three siblings/cousins, we will now be celebrating royal birthdays back-to-back between April 23 and May 6.
During the race simulation, our well-behaved Duchess even engaged in some light trash talking (which I’m all for, to be clear) – video courtesy of Andrews:
Video: Wills and Kate try out the sailing simulators and struggle to get the start line!! “Are you sinking yet” yells Wills!! pic.twitter.com/UvTOlWpDL0
— Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) May 7, 2019
On the fashion front, Kate is wearing new navy, nautical-inspired trousers by LK Bennett. These are, in my opinion, a marked improvement upon the cropped J.Crew version that Kate debuted two years ago. I’ve yet to see an official ID on Kate’s Breton-striped top or the red clutch, but overall I actually love this entire look. HRH does enjoy dressing for a theme, and while that sometimes makes me cringe, I think she hit the mark today.
As for the rest of the family, Charles and Camilla arrived in Berlin today for a four-day visit to Germany that will also take them to Leipzig and Munich. Earlier today they met with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Charles responded to questions about his grandson with, “We couldn’t be more delighted at the news and we’re looking forward to meeting the baby when we return.”
The couple was also presented with gifts:
Meanwhile Camilla has been presented with a balloon and gift for #BabySussex
📸: @ArthurJEdwards pic.twitter.com/0bEPFe7IuE
— Johnny Goldsmith (@MirrorJohnny) May 7, 2019
The Queen, too, was asked about the newest Windsor addition during an engagement today:
The Queen is quizzed about the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan's baby son during a lunch at Windsor Castle today
Read more here: https://t.co/uDCm5OovAZ pic.twitter.com/yEQKSXbS2I
— ITV News (@itvnews) May 7, 2019
Prince Philip was also on hand this afternoon for a luncheon at Windsor Castle with members of the Order of Merit. The Duke retired from public life in August 2017, and since then has only joined engagements on a handful of occasions. In the nearly two years since, this marks his 15th official appearance.
Tomorrow will be another big day, with William and Kate carrying out engagements in North Wales, and quite possibly our first photos of the new baby, but TBD on the latter as there hasn’t been official confirmation.