Kate in Mulberry for National Scouts Parade (UPDATED)

The Duchess wore Mulberry for today’s UK Scouting event. 

It was a bright and sunlit day at Windsor Castle, the site of the annual Scouting Parade. The day began with a morning matins service for adults at St. George’s Chapel. Then it was time for the annual Parade. More on the event from the UK Scouting website:

It’s also a day of celebration, which brings together different groups from all over (plus their guests) to share in the special event.

The day will recognise Queen’s Scouts, who have worked hard to achieve the highest youth award within Scouting, and Gallantry award holders will be acknowledged for their bravery and heroism.

Kate was joined by survivalist Bear Grylls, UK Scouting Ambassador.

The two were greeted by younger Scouts and Kate was presented with a bouquet.

Mr. Grylls is UK Scouting’s Chief Scout, below the pair chat with those taking part in today’s ceremonies.

With thanks to Simon Carter of UK Scouting, below we see the Duchess speaking with Cub Scout Hafsa Gachi as Bear Grylls looks on.

And we also see Kate asking Beaver Scout Joel Empson what he likes about being a Scout. According to UK Scouting she received quite the lengthy response!

Kate spent time meeting award recipients, many of them Queen’s Scouts Award winners.

Those paying close attention noted that Kate even shook hands with her left hand, the Scout way.  (If unfamiliar as to precisely why this is the practice, pop over to the WKW Facebook page and read Heather’s explainer on the custom.)

With thanks to Victoria Murphy of the Mirror for this photo, we see Mr. Grylls and the Duchess as they head to St. George’s Chapel for the Prayer Service.

The next two photos offer a better look at the coat’s front, you can also see the slits at the side and the back. Kate appeared happy and relaxed in her Mulberry coat and mint green dress.

She chose Mulberry’s Frayed Coat in mint cotton tweed for today’s events.

The coat is a heavy cotton. It features oversized front pockets, with frayed seam detailing on the collar edges, at the bodice and elbows of the sleeves.

The piece also has large buttons shaped like flowers, a rounded collar, and slits at the side. It was priced at $3000/£1,750, but already appears to be sold out, at least on the Mulberry US site.

Net-a-Porter does have other Mulberry pieces in the same fabric. Below, the Oversized Biker Jacket. We also show a closeup of the coat’s fabric to better see the detail of the weave and color.

Back to what Kate wore, here is a better look at the dress fabric peeking out from underneath the coat. It turns out the material is broderie anglaise, a textile we know the Duchess likes. You can see how the dress and coat textiles differ.

There were some reports that Kate’s dress was also by Mulberry. We’ve not yet been able to locate any pieces that look like this material, be they by Mulberry or other designers. If we do find out more about the frock we will update the post.

The Duchess accessorized with familiar pieces, including the Whiteley Cappuccino beret (officially Whiteley style #434/318 in Cappuccino Parisisal with curled Parisisal trim).

She also wore her green diamond/green amethyst earrings by Kiki McDonough. 

We saw Kate carrying a new handbag, although it is from a familiar brand, LK Bennett. The Avona Long Roll Clutch in light taupe patent leather ($295/£195) is new this spring.

The bag was paired with those trusty Sledge pumps, also in the brand’s light taupe color ($345/£195).

While not quite yet a signature look, clearly Kate likes frayed and fringed seams. Below we show her in the M Missoni coat first worn in March of 2012, today’s Mulberry coat and the Rebecca Taylor separates worn in April of last year.

This was a nice look for the Duchess. Some found the fabric and/or cut and/or color (pastel) of the coat to be aging. I didn’t have that reaction at all, the color feels fresh and springy hue; the floral buttons and oversized pockets give the coat a kicky feel. The piece will have a different fit entirely once it is tailored for post-pregnancy wear.

As noted on tomorrow’s front page of The Scotsman, Kate was glowing.

Today is also the Queen’s 87th birthday today, we send her our very best sentiments, HM is said to be celebrating quietly.

We also want to extend greetings to Richard Palmer of the Express, it is his birthday today as well.  You may know him as RoyalReporter on Twitter, he is one of the good guys.

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As many readers know, today was also the running of the London Marathon. Prince Harry was on hand to award medals after the race. Harry’s wit was at the ready, as shared by royal photographer Mark Stewart:

Here you see Mr. Stewart’s photo of Harry with volunteers before the race.

LINKAGE:

• Read more about the annual National Scout Parade here, see the requirements for winning the prestigious Queen’s Scouts Award here
• Learn more about St. George’s Chapel at Windsor by visiting the Chapel’s website, you can also see some nifty gifts in the Chapel’s online gift shop
• Visit the UK Scouting website, or its Facebook page, you can also shop online at the organization’s ecommerce site
• Read more about Bear Grylls role as Chief Scout on his website, or watch a video of Mr. Grylls in action with Scouts
• For ITN’s story about today’s celebration, click here, see the BBC’s story here

As frequent readers know, we generally sign off posts with our ‘Linkage’ section and a reminder about Kate’s next engagement.  Today we close with something a little different.

Yes, it’s a bit of a tease. More will be revealed in coming days. 🙂