We woke up to a lovely Monday morning surprise, oodles of new Cambridge family photos.
The pictures were taken during a ski holiday last week in the French Alps and released this morning by Kensington Palace.
The Palace noted this is the first time George and Charlotte have seen snow of any consequence or been able to play in it. I imagine the young Prince was absolutely raring to go, reveling in the novelty of the new experience and racing all over the place.
The two looked cute as could be all bundled up in their snowsuits.
Someone has a few new teeth!
The family very much looked like they were enjoying their holiday in Courchevel, in the Les Trois Vallées region.
Kate and William were so relaxed they even had a little snowball fight.
Of course, William and Kate have long loved skiing and outdoor mountain sports. Here you see Kate in 2008 when she joined Prince William and Prince Charles at Klosters, Switzerland.
ABACA Press/Splash News
I picked that particular picture because Kate wears the same jacket on that trip we see her wearing in the new photos.
The jacket dates back to at least 2008. It was made by E and O, a British brand founded in 2008. The initials stood for English and Outspoken…or Engineered and Opulent…or even Edgy and Original, according to information on the company’s website, where it is also noted the label was sold to a Far Eastern conglomerate in 2010. Thank you to Stephanie Champion Helton for letting us know about Kate’s jacket. The Duchess’s ski pants are also by E and O, they date back to at least 2008 as well.
With thanks to Bianca on the Facebook page for her speedy ID work this morning, Kate’s goggles are by UVEX.
The brand makes technical gear worn by competitive skiers. Kate’s goggles look like the UVEX Ultrasonic. Uvex responded to our query on their Facebook page and verified Kate is wearing their brand. The company says Kate’s style is no longer in production, they suggested a contemporary style called the hypersonic.
Polaris/Amazon Germany
UPDATE: Kate is wearing Sorel boots.
We have received verification the Duchess is wearing Sorel, the brand’s 1964 Pac2 snow boots in curry with contrasting natural faux fur. The boots are no longer available on the Sorel US site, but are offered at Sorel’s UK site, where they are £110. The style is available at a variety of retailers, including My Theresa in the US ($152), as well as My Theresa’s international site, and in limited sizing at Amazon US ($124.99).
Sorel 1964 Pac 2
Many thanks to Monique Jessen of People Magazine, she let us know Kate’s hat is by Eisbar, a supplier to the Austrian ski team. Kate wears the brand’s Alwin navy pompon hat, a wool/acrylic blend featuring polar bears and snowflakes. It sells for $59.99 on Eisbar’s US site, but is shown as being temporarily out of stock.
The very savvy Books, Birkins & Beauty made an early identification of Kate’s gloves on the Facebook page, they are by Italian brand Restelli Guanti.
Sarah Smith pointed out Kate has worn the gloves since at least 2012, and Anna of My Small Obsessions shared a link to the current season’s black mitten style. Late this afternoon British retailer Alexski posted on Facebook that Kate is wearing its private label Restelli Guanti mittens. (This link takes you to the current version of the mittens, there may be some variance from what Kate is wearing as they appear to be 8 years old.) The contemporary version of the mittens is made of English kid leather lined with possum fur, they are £295, about $420 at today’s exchange rates.
Many will recognize Kate’s Kiki McDonough ‘Grace’ white topaz & diamond earrings.
Monique Jessen’s story for People notes William wore a Spyder Garmisch jacket, Spyder ski pants, and Oakley ski goggles.
The photographer the family invited to take the photos is John Stillwell, the same photographer who took the pictures of Prince George at a Butterfly Exhibit in 2014.
The entire photo shoot was outdoors.
Click here to visit What Kate’s Kids Wore for the rundown on George and Charlotte’s cute snowsuits, Charlotte’s little cashmere hat and more.
One last picture.
We’ll see you later this week for Thursday and Friday’s engagements.
Richard
Friday 11th of March 2016
The Sorel boots are available from a few UK retailers, this one offers free worldwide shipping and has them on offer too -
http://www.countryattire.com/sorel-ladies-1964-pac-boot-buff-black.html
Kate & Zena
Wednesday 9th of March 2016
These pictures are so adorable and beautiful. I love that George's outfit coordinates to William's and Charlotte's coordinates to Kate's!
Becca
Wednesday 9th of March 2016
Regarding the wearing of earrings while skiing - as a past avid (and rather aggressive) skier, I can say that at least for me and the female family and friends I skied with, wearing earrings, especially post-backs, was common. I preferred my pearl studs, and my sister wore small diamond studs. It didn't strike me as strange that the Duchess chose to wear her own! I think they look perfect with her understated but stylish ski wear. She may alleviate any concern about losing one by wearing locking backs or she may have had these outfitted with screw-back posts. Either way, I actually like that she wore earrings with her athletic wear, which for me adds a bit of a feminine touch! And to agree with another poster regarding skiing in general (wayyy off the topic of fashion!), it IS expensive these days, and cost prohibitive for me anymore. I cross country ski now, and while it lacks the "daredevil" flair of downhill, I can still get a few thrills on my cross country skis! And yes - I wear my earrings!!!
ElizaMo
Thursday 10th of March 2016
I'm glad to hear a cheer raised for the wearing of earrings, now you mention it, diamonds and snow do have a sort of mutually reflecting sparkle. And it's not as if Kate couldn't afford to buy replacements. Here's to feminine skiiers!
Jan
Wednesday 9th of March 2016
After losing earrings, I've settled on my diamond studs with the screw backs for skiing. They are the only earrings that I've worn from slope to lodge to chalet without losing, but one time I was alarmed to discover a screw back missing. I had to stop skiing for fear of losing the stud and breathed a huge sigh of relief to find it in my helmet's lining.
Lavender
Wednesday 9th of March 2016
Very nice pictures, I particularly like the hat with the Polar Bears on & hope to find something similar, not to ski in my case - (never been interested & it was far too expensive anyway when I was young, very elitist) just for dog-walking & coastal hikes! I liked William's jacket too, lovely colour. Wonderful, to see a jacket from her single days in use (we have also seen a pink floral dress from her early days worn twice since her marriage on what can be called private occasions). I don't think there's a special secret to her pristine jacket or her dress. She doesn't ski often & wears other jackets & normally wears jeans in her private life. Any tarnishes can be dealt with by an aide pointing out the marks to an expert dry-cleaner - I have dealt with most marks adequately myself. As for the sparklers, she was having her photo taken & would have taken them off to ski - if she really want to wear earrings on the slopes, no doubt she has paste ones. I'd like to say though that white jackets with black trousers are not a good choice for skiing. If anything goes wrong (a long fall/avalanche) then bright colours are the best choice in order to be seen (and you don't get mistaken for snow & rock if unconscious, ditto in stormy weather or on rocky hills/green mountains. The only time to blend into the background is if you don't want to be seen eg Hunting (YUK!) - just my thoughts on safety (though of course, Kate's level of 'protection' will always ensure she has people near her). I liked the fact the photos were very natural & showed genuine affection between them too.
Mildred L. Bragg
Tuesday 8th of March 2016
I just love them any way that I can get them...I think they are such a beautiful family.........I just hope that I can live to see them come to the throne.........Thanks.........Mildred