Kate’s Calendar Gets Crowded, She Opts For Milly NY Jacket On Mustique Return

With multiple public appearances on tap for Kate, we thought it a good time for some updates and a look at her upcoming appointments.

The Duchess plans to stay busy while William is on his six week RAF training mission in the Falklands. The Ministry of Defence has released video of Flight Lieutenant Wales at work in the Falklands, it may be viewed on many sites, our version is from The Telegraph.

The Times has an excellent story about William’s deployment for those interested in learning more.

This Wednesday Kate will enjoy a private viewing of the National Portrait Gallery’s Lucian Freud exhibit, the show opens to the public on Thursday.

The NPG is one of Kate’s patronages, the Freud exhibit is generating a significant amount of buzz.  Below, banners for the show hanging outside the Gallery.

For US residents interested in seeing the exhibit, it comes to the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth this July.

On Valentine’s Day the Duchess heads to Liverpool for several events.  Kate will visit the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, in addition to touring the facility she will spend time in the Oncology and Burn units.  The Duchess is also slated to visit the Alder Hey Ronald McDonald House on the hospital grounds. The House offers 69 rooms and 15 apartments where family members of critically ill children may stay while they are being treated at the hospital. Below, a ceremonial check presentation to the Ronald McDonald House.

Kate’s third function in Liverpool on the 14th is a visit to The Brink, an alcohol-free bar and restaurant. The Brink is affiliated with Action on Addiction, one of the charities for which Kate is a patron.

The Brink carries a full menu and also features concerts, film showings, and other activities. A special smoothie has been created in Kate’s honor. Dubbed “The Duchess,” the concoction is made of “banana, honey, almonds, milk and cream,” according to the story in the Liverpool Echo.

Kate has been spending time familiarizing herself with Action on Addiction, Thursday she paid a private visit to Clouds House, a residential treatment program for those abusing alcohol and other drugs.

The Mirror has more on Kate’s visit.

The royal met staff at Clouds House in East Knoyle near Salisbury – a former private residence set in beautiful parkland where addicts are treated. Many go through detox when they arrive then start a 12-step programme of intensive counselling.

There have been multiple reports Kate will accompany the Queen on some upcoming engagements, today’s Daily Mail offers a bit more info:

The 30-year-old Duchess is to accompany the Queen on two Diamond Jubilee engagements next month, and a courtier says: “The Queen is taking a very close interest in the Duchess’s development.”

And The Telegraph says the Duchess will join Prince Charles in the next several weeks for a joint appearance on behalf of the Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts. As soon as we know more we’ll share the info here, on Facebook, and Twitter.

Kate’s patronage of another charity, Scouting UK, has landed her on the cover of the group’s magazine.

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• Kate has been named “Hat Person of the Year” by the Headwear Association in an online poll.  From the Association’s blog: “Kate received an overwhelming 91% of the vote, beating Rachel Zoe (4%), Ne-Yo (2%), Justin Timberlake (1%), Bruno Mars (1%) and Charlie Sheen (1%).”
• We have known for some time Kate and William’s Jubilee tour will take them to Malaysia, Tuvalu and Singapore, it has now been announced that tour will happen in September.

• Jenny Packham fans will be delighted to know that she is doing a capsule collection for UK retailer Debenhams, with The Telegraph reporting the line is slated for a spring release. For those not familiar with Debenhams, I generally compare it to a Kohl’s or Penney’s in the US. Above, just a few of the Packham pieces she has worn.
• The Telegraph reports Kate may stage an exhibit of her own photography as a fundraiser for her charities

“She is understood to be working on her portfolio of pictures in the hope of putting on a show of her photographs in the next few years.

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Photos from the Middleton family’s vacation in Mustique have surfaced. Pop Sugar has the pictures; the group on holiday included Carole, Michael, Pippa, James, Kate, and William.  In the photos showing the group returning home Kate mixed familiar pieces with some we hadn’t seen before, putting Milly’s Gabrielle jacket over her Warehouse Lace Kimono top. Our thanks to WKW Facebook friends Debbie and Therese for their fast work in identifying the piece.

The wool crepe jacket is from Milly’s 2010 collection, it originally sold for $315. Both Saks and Neimans offered the garment, it is now sold out on those sites as well as others we checked.  If interested in learning more about this brand (one of my favorites), our sister blog consistently follows Milly, the most recent post is here, a more extensive piece with a look at the spring 2012 runway show is here.

Kate also wore her J. Brand skinny jeans, wedge espadrilles, and carried a Longchamps Le Pliage bag.

We leave you with a reminder that as of tomorrow, the Queen’s Jubilee is officially underway.

It is now 60 years since Her Majesty’s accession to the throne. For a remarkable series of photos featuring Queen Elizabeth, visit this link to Canada’s National Post.  A new official portrait of Her Majesty has been released for the Jubilee.