Kate spent this afternoon at her patronage, the Natural History Museum, attending a tea party to bid farewell to one of the museum's oldest residents, Dippy the Diplodocus as he prepares to go on tour.
Kate was joined at the tea party by twenty children from Oakington Manor Primary School in London. The youngsters were brought to the Museum by Kate's patronage Place2Be, which is quite fitting as the Duchess will attend the Place2Be Awards at Mansion House later this evening.
A spokesperson for the Natural History Museum said: "The Duchess has been Patron of the Museum since April 2013. This is a reflection of her interest in and commitment to the Museum's role in helping people to both reconnect with the natural world and answer the big questions about how we can protect our planet's future. In the past few years she has met with Museum scientists to find out more about their work to understand and protect the diversity of life on Earth."
Kate and the children decorated 'dinosaur eggs'.
Chatter quickly turned to George and Charlotte. More from People's story:
'She had taken the short drive from Kensington Palace to the Natural History Museum, for the party where she joined the children for dino-inspired crafts and a mini fossil dig.
There, chatting with kids from Oakington Manor Primary School, in London, she asked them which was their favourite. Eduarda, 10, told reporters, "She said George likes the T Rex because he is the biggest and the loudest."
And Amani, 10, added, "She was asking us if we knew the story of Curious George [a monkey in a children’s book] and how he climbed up on the diplodocus. Everyone did. We asked her about her home lifestyle and her children. She said that Charlotte is very chatty and likes doing play dates with George. George is interested in dinosaurs and volcanoes.'
After forty years standing guard at the museum Dippy will be saying goodbye in January and going on a two year-long tour of the country. It will mark the first time the popular 21.3-metre-long Diplodocus skeleton cast has ever been on display outside the capital. The eight tour partners will use the opportunity to showcase local natural history alongside the impressive dinosaur, and to draw attention to UK's own rich biodiversity, past and present, as well as the future facing our wildlife.
The children helped the Duchess cut the 'Good Luck Dippy' cake.
As the Duchess cut the cake, Sir Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum, said:
'Since arriving in 1905, Dippy has been a must-see at the Museum and it is a pleasure to have the Duchess and our young special guests with us today to celebrate his time at the helm. This cake-cutting marks the start of his journey, which will take him around the UK from early 2018 to late 2020, inspiring five million natural history adventures.'
The Duchess debuted an elegant new dress by one of her favourite brands, L.K. Bennett, today. The £375 Cersei Dress is crafted from a luxe chiffon with textured velvet print, this style boasts a high neck and long sleeves for a sleek silhouette. The silk dress comes in an evergreen print. As of writing, the Cersei is available at John Lewis (where it is reduced to £300 at present) and L.K. Bennett.
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| L.K. Bennett |
A closer look at the very pretty print.
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| L.K. Bennett |
The L.K. Bennett Cersei also comes as a skirt. The silk blend skirt features intricately detailed fabric and a tiered asymmetric hem. It's currently reduced from £220 to £180 at House of Fraser.
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| House of Fraser |
Kate accessorised with her Kiki McDonough Lauren earrings.
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| Kiki McDonough |
Kate debuted a new pair of shoes today.
With many thanks to Claude and Anonymous who left comments to let us know Kate wore Hugo Boss in embossed leather with a kitten heel. The £315 pumps are described as "These Italian-made BOSS pumps impress with the clarity of their design. Exquisitely shimmering leather and innovative embossing define their elegant look, and the branded bar-shaped ornament at the heel provides a sophisticated accent. Beautiful women’s shoes that give feminine outfits a certain ‘je ne sais quoi'.
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| Hugo Boss |
You can view a brief video on Kensington Palace's Twitter Feed.
After learning about dinosaurs the Duchess cut a special #DippyOnTour cake with @NHM_London director Sir Michael Dixon. pic.twitter.com/aN9PwJcht1— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 22, 2016
For those asking, it seems the reason the event was unannounced was due to the fact the museum did not want to inconvenience patrons with the media and crowds that tend to surround a royal visit, nor did they wish to close early.
We'll see Kate later this evening for the Place2Be Awards.
Nice day event. Fun and educational. Great that it combined Place2b for the event as well! I love the kids in their little lab coats! Great way to inspire an interest in the sciences!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, random thought. This line from the NHM "In the past few years she has met with Museum scientists to find out more about their work to understand and protect the diversity of life on Earth." I wonder if that means during her visits we've seen or if she has met some behind the scenes. Guess we'll never know :)
On the clothes! Standard Kate daytime nowdays. Good, flowy, easy to move in. Nothing spectacular but very pretty! And the shoes! I really like them :) Her standard silouette but a little new texture!
Cannot wait for tonight :)
Thanks for the post! why was it embargoed? I saw you tweet a reporter ( can't remember which one) and I don't think I saw a response.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw that Kate had a 2nd engagement today with a surprise guest, I was really hoping for George. I didn't think it would be a dinosaur.
I like this dress, but I do like the skirt version better. I also like her new shoes. She looks great for her other event. I love her new dress!
The museum requested the embargo.
DeleteShe's beautiful. And that really is a beautiful print. I must say...she (in my opinion) needs to not always cross her hands in front of herself especially when she's surrounded by small children. It's taken, to me, like she's closed off. I don't know if that makes sense. Haha. I'd have my arms open, hands on their shoulders, in an open stance, seemingly more engaged with the group. Like she's a PART of it. Anyways, just an opinion. Otherwise, she looks beautiful once again!!
ReplyDeleteI think I know what you mean, Courtney, but IMO it's a difference of culture/behaviour that is behind it. I think people in the UK generally tend not to show their feelings as much in the physical way as e.g. the Southern nations or most Americans. From what I noticed when I was there, the British are very kind, very polite, helpful and friendly, while keeping a little distance at the same time. I didn't get half as many hugs in the UK as I did in the U.S. but I didn't mind :) - to me that's just the way the different nations are. And Kate's hugging the boy's mother at the evening engagement is just a lovely example that sometimes the emotions prevail and Kate is not ashamed to show them.
