The Duchess of Cambridge chose pieces by her “go-to” designers for today’s State Visit ceremonies, as she and Prince William welcomed the President of Singapore and his wife, Mrs. Tony Tan Keng Yam, to the United Kingdom.
The Duke and Duchess officially greeted the couple on behalf of the Queen, enjoying a brief chat at a London hotel. More from the Daily Telegraph:
Mrs Tan said she was glad Kate could make the engagement and the Duchess replied: “So am I. I’ve been looking forward to getting out of the house, that’s for sure.”
The Cambridges posed for an official picture with the president and Mrs Tan before sitting down to tea.
The president commented on the view of Kensington Palace from the hotel, prompting the Duke to joke: “You can probably see into our bedroom window which is a bit worrying – I wouldn’t look too closely.”
The foursome then traveled by car to Horse Guards Parade for ceremonies with the Queen, Prince Philip, and dignitaries. This was Kate’s first official public appearance in more than two months.
HM and the Duke of Edinburgh welcome the Singaporean President.
Sergeant Rupert Frere/Crown Copyright
Richard Palmer of the Daily Express reported the Queen wore a coat and dress by Karl Ludwig Couture and an Angela Kelly hat. Below, Kate and William at Horse Guards parade.
After the ceremonies at Horse Guards Parade, Kate and William took part in the carriage procession to Buckingham Palace.
The couple rode in the Scottish State Coach with Singaporean government minister Grace Fu.
Sergeant Rupert Frere; Crown Copyright
One young lady along the carriage procession was excited to see the Duchess. Stacey Castiel’s tweet can be seen in a screengrab below.
This image offers a closer look at Kate in the bespoke coat by Alexander McQueen worn for today’s engagement.
It showcased a familiar silhouette for the designer and for Kate: a fitted bodice, nipped-in waist, and full skirt. These images show the darting on the front and gores on the back.
The coat also featured a shaped, gored back, flared sleeves at the wrist, a chest besom pocket, and angled pockets at the hip. You can see the similarities between Kate’s coat and these McQueen designs by Sarah Burton for the pre-spring 2015 collection.
Digitally enhancing the coat above left better emphasizes the parallels between the two garments.
A look at the back of the piece, under which Kate wore a black dress.
UPDATED March 2015: It appears the coat is the Box Pleat A-Line coat from the spring 2015 collection by Alexander McQueen. You can see some minor modifications were made to Kate’s coat, most notably at the lapels: Kate’s does not have the longer lapels the off-the-rack piece has, not does it have the additional layer of fabric underneath the lapels.
Many readers will recognize Kate’s bespoke Jane Taylor hat, previously worn Easter Sunday in Australia as seen below right. The hat is the ‘Lupin’ style, described by the designer as a teardrop beret in grey velour felt.
Below left you see Kate again in the hat on Easter, the two other photos are from today. The Duchess wore her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail.
Kate carried a new handbag today.
With thanks to those emailing with information about the handbag, it is Jenny Packham’s Roxy style in black suede. It features pleated material, a Swarovski crystal clasp, and a detachable snake chain.
The bag is from Jenny Packham’s Fall 2014 collection and can be purchased with gold or silver hardware. It retails at £378, about $600 at today’s exchange rates.
It appears the Duchess wore the Prada suede round toe pumps previously seen at the Nelson Mandela film premiere last December.
The reason I emphasize ‘appears’? Because the sole of the shoe doesn’t show the raised, gold Prada logo we are used to seeing.
The precise Prada style kate wore to the Mandela premiere, and could be wearing today, is now sold out. There is a similar pump available at discount site Bluefly, the Prada Black Suede Classic Pump; it has a slightly more almond-shaped toe.
It retails for $650 but the Bluefly price is $535. You can save an additional 20% off the price by using the promo code FAMILY; that brings the cost down to $436.
Kate’s jewelry today included her Annoushka pearl drop earrings suspended from Kiki McDonough hoops.
