It’s been way too long since we checked in on Kate, Meghan, and their respective Princes.
When we last saw Kate, she was attending the BAFTA’s in a dress that attempted to be respectful of #MeToo, while not actively participating. She was out and about a ton the last month and a half, which makes sense since she’ll likely be out of commission for a while after Baby Cambridge #3 comes this month.
We last saw Meghan on her visit to Edinburgh. Since then, she and Harry have made a few more appearances. They joined Kate and Will at the Royal Foundation Forum and visited Birmingham while wearing great coats. Meghan also made her first official appearance alongside the Queen for Commonwealth Day as well as her first visit to Northern Ireland.
There’s a lot after the jump, but stick with me! Make sure to read to the end for some bits and bobs of other Royals news. Let’s dive in!
February 19th – Commonwealth Fashion Exchange Reception
This was the day before the Queen showed up at London Fashion Week. Kate and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, co-hosted the reception, with guests from the British fashion world like Anna Wintour, Stella McCartney, and Alice Temperley.
Kate is, of course, wearing British designer Erdem. Her version of their “Suzi” dress has been lengthened to hit below the knee. Her clutch is Alexander McQueen (another nice nod to British fashion) and the shoes are Prada. She looks great, although honestly, this isn’t even a top five Erdem for me. I tend to like his more extravagant Victorian creations.
Kate is deeply skeptical of her abilities to pull off this hot pink, ruffled number. Do it, Kate! It will make the fashion bloggers of the world very happy!
Sophie is also wearing a British designer – Burberry. She looks great as well. The Commonwealth Fashion Exchange is a really interesting project – it works to foster creativity and collaboration between established designers and local artisans across the commonwealth. The looks displayed throughout the reception were created by luminaries like McCartney and Karen Walker in collaboration with craftswomen from places like India, Pakistan, and New Zealand.
February 21st – Visit to Sunderland
Will and Kate took a trip to Northeast England to open a new arts building and meet well wishers. They toured the town and the new arts hub, met with some locals, and visited a new bridge under construction (hence the hard hats).
Kate’s lovely dark green coat is Dolce and Gabbana and the dress is Séraphine Maternity. She’ll don another green coat later in the post for St. Patrick’s Day, which I adore.
February 27 – Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Kate visited the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists after she was recently made their new patron. As a mother of two with one on the way…the assignment makes sense. According to What Kate Wore (an always fantastic resource for all things Kate), the previous and first patron of RCOG was the Queen Mother.
Kate met with patients and learned about RCOG’s work promoting maternal health across the Commonwealth. She’s wearing an adorable custom Jenny Packham coat and dress. Is it just me or does this feel like a cross between a nurses uniform and something vaguely nautical? Maybe it’s the buttons…
This was a very sweet moment: Kate was greeting the staff and professors when she saw Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, one of the midwives who helped her deliver Charlotte! She also assisted in Prince George’s birth. It’s always lovely to see genuine moments like this from the Royal Family.
February 28th – Royal Foundation Forum (or, enter Meghan!)
Guys. This is SO exciting: this is the first joint engagement for the Fab Four. They joined forces to announce their vision for their ongoing philanthropic efforts through the Royal Foundation, including their work on Heads Together and The Invictus Games. According to Meghan’s Mirror (a great source for all things Meghan), she will be added as the fourth Patron after she marries Harry in May. It will be her first official royal patronage as a Duchess.
My favorite part of all the coverage this event received were the NUMEROUS and absurd articles about detailing all the ways Kate and Meghan’s body language shows us how they REALLY feel about each other. From “mutual respect” and “a strong family vibe” to chiding Meghan for “talking over her sister-in-law” and predicting “future friendly clashes” the reports were…reaching maybe just a little.
It’s interesting but not surprising how much the media wants to establish the parameters – positive or negative, of the relationship between these two women. I get it… it’s a charming idea: Kate and Meghan, two women in a wholly unique situation that only the other could possibly understand, commiserating about the British press and gossiping about the Queen over cocktails. And the more likely scenario (that they don’t particularly see each other often and haven’t established much of any kind of relationship yet) is decidedly less so.
However, it’s fairly disappointing and unsurprising that the press is indulging in some of it’s worse impulses, pitting two women against each other and creating drama for the sake of clicks.
Kate is once again wearing a bright blue dress by her maternity style go-to, Séraphine, with Meghan in a navy blue Jason Wu shirt dress. Maternity style is tough, and Kate’s picks this time around have felt a little more stale than usual. But also, she’s 8 months pregnant – I wouldn’t blame her if she was wearing sweat pants and an old t-shirt. I like this dress on Meghan though. It’s completely in line with her more casual chic aesthetic and I wish it was in my closet.
Cue the gossip rags! Look at that side eye! THEY MUST HATE EACH OTHER!
February 28th – “Victorian Giants” Exhibition
Kate majored in Art History at St. Andrews, and was able to put her expertise to good use as the Patron and guest curator for the “Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography” exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. She actually wrote her thesis on 19th century photography, so I imagine she was just as jazzed as I am anytime anyone actually asks me about my obscure thesis topic! Kate picked a handful of the photos that appear in the exhibit and wrote the forward to the exhibition catalog.