DeleteI completely understand and agree!! I LOVE that you got so many hugs from us! ;) I hadn't seen the photo of her with that lady as it wasn't updated yet when I wrote this so totally see it now! Im sure she's perfect and gracious in all aspects of her visits. :) Thanks so much for opening my eyes to this!!
DeleteSpeaking of gracious, Courtney...:+)
DeleteI love this dress and love the shoes even more! Kate looks perfect in every way!
ReplyDeleteI am in love with her shoes.......:)
ReplyDeleteMe too!! I want them! :) cc
DeleteThat dress length is slowing growing on me so I like the dress.
ReplyDeleteHate the shoes. I already hate pointy toed heels because all they do is make your feet look bigger
Plus the color and pattern.
Kate looks lovely. Such a pretty dress. I think I would have preferred it in a short length though.
ReplyDeleteI still don't love this silhouette on the Duchess but the material is lovely. The pop of bright blue against the black is beautiful. I am having a slight problem with the shoes with this dress. I'm sure she is trying to pick up the grey in the dress but, at least in the photographs, its not working for me because the grey in the dress is so much lighter. I'm wondering if a lighter more silvery grey would have worked better. Also, the shoes, although very pretty, have a more tailored look that I would love with a skirt or trouser suit. I feel this dress needs a more ethereal shoe choice.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun little outgoing, and an important one at that. Kate always looks lovely and so happy to be there with the children. I love the shoes, however I'm not sure if they were the right choice for the dress. As for dress, it is a standard Kate daytime look, as Rebecca noted. Its pretty, the pop of blue is striking, but the silhouette seems a tad dated.
ReplyDeleteThank you Charlotte--double delight this afternoon! You mentioned that it was the Natural History Museum that asked for the embargo. It's as I have always thought--it's not that KP necessarily WANTS to keep the Press out (as opposed to a certain new President in a certain country across the pond) but more that some of the organizations themselves want to have control of the event. So much nicer for all concerned not to have photographers coming in for close-ups or shouting "Ma'am, ma'am." I know that some on here think that it is insulting to the Press but, honestly, everyone knows that times have changed--just compare The Crown series to what life is like now.
ReplyDeleteIt is very considerate and shows that Kate doesn't care about publicity that she still came without publicity.
This is a good dress and overall appearance. Not outstanding, but solidly good. I wish I could pull off a midi-length skirt and look this good! On the shoes--I'm not going to fault her for wearing pumps with a bit of interesting texture, but I don't know that I love them with this particular dress.
ReplyDeleteA spot of patronage multi-tasking, but a very nice one - glad she saw Dippy off on his adventures. Lovely as always to see her with the children.
ReplyDeleteThe dress is very of the moment. I'm going to say a bit of nonsense about it. Whilst it looks nice on Kate, a pretty colour - that style on her and other royals is not my favourite - (although it would be very much to Mette-Marit's taste.)
The reason it is nonsense for me to say that is I recently bought a dress in just that style to wear casually because it's very comfortable. (Needless to say, my version is much cheaper.) I've never been a Kate replicator - now she's replicating me! It's funny but I like her best in things I would never wear anymore.
It did look nice with the lighting in the hall - and I love the new shoes - will be glad to see them with something more tailored. We were in London to see the Caravaggio and followers exhibit at the National Gallery - wrong museum for Kate spotting but no regrets - the exhibit was wonderful. I do see why the Natural History Museum wouldn't want a huge fuss, the crowds are always massive there, even without a royal visit.
the duchess looks so lovely in that dress she looking great and loveable
ReplyDeleteshe looks beautiful I love the whole outfit! she does great charity work bless her. and thank you charlotte for all you do!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to see her wearing longer skirts now vs. those years of WAY too short ones. She is tall and can get away with this length - it looks great on her - a very serviceable day dress today!
ReplyDeleteI like the length and cut of the dress, and the flow is very feminine. Good day all around.
ReplyDeleteShe looks great.
ReplyDeleteCatherine looks gorgeous. The fabric of the dress is appealing. It's the silhouette of the dress I don't care for. High neckline, blousy sleeves and midi length; all dowdy. Meh.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the print of the dress since those are not my favorite colors. I do like the style of the dress, very nice on Kate and so appropriate for the occasion. The shoes do not seem to go with the dress. She perhaps wanted to emphasize nature and wildlife, thus the leafy print and crocodile (embossed?) leather. I like that emphasis even though I am not fond of the details. And the combination of children and science is special. It is so important to assure a great education for all our children. Kate obviously agrees, and her heart shaped earrings have become a symbol of her relationship with kids.
ReplyDelete0639, excellent analogies. more "Kate things".
Deleteshoes from hugo boss
ReplyDeleteShoes are by Hugo Boss: http://www.hugoboss.com/uk/pumps-in-embossed-leather-with-a-kitten-heel-%27staple-p90-l%27/hbeu50317166.html?dwvar_hbeu50317166_color=010_Anthracite#start=1
ReplyDeleteMaybe the shoes are not the best match for the dress but they are a Kate thing: the reptile skin effect is a fun homage to the huge reptile in the museum!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU, Paola. bingo. I don't know yet, but the print and the colors of the dress are a nod to the event also. Thanks, Paola.
ReplyDeletePaola, In the group photo, the children were all wearing blue ties and Jackets/rompers that color-coordinated perfectly with the colors in Kate's dress. "Kate thing".
ReplyDeleteIt's true Anon 20:45, it's a perfect color match indeed!
Delete:)
ReplyDelete