She also wore the Mappin & Webb Empress Mini White Gold & Diamond pendant; we first saw Kate wearing the necklace when she joined William and Harry in planting poppies at the Tower of London.
It was nice to see the Duchess well enough to take part in an official appearance. Richard Palmer noted on Twitter that “Kate looked well, not too gaunt, despite suffering HG, acute morning sickness, for weeks now.”
Once again we close with a quick reference to our recent London excursion, this one involving a simply wonderful visit with milliner Jane Taylor at her studio. If wondering about the inspiration for the hat’s style name, Jane’s dog is named Lupin. Jane told us that Lupin was actually named for a flower, the Lupine, because of the color of her coat. We’ll have more on the designer and her amazing creations in a future post!
A reminder that Kate’s next appearance is this evening at the Natural History Museum, where she will join Sir David Attenborough in announcing winners in the Museum’s annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
LINKAGE:
- Click here for a video of the Queen and President Tan arriving at Buckingham Palace in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, and here for a video of the procession along the Mall to Buckingham Palace
- For the Daily Mirror’s photo gallery click here, PopSugar’s collection of photos is here, the Daily Mail’s coverage is here and the Daily Telegraph story is here
- ITN’s video story is here
- To see the full itinerary for the State Visit click here
Phyl
Thursday 26th of March 2015
Queen Elizabeth II wearing a similar coat in 1973 - http://us.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2015032624271/william-kate-harry-attend-memorial-service/
Lauren
Friday 24th of October 2014
I wonder if the Duchess intended to wear this coat to Malta for her cancelled state visit. In the comparison photograph Susan shows with the black McQueen coat with lapels, it seems that Kate's coat was cut to feature an identical V-shaped neckline. Perhaps Kate had to close an extra button on account of her pregnancy at this point?
Laura G
Thursday 23rd of October 2014
I think the coat is the same pattern as the Black Watch one she wore previously on a school visit, an adaptation of a different McQueen Black Watch coat dress. It's simply the same piece in a new fabric, not anything drawn from the current collection.
tanyamaile
Wednesday 22nd of October 2014
Those aren't darts on the back bodice, it's a princess seam.
ElizaMo
Wednesday 22nd of October 2014
This is a wonderful classic coat, almost a double in fit-and-flare style with the Michael Kors Kate wore in Oz, but honed to perfection by the wizardry of McQueen tailoring. Someone on Facebook has already pointed out the work that goes into matching the Prince of Wales – what else? --check pattern on detailing like structured shoulders, not to mention darting and a diagonal trim on the breast pocket. And for once the generous flare of the coat skirt is protected from mischievous breezes by a straight skirt underneath.
The dark accessories are lovely, although the bow on the paler hat is a tad fussy against the coat pattern. Where I was less happy was with the repeat of this clumsy pony tail with Kate’s ears covered by heavy hair creating a near helmet effect, in early shots I almost thought she was wearing a turban!
Oddly enough it was also at the Mandela premiere where Kate debuted this take on a formal pony tail, as well as those gorgeous shoes. Her previous pulled-back-from-the-crown hairstyle in Sydney worked better with this hat.
But mostly I simply want to salute the Duchess for her bravery and dignity at getting back down to public duties after such a rough ride with her pregnancy. I noticed the Daily Mail updated its report later to show the many occasions when Kate smiled instead of pulling out the shots where her expression lapsed. In those it’s true in some of those she looked puffy-faced and dark shadowed under the eyes, but my admiration remains undimmed for her going ahead against the odds.
Elizabeth in CO
Wednesday 22nd of October 2014
I wondered about her puffiness too and came to the conclusion that since a drip is used, even at home, to treat HG, that probably is what's contributing to a slightly swollen look. I so agree with you that this was an incredibly brave thing to do, but it is so like her.
ElizaMo
Wednesday 22nd of October 2014
I forgot to add how much I like those neat trumpet sleeves, and though the grey tones are subdued, the plaid check particularly is on-trend and has been featured in various catwalk offerings.