She attended the preview wearing a lovely floral dress from Orla Kiely. One wouldn’t be far off base to peg this for another Erdem – between the flowers, the ruffles, and the high neckline, it shares a lot of same elements.
Here’s Kate’s lovely forward:
March 6th – Pegasus Primary School
Kate was on hand at the Pegasus Primary School in Oxford to learn about Family Links UK, an organization that promotes emotional well-being among students and their families.
Kate is wearing Jojo Maman Bebe. This look is the definition of unimpeachable. And I was pleasantly surprised when I looked them up to find that their clothes are super affordable – just a FYI for any new or expecting moms out there!
This was another very sweet moment: the primary school kids made Kate a book of stories for George, Charlotte, and the new baby.
March 8th – Visit to Birmingham
Megs and Harry headed up to Birmingham where they toured the science museum at Birmingham University and participated in an International Women’s Day event for women in STEM. They also visited with participants in the Royal Foundation sponsored Coach Core Program which works to engage at risk youth through sports coaching.
I ADORE this J. Crew coat. It’s a little bathrobe, a little nautical, and from a brand we can all actually afford! The shoes are Manolo Blahnik and the purse (which is also fantastic) is Altuzarra. The turtle neck is from All Saints and the pants are Alexander Wang. I love this whole look.
There has been some hilarious speculation about why Meghan keeps choosing purses with handles, as opposed to Kate’s complete reliance on clutches. I’m not sure what her reasoning is, but they do make more sense with the more casual vibe she trends towards.
March 12th – Commonwealth Day
Ah, Commonwealth Day: the annual celebration of the former British Empire! This years celebration marked Meghan’s first official appearance with the Queen. The gang gathered with the rest of the Royal Family at Westminster Abbey for a service and speech by Her Majesty.
Kate’s coat is Beulah London and her hat is from Lock and Co. I love this look on her – the hat is so classic without being stale and she always looks incredibly elegant in navy blue.
Meghan is wearing the fantastically named “Springsteen” dress by Amanda Wakeley, along with a coat from the same collection and a bespoke hat from Stephen Jones Millinery. This is a phenomenal look – easily my favorite of her recent outfits. The hat is stunning and I will never not love a white/blue combo.
And they clearly coordinated on the footwear front! Despite appearances, they’re actually two different designers. Kate’s are Rupert Sanderson and Meghan’s are Manolo Blahnik. I have to admit, the idea of Kate and Meghan swapping shoes before they leave Kensington Palace is delightful.
March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day Parade
I always love when Will and Kate do St. Patrick’s day for two reasons: Kate wears my favorite color green and meets a dog friend! Domnhall the Irish Wolfhound is the Irish Guards mascot, and he always makes an appearance at their annual parade. Will is a Colonel with the guards and he and Kate are always on hand to distribute the traditional shamrocks to soldiers.
Kate’s gorgeous green coat is by Catherine Walker – her one stop shop for great coats. She previously wore this coat in Stockholm on this years royal tour.
Cheers, Kate! Pretty soon you can have a real pint!
March 21st – Royal Education Symposium
It’s another shade of green for Kate as she attends a royal forum on education at the Royal Society of Medicine. This is a new bespoke look from Jenny Packham. I love the Spring-y hue and delicate pussy bow.
Kate’s look here is very much “let’s get this over with, I am SO ready to spend the last weeks of pregnancy on the couch binge watching Netflix and eating chips”.
March 23rd – Visit to Northern Ireland
Meghan and Harry made their first joint visit to Northern Ireland where they met with well-wishers and toured the sites in Belfast, including the historic Crown Liquor Saloon and the Titanic Belfast Museum.
The photo service only had a handful of pictures from the event, so I made a helpful little collage of Meghan’s outfit. Her skirt is Greta Constantine, shoes are Jimmy Choo, and the coat is Mackage (the same brand she wore for her engagement photocall). Adorably, the bag is designed by a company that shares a name with Meghan’s future niece, Charlotte Elizabeth.
How cute are these two??
April 1st – Easter Services
The Royal Education Symposium was supposed to be Kate’s last public engagement before the baby comes, but she surprised everyone with an appearance at Easter Sunday church services!
She’s wearing a chocolate-brown coat by Catherine Walker – a look she’d worn previously to the Irish Guards St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2015.
Also, a major shout out to Princess Eugenie for her totally charming Oscar de la Renta coat dress! I love this look.
Cheers, Kate! We’ll see you and the new baby soon!
Royal Bits and Bobs
- Harry and Meghan have chosen the baker for their wedding cake! Much has been made about the non-traditional flavor: lemon elderflower.
- They also chose the florist, Philippa Craddock, who will use in season blooms from the gardens of Windsor.
- Ladbrokes, the British betting agency, has suspended betting on who will design Meghan’s wedding dress after a flurry of bets suggesting she’s chosen Ralph and Russo. She wore one of their designs for her engagement photos, so I could definitely see this happening.
- Invitations have been sent for the royal wedding to around 600 guests! Sadly, I am still waiting for mine…
- The hospital where Kate will give birth to Baby Cambridge #3 is preparing for the media onslaught.
Fashion Wonk 