Kate is Casual for America’s Cup Races

Kate and William returned to Portsmouth today for more America’s Cup race action.

The duo were on hand to support the Land Rover BAR (Ben Ainslie Racing) team.

Kate was also acting in her role as patron of the 1851 Trust, the official charity of Ben Ainslie Racing. More from the organization’s website:

The Trust works to enable, engage and encourage young people from a wide demographic to:

• Experience sailing and give them opportunities to continue in the sport
• Understand the career choices and wider opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)
• Consider the environment and act sustainably

William was asked how George’s birthday was; The Express has more:

Zak Kay, 10, a pupil at St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Portsmouth, asked what George got for his birthday.

“What did he get for his birthday? I’m not telling”, William, 34, said. “He got too many things. He’s far too spoilt, he’s not into boats yet.”

After being greeted by dignitaries the couple moved inside the immense Land Rover BAR boat shed.

More about the team’s goal from the America’s Cup website:

Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor in history, is setting his sights on the America’s Cup. “This is the last great historic sporting prize never won by Great Britain. It has always been my ambition to mount a home challenge,” he said.

After speaking with team members and support staff it was time for the races to get underway.

There were three races this afternoon.

The Duchess of Cambridge accompanied by The Duke of Cambridge, return to Portsmouth to enjoy the @AmericasCuphttps://t.co/X5AdzRXbHo

— America’s Cup (@americascup) July 24, 2016

There were also three races yesterday. More about the significance of the weekend competition via Richard Palmer’s story in The Express:

The two days of racing are part of a long series of qualifying races to determine who will challenge the defending champions, Oracle Team USA, in the finals in Bermuda in 2017.

With all of the weekend’s races completed Sir Ben’s team is in first place for the overall series, just one point ahead of Larry Ellison’s Oracle Team USA.

The Cambridges were delighted by the outcome of the day’s competition. Kate and William congratulating team members.

Royals Kate and Will meets the victorious Land Rover BAR team pic.twitter.com/9V3yIvKBtV

— Tom Cotterill (@pn_tomcotterill) July 24, 2016

This was a big win for the local team; more from Land Rover BAR:

“It’s brilliant for us as the home team to win again in front of our home crowd,” said skipper and team principal Ben Ainslie. “It means a huge amount to us. For a new team to be leading the World Series now is a good indication of how far we’ve come, but there’s still a long way to go, a lot of hard work between now and the America’s Cup.”

The result puts Land Rover BAR into the overall lead for the series with just two events left in 2016. The top two teams after the World Series take points into the America’s Cup qualifying series in Bermuda 2017.

It’s been quite a week for Sir Ben.  The royals and Sir Ben Ainslie immediately after the races. 

William and Kate spoke with members of the 6 international teams competing this weekend. Below, the Duchess with Swedish sailors.

And French team members.

William and Kate’s duties today included the trophy presentation.

It’s always nice when you can give the top prize to the local team. 

Now to the specifics of what Kate wore. The Duchess was in Henri Lloyd official Land Rover BAR team gear for the engagement, starting the day in the Land Rover BAR Pique Polo.

The shirt is 97% cotton with 3% elastene (for stretch); it features raglan sleeves and side vents.

Kate donned her Half-Zip Tech Womens Top during the races.

We saw the Duchess wearing a jacket that is almost identical to one worn a year ago. It is made of a stretch polyester fleece with a fitted silhouette. (Our thanks to HRHDHD for her comment pointing out the difference between the piece worn today and last year’s garment; among other things, the stripe below the word ‘Cambridge’ is a different color.)  

Kate also wore her Henri Lloyd Land Rover BAR Team Elite Jacket. Below you see her in the jacket in May of this year when out racing with Team BAR. 

At this point we are still trying to identify Kate’s jeans. 

For the early part of the afternoon’s activities she wore the Monsoon Fleur Wedge (now sold out), first seen during the India/Bhutan tour.

The shoe has a leather upper with an almond toe design and 3.5″ heel height. It turns out Monsoon has “no plans” to reissue the shoe, with thanks to Christin on Twitter for that update. The style is still available in ‘coral,’ a rich tomato-like red.

Before heading out on the water Kate changed into her Adidas Pure Boost trainers/sneakers ($104.99), initially seen on a previous visit to Portsmouth.

The Duchess also wore her Kiki McDonough Lauren 18k Gold and Diamond Earrings (£2200, about $2800 at today’s exchange rates).

We saw the Duchess change her hair three times over the course of the afternoon to accommodate the difference of being onshore and inside, then out in the wind on the water. There is also a great shot of her with a Team BAR cap on when out watching the races, but I’ve not yet found a photo that I can license.  

One other quick note via The Duchess Diary: 

It’s been confirmed that the Cambridges will not attend the Rio Olympics next month.  Monaco’s Princess Charlene will not attend either, according to her husband, Prince Albert.

The royals are said to be avoiding Brazil due to the Zika virus epidemic.

We’ll leave you with this video of Kate and William presenting medals and the trophy.

And the crowd go wild as @LandRoverBAR take the stage to pick up their winners trophy from The Duke and Duchess. pic.twitter.com/rYH8Yytfyn — Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) July 24, 2016

. At this point Kate does not have any formal engagements scheduled. I expect that will change and we’ll be updating her calendar in the not-too-distant-future.   LINKAGE:

• The 1851 Trust website is here, the group’s Facebook page is here, and Twitter feed here and Instagram feed here
• Learn more about the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth races on the official website here, the Facebook page is here; Twitter feed is here
• Learn more about the Portsmouth area at the Visit Portsmouth website, the Facebook page is here and Twitter feed here
• Sir Ben Ainslie’s home page is here, his Facebook page is here and Twitter feed here
• The Land Rover BAR website is here, the Facebook page is here, Twitter feed here and Instagram page here
• Richard Palmer’s story for The Sunday Express is here; The Daily Mail’s coverage is here; The Mirror’s story is here