Kate in Hobbs and Great Plains ‘Cezanne’ for Grimsby Visit

Kate’s delay in getting to Grimsby this morning didn’t dampen the crowds’ enthusiasm, she wore old and new pieces for the visit. The community’s excitement was evident, demonstrated in the daily paper’s headline.

Grimsby is a seaport with a long fish-processing history. Kate’s first stop was the National Fishing Heritage Center, crowds started gathering early this morning, as seen in this photo from People magazine’s Simon Perry. You can also see the fog that delayed Kate’s helicopter.

Kate was welcomed with cheers of “We love Kate! We love Kate!” and given flowers by Lucy Bell, she is only 3 years old.

The Duchess was given gifts for the baby, as well as flowers, cards and other presents. The Mirror has more:

Kate, who is around 21 weeks pregnant, was asked if she was feeling her baby move yet by well-wisher Bobbie Brown, 42.

Bobbi said: “I asked her if the baby has been moving or kicking.

“She said ‘Yes it is, very much so’.”

This next photo is from Paul Harrison of Sky News, many thanks to him for sharing such great images today.

This was shared by Weezy203 on Twitter, taken during Kate’s walkabout outside the Heritage Centre.

After touring the Fishing Heritage Centre Kate moved headed to her next stop, the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service. Crowds also started forming early at the Peaks Lane Fire station, the Grimsby YMCA tweeted this photo.

And personnel were ready for her arrival as well, as seen in this image from Regal Eyes.

On her way into the station Kate spoke with patients from St. Andrews Hospice, located nearby. More from the Daily Mail:

Claire Moss-Smith, 86, told her: ‘I’m waiting for you to be Queen.’ ‘You might be waiting a long time,’ the Duchess replied with a smile.

Peter Foot, 76, got up from his wheelchair to give the Duchess a bow. ‘I stood up so I could bow to her,’ he said.

‘She said “Sit down.” I explained I could not stand very long, that’s why I’m in the chair. ‘I was always taught to be a gentleman by mother because that’s the thing to do.’

This was Kate’s first engagement on behalf of the Prince’s Trust, Prince Charles’s flagship charity.

The Duchess met with young people taking part in a personal development course overseen by the Trust, it helps them with their resumes, team building and job hunting skills. Below, Kate speaking with some of those taking part in the course. More on why the Course is needed so much from a story about today’s visit on the Prince’s Trust site:

Unemployment hotspot Grimsby has one of the highest levels of youth joblessness in the country, with around one in three young people struggling to find a job..

After the engagement, Kate posed with students from the Prince’s Trust and Fire Fighters.

Kate’s third and final stop of the day was at Havelock Academy, the media presence was sizable, as seen in this Twitpic from the David Ross Education Trust.

You can just a bit of Kate’s dress in this image.

Kate brought out her Cornelia James gloves, the Short Wool Glove with Side Bow. (Many thanks to those who were able to spot these long before your faithful scribe was!) We have it next to a lighter pair to better show the bow.

This photo from Jane Birch shows thick the fog remained throughout the day’s events.

CNN’s David Wilkinson shared this image of Kate chatting with students.

And ITV’s Georgina Brewer tweeted a photo of Kate speaking with more Academy students.

Kate wore a new dress today, the ‘Cezanne Paintbox Pleated‘ dress by Great Plains, the more moderately priced arm of French Connection.

The most distinctive feature of the dress after its print is the pleating, it also has cap sleeves, a modified boat neckline and matching skinny belt. It is 100% polyester, probably beneficial in keeping the pleats looking fresh and avoiding wrinkles.

For those who find the print appealing, there are other pieces available. Below we show the top, only £11.50 at Great Plains, the skirt is just £19 at House of Fraser.

If interested in the separates shown above and/or Kate’s dress style in another colorway, Amazon has some stock remaining.

Many are familiar with the coat Kate wore, the Hobbs ‘Celeste’ style. It is made of wool crepe in a cut that Kate likes, embellished by leather stud fastenings at the wrist with a matching belt. The coat was originally purchased in September of 2011, the original price was £369, about $550 USD.

You can see some of those studded wrist wraps and belt in this image, but I can’t make out Kate’s black gloves at all.

The piece was previously seen previously when the Duchess visited Liverpool on Valentine’s Day of last year, as well as Christmas Day of 2012.

Kate accessorized with her black suede clutch, one of our oldest UFOs (Unidentified Fashion Objects) and her Annoushka pearl earrings. She also wore the gold ring with small ruby or garnet stones again on her right hand, as seen in this photo from Weezy203 on Twitter.

CNN’s David Wilkinson shows Kate waving goodbye to students and staff from Havelock Academy.

And we have one final photo from the day.

One note: I have received multiple emails and messages asking/suggesting this is the dress Kate was wearing when she and William were at St. Georges Park. It could well be, but until I can see better photos I am not comfortable claiming definitively that it is.

LINKAGE:

• For multiple videos, visit This is Grimsby’s page dedicated to coverage of today’s visit, scroll down for videos
• See more photos from the National Fishing Centre in Lindsay Cowie’s blog
• Learn more about the Prince’s Trust charity by visiting its website here, its Facebook page here, and its Twitter feed here. You can also read a story about Kate’s first visit to a Trust program on the Trust website
• For a video of Kate meeting hospice patients at the Fire Station, click here, for video of her arriving at the Fire Station, click here
• The Mirror’s live blog is here, it’s outstanding
• Socialite Life’s Gallery with 35+ photos is here
• ITN’s 3-minute+ video story is here