It’s Beulah’s Brisa Shawl as Cambridges Leave London for Anmer Hall & UPDATE: Charlotte’s Hat by Spanish Heritage Brand Irulea

Princess Charlotte has made her first trip beyond the walls of Kensington Palace.

William, Kate, George and Charlotte left London midday and headed to their country home, Anmer Hall. The rear windows of the family Range Rover are blacked-out, but reports say Princess Charlotte and Prince George could be seen in the back seat, safely strapped into their safety seats. (Here is a quick video of the couple leaving Kensington Palace; the audio is cute as it registers just who was being videotaped.)

As most readers are aware, the home is located on the Queen’s Sandringham estate.

The house looks quite different now, these images are from December of 2013.

The house provides a remote, private place for the family where they will be settling in for the foreseeable future.

Of course the family’s nanny, Maria Borrallo, will be on hand. It’s believed Carole Middleton (and perhaps Michael Middleton as well) will be visiting.

When do we think we shall see Charlotte again? Most likely at her christening; multiple reports suggest this could be in July. As far as Kate’s schedule goes we might see the Duchess for Trooping the Colour in June. The Daily Mail reports “The couple are expected to issue a family photograph with their daughter and 21-month-old Prince George in the coming weeks, but are otherwise expected to remain away from the world’s media.”

Today Kate wore a white knit top or sweater, accessorized with the ‘Brisa’ shawl from Beulah London.

The Brisa is a rayon/cashmere blend, measuring roughly 53″ x 78″ (135cm x 200cm), a good-sized piece. It sold for £195, roughly $300 at today’s exchange rates. It is described this way on the Beulah site:

A playful print that will liven up any wardrobe. Use to energise a classic tee or create a stylish clash.

A closer look at the “Blue Lip” print motif.

The Duchess was also wearing her go-to earrings: gold and diamond hoops by Kiki McDonough with Annoushka pearl drops.

 

On a side note, the gifts for Princess Charlotte continue to be announced. A sampling:

• The Express reports Australia is “making a 10,000 Australian dollar (£5,233) donation in her honour to a sanctuary for the mountain pygmy-possum, of which there are only 2,000 left in the wild.” The paper also notes Australia is sending a “blanket is to be made from Tasmanian merino wool at the country’s oldest textile mill, Waverley Woollen Mills, and will be embroidered with the Australian floral emblem, the wattle.”
• According to The Telegraph the president of Israel sent the Princess an “Israeli-made baby girl’s dress inscribed with the words “From Israel with love” along with a brooch with a charm of a heart and a Hamsa, the Jewish hand-shaped symbol for blessing, fortune and success.”
• A New York jewelry company is giving the Princess a special rattle (ahem); the piece is white gold and covered in glittering stones designed to represent the Union Jack.

• The Yorkshire Tea Company sent Princess Charlotte a box of personalized tea bags.

Cataloging the gifts could almost require a full-time staff person, good heavens.

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Many have asked where to buy the hat/cap worn by princess Charlotte at the Lindo Wing.  I believe the piece is a handknit gift from a friend or family member, not something available for purchase at a retail outlet.

UPDATE MAY 7, 2015: It turns out that Charlottte’s hat is by Irulea, a third-generation heritage firm located in San Sebastián, Spain. The hat, and other pieces, were ordered by a family member of Maria Teresa Turrión Borrallo; she is is from northern Spain. While we do not yet have photos of the exact items Charlotte wore, here are a few photos of similar pieces from a post in our sister blog, What Kate’s Kids Wore.

And here is a much smaller photo from Irulea, but it does show a hat that is somewhat similar to that worn by Charlotte.

All of the details may be read at What Kate’s Kids Wore. If we do hear back on our inquiries to Irulea we’ll share that information here as well.

Now we move to the pattern available for those interested in knitting their own version of Charlotte’s cap. With thanks to Trish A. on the WKW Facebook page for the tip, there is a knitting pattern available online at Ravelry.com, a fabulous site for knitters and crocheters.  It was created by Rian Anderson, who deconstructed the style and created a pattern by looking at different views of Charlotte’s little hat.

The pattern is a free download for site members; here is more from Rian Anderson:

This bonnet is my version of the one worn by the new princess born on the 2nd May 2015 to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

This pattern is “reverse engineered” from photographs and is just my own take on what can be seen (the lower hem is my own invention, it not being visible in the pics).

I am not the designer of this pattern, nor did I knit the original bonnet worn by the princess.

This page has all of the details.

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Also today, word from The Telegraph about the Cambridges going on another royal tour.

The Duke and Duchess will be expected to carry out a royal tour abroad next spring, as by then it will have been two years since their last major foreign trip, to Australia and New Zealand, which took place in the spring of 2014. Their most likely destination is the Caribbean, where nine of the 16 Commonwealth realms – the countries where the Queen is Head of State – are located.

If the couple do make the 10,000-mile round trip to the Caribbean, they would almost certainly take their two children with them, in the same way that they took Prince George to Australasia.

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As one might expect, the special edition/collector’s edition magazines have gone to print and are now available; we leave you with just a few cover images: People magazine, Hello! and Us Weekly.

We will see you again before the end of the week with another post.