The Duchess in Barbour for Bug-ingham Palace Work

Kate was in old favorites for today’s visit to Robin Hood Primary School.

She was there to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Royal Horticultural Society’s School Gardening program.

More from Richard Palmer’s Express story:

The RHS’s work with schools has shown benefits for children’s physical and mental well-being, and building life skills such as confidence, teamwork and communication. During the visit, Kate got a briefing on the RHS nation-wide campaign and heard about the benefits of learning outside from Robin Hood Primary School.

Kate worked with the students planting bulbs for next spring.

From Sam Rkaina and Danya Bazaraa’s story in The Daily Mirror:

She was handed a pair of leather gloves and knelt on a mat to join the youngsters planting out.

Kate added: “Have you grown your own strawberries yet? Did you eat them? Were they yummy? Were they nice and ripe and juicy?

“Everything that you grow in the garden and eat is all delicious. Do any of your mummies and daddies like gardening? Have you taught them things you have learnt at school?”

I think this little guy was having a good time.

The children are learning how to whittle as they work on making homes for bugs.

We return to The Mirror’s story:

At one point, when she looked at her own attempt at whittling a stick, she said: “Mine’s not very good.”

When a little boy remarked that “practice makes perfect”, Kate replied: “That is so true. Keep up, keep up all the good work.”

The Mirror also reported the Duchess told the children “…she loves sunflowers and asked if they had spotted any squirrels or “bit fat wiggly worms”.

And from Rebecca English’s story in The Daily Mail:

The Duchess of Cambridge roared with laughter as she was shown an eco-friendly version of her future home today: Bug-ingham Palace.

The wooden ‘mansion’ was filled with leaves and sticks and provides a natural home for caterpillars, woodlice, stag beetles and ladybirds – and even a nesting Robin.

Kate spoke to the students about her love of gardening.

The Mirror’s story has more:

Addressing the children in a speech in the playground, the Duchess said: “I’ve got such fond memories of being in the garden and being outside from my own childhood, and I’m sharing that with my own children George and Charlotte at the moment.

“What you have created here is really so special. Hopefully you will have lots of memories of your time here in the garden, looking for insects or planting bulbs.

“I hope you remember these special times for the rest of your lives.”

After speaking to the students Kate cut the foliage-covered cake.

Many of you probably recognized what Kate was wearing immediately. She was in her Barbour Defence Jacket.

And her black Honeycomb sweater by Temperley London.

The Honeycomb came in a variety of colors and styles. Kate also owns an ivory Honeycomb. (Photos here.)

The Duchess wore her trusty Penelope Chilvers Long Tassel Boots (£475, about $640).

Some expected to see the Kiki McDonough Lauren Leaf Earrings (£1833, roughly $2500), knowing Kate’s fondness for thematic dressing. Kate did not disappoint.

Kate looked relaxed and comfortable for today’s engagement, enjoying her time with the children.

We have some repliKates for the Barbour jacket, none of them ideal, but I thought they merited a look. On the left, the Field Jacket ($69.98, final sale) at Tommy Hilfiger; in the center, the Women’s Waxed Field Jacket ($49.99) as seen at Target (not the right color, but a good looking style and price); on the right, the Downtown Field Jacket ($104 with promo code BUNDLEUP) at J. Crew. One heads-up: I don’t believe any of these are lined.

There are a few more on the repliKate Outwear page.

UPDATE: There are new photos of Kate out with her Mother, Carole Middleton (The Daily Mail has pictures here.) In the images you can see that Kate is in a coat we’ve not previously seen. It very much looks like it is the Zara Checked coat (£99.99, about $135).  A Tip of the Tiara to Laura on Twitter, she discovered the piece as we were all going mad trying to find the exact coat.

A thank also to Janet E on the Facebook page, she discovered another plaid coat at Zara that makes a good repliKate, the Check Frock Coat ($119).

We show the first piece, Kate’s coat, on the UK website. I haven’t found it on the US site. If you do a search for check coat you will see Zara had quite a few this fall, something Mallory pointed out on Twitter. I had no idea the retailer had so many this fall.

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A couple of retail notes to share: Everything on the Sebago site remains 50% off with promo code CYBERMONDAY. This makes Kate’s oft-worn Bala style $47.50.

The Outnet’s clearance sale continues; the additional percentage off is now 60%. Last week we mentioned some of the Goat corded lace dresses included in the sale. Several are still available; originally they were $1120, but the price drops to $197 with the additional discount. The style is still offered in black, as well as in bubblegum and in off-white. There is a short sleeve lace dress, the Virtue Guipure, in black and in white; it would also be $197.  LINKAGE:

• Learn more about the Royal Horticulture Society’s School Gardening initiative by clicking the campaign website here; visit the organization’s Facebook page here; you can follow the RHSS Twitter feed here
• The Daily Mail‘s story from Rebecca English is here; The Daily Mirror’s article is here; Richard Palmer’s Express story is here; The Evening Standard’s story is here
• PopSugar’s gallery is here; Simon Perry’s People article is here; the Hello! story by Ainhoa Barcelona is here;