The Duchess in Diplomatic Red and White for Day One of the Denmark Visit

The Duchess of Cambridge started her two-day visit to Copenhagen this afternoon. Below, she was officially welcomed by Ambassador Emma Hopkins OBE.

More from ABC News. 

Kate’s visit to Denmark, her second official visit there as a royal and her first overseas tour since 2019, is focused on children and specifically young children ages 5 and under.

The duchess, a mom of three young kids, is touring …. to learn more about how Denmark has become a model for early childhood development, according to Kensington Palace.

The Duchess’s first stop was at the Copenhagen Infant Mental Health Project.

The endeavor “aims to promote the mental wellbeing of parents and their children – and the relationship between them.” The project is affiliated with the Center for Early Intervention and Family Research at the University of Copenhagen.

The Duchess meeting staff and educators.

More from Sky News: 

Denmark is known as having a world-leading approach to early childhood development and the duchess met researchers from the Copenhagen Infant Mental Health Project (CIMHP) during a visit to Copenhagen University.

Academics have developed the Alarm Distress Baby Scale – a pioneering screening tool that can help health visitors identify infants at risk of adverse social and emotional development.

A quick video from Kensington Palace. 

We’ve arrived in Copenhagen! ??

To learn more about Denmark’s approach to early childhood development

And explore how The Centre for Early Childhood can take learnings from this world-leading work. pic.twitter.com/5fKSndUCyo

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) February 22, 2022

The Duchess learned about the ‘Understanding Your Baby Project’ at Børnemuseet Children’s Museum. 

She spoke with parents benefitting from the program during a visit to the museum—more from The Telegraph’s story by Hannah Furness. 

During a visit to Børnemuseet, the Children’s Museum in Frederiksberg, to hear about the “Understanding Your Baby Project”, the Duchess said there should be just as much discussion about the social and emotional development of young children as their physical milestones.

After meeting with two eight-month-old baby boys and their parents, she joked: “It makes me very broody. 

“William always worries about me meeting under one-year-olds. I come home saying ‘let’s have another one’.”

We return to The Telegraph’s story. 

Denmark is credited with raising some of the world’s happiest children and has produced a spate of fashionable parenting books including The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People In the World Know About Raising Confident Capable Kids.  

The Duchess, who has read the books as part of her research and own parenting journey, subscribes to much of the Danish style, from the importance of play and nature activities to the benefits of nurseries and viewing typical toddler behaviour not as “naughty” but as “communication”.

Andreas Rasch-Christensen, research director in early years at VIA University College, spent an hour talking to the Duchess in preparation for the trip. He said the Danish people and politicians had total consensus about the best way to bring up children, suggesting that same cross-party agreement could one day also be established in Britain.

More from The Daily Mail’s coverage (the “she” being referenced is the Duchess):  

…she spoke of the universal struggle of parenthood where even the most well-educated can struggle to ask for help.

It is the first time she has taken the work of her foundation, which she launched in June, to the international stage.

The Duchess’s final engagement was a visit to the Lego Foundation PlayLab.  Here you see her arriving with Annegrete Juul, the Dean of Faculty of Education and Social Sciences of University College Copenhagen.

Greeting staff and other officials. 

The Duchess heard more about the Playful Learning project while there. More from People’s article:

While at the LEGO Foundation Playlab, Kate met with the team leading the Playful Learning Programme, a partnership between the six university colleges in Denmark and the LEGO Foundation with a vision to enhance children’s creative and experimental approach to learning. She then joined a group of students taking part in activities as part of their learning.

We learn more from Robert Jobson’s Evening Standard article. 

Sofie Norgard Jensen, 23, one of the students who is halfway through her three-and-a-half years training, spent time with Kate in the Play Lab showing her their work. She said:  “It was overwhelming to meet her, she was very kind to be so interested and it was very cool to get to show off what we are doing here.”

The Duchess told people the Cambridge children are jealous she gets to visit the Lego Foundation. We return to The Daily Mail’s piece: 

The duchess revealed she had spent some of the recent half-term school break playing with Lego with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who were envious when they learnt she would be visiting the Lego Foundation PlayLab.

‘My children are very jealous they weren’t coming to see the Lego Foundation. They were like, ‘hang on, there’s Lego and we’re not coming?” she said.

There was a fun moment at the PlayLab when the Duchess approached a giant slide going from one floor to the next.

More from Robert Jobson’s Evening Standard story: 

When her hosts told her that some staff used the slide instead of the stairs to get down a floor, Kate gave her handbag to an aide and said she ought to do the same.

Whizzing down the slide and emerging giggling at the bottom, the duchess, still wearing her high heels, told one reporter: “You stood far enough away!

“In the spirit of where I am, I had to do it.”

The Duchess after her slide. 

And a quick video. 

The Duchess of Cambridge at Lego PlayLab in Copenhagen.

Wait for it…. pic.twitter.com/XZqD2Qvffw

— Matt Wilkinson (@MattSunRoyal) February 22, 2022

The LEGO Foundation posted about the visit on social media. 

And here is a quick video from KP about the day. 

In Denmark, they provide a vital two-step process to identify infants who are at risk of adverse social and emotional development.

Identifying these risks early can have positive lifelong impacts, which is why these approaches are so important. pic.twitter.com/HmwuDJ2vSI

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) February 22, 2022

Tomorrow the Duchess will have an official welcome from Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II. She will join Crown Princess Mary to visit a project helping protect vulnerable women and children from domestic violence.

Now for our look at what Kate wore for the first day of her Denmark visit. Many will recognize the sartorial diplomacy evident in the color combination: red and white are the colors of Denmark’s flag. 

The Duchess was in a blazer we have seen before, initially worn to last June’s football match between England and Germany at Wembley. 

Zara’s Textured Double-Breasted Blazer is made in a cotton/acrylic/polyester blend. The design showcases a double-breasted silhouette with padded shoulders, gold buttons, front flap pockets, a welt pocket at the chest, and peak lapels.

Beneath the jacket, the Duchess was in what looks like a new top, probably the Frill Collar Cardigan Layering Top ($115) by ME + EM. 

The piece is described as being made of “a soft viscose elastane stretch jersey with 100% woven cotton trims.”  Here you have a better view of the all-cotton center bib panel and other details.  

The piece is sold out at ME + EM but looks like it is still in stock and on sale at Selfridges ($88). The same piece with a light blue center panel is still in stock at ME + EM and also at Harrod’s ($91). Many thanks to Caroline P Parr of The Daily Mail and @innominate_93 on Twitter for this ID. 

The always-on-top-of-things Elizabeth at Kate’s Closet suggests the Duchess wore the Roland Mouret trousers seen in December, and I think she is correct. 

The Duchess carried her Aspinal Midi Mayfair bag ($850) to the day’s engagements. 

The Duchess took a commercial flight to Copenhagen, and when she arrived, it looked like she was also carrying her by Panama East West tote by Smythson, now sold out. (A similar style is available here.) 

We saw the return of the Gianvito Rossi Piper 85 pumps ($695), shown below, as worn on another occasion.

The Duchess had on a new pair of earrings that look like the Cha Cha style ($188) by Copenhagen-based Maria Black. The earrings are sterling silver with 22-carat gold plating, and they are sold singly. If wanting a matched set, you will need to order two.

The earrings are also available at Nordstrom ($188), at Maria Black ($188), at Farfetch ($183), at Selfridges ($180), and at Liberty ($215). Thank you to Canadian Duchess on Instagram for the ID and Lauren for sharing it on Twitter. 

The Duchess wore a new necklace that very much looks like the Nura Pearl Necklace ($165 for pendant and necklace, both sold separately) from Monica Vinader.

Thank you to Caroline Parr for this ID and Middleton Maven for sharing the info. We’ll leave you with one more shot from the day, this one after the Duchess’s slide.  

I’ll leave you with one final image from the day, this one after the Duchess’s ride down the slide.

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A couple of notes to share this evening, beginning with a note for anyone who may have missed Sunday’s announcement by Buckingham Palace that The Queen has tested positive for COVID-19.  HM canceled today’s virtual engagements as she continues to experience mild, cold-like symptoms, per the Palace.  

The BBC reported today that “…it is still planned that she will attend an in-person engagement at a diplomatic reception in Windsor Castle next week.”  While it is positive HM remains at Windsor and she is not hospitalized, it is clearly a serious concern, especially for someone nearing her 96th birthday. I will update here and on Facebook as things warrant. 

Also, there are several updates to Kate’s Calendar, including the England vs. Wales Six Nations match on Saturday.  

One final note: for those who have noticed the missing ‘archive’ section (as well as other site features), there is some technical weirdness afoot. We are working to get things fixed and hope the features are back as they should be within a couple of days.  

LINKAGE:

• The Telegraph’s story by Hannah Furness is here; Robert Jobson’s piece for The Evening Standard is here; a Daily Mail story is here;
• Erin Hill’s People piece is here; another People article, this one by Stephanie Petit, is here;