Kate Wears LK Bennett for London Engagements

Kate sported a new dress from royal favorite LK Bennett for today’s London engagements.

The Duke and Duchess started their day with a visit to Evelina Children’s Hospital. Richard Palmer of The Express posted a video of the couple as they arrived.

The Duchess of Cambridge is wearing LK Bennett at Evalina London today. pic.twitter.com/y0w8PsrSZv

— Richard Palmer (@RoyalReporter) December 11, 2018

6-year-old Tiana Yales greeted them.

Tiana is being treated for sickle cell.

More about the facility from a Daily Mirror story:

The hospital provides comprehensive health services to children and families from before birth, throughout childhood and into adult life, and also offers specialist services for youngsters with rare and complex conditions from across south London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and beyond.

Just before the couple arrived at the hospital, Kensington Palace announced that Kate is the new patron of the hospital. More from the KP news release:

Her Royal Highness’s new patronage of Evelina London provides an opportunity to champion the medical professionals working on the front-line in children’s healthcare, and shine a light on their work supporting children in their early years.

Marian Ridley, Director of Evelina London, said: “We are absolutely delighted and deeply honoured The Duchess of Cambridge has chosen to become our Patron.

The hospital, which is part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, is about to celebrate its 150th anniversary, officially taking place in 2019.

The Duke and Duchess worked on some Christmas cards with the children.

Emily Nash of Hello! shared this video of Kate and the children hard at work.

WATCH: Kate seems to be in her element with the little ones at the ⁦@EvelinaLondon⁩. Loving the choir too! pic.twitter.com/JcVjyiLphg

— Emily Nash (@emynash) December 11, 2018

I love this little girl’s face, her concentration is fierce.

It looks like Kate made a new friend.

She always seems to enjoy herself when working with children.

Here you see Kate with 4-year-old Cruz Brown as they unveil a new banner at the hospital officially launching the 150th-anniversary celebration. Since he was born, Cruz has been treated at the hospital for issues with his kidneys. He goes for dialysis three times a week; each treatment takes four hours.

The Duchess delivered remarks at today’s event.

She spoke about being the hospital’s patron and thanked those who support the hospital.

You can hear her speech in this video.

“It’s a real privilege to be part of this organisation, and I look forward to many happy years ahead.” — The Duchess of Cambridge, today announced as @EvelinaLondon Patron. pic.twitter.com/gF3rv6E1wW

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) December 11, 2018

The Duke and Duchess as they left the hospital.

Their next stop was at The Passage, an organization that “…provides resources which encourage, inspire and challenge homeless people to make lasting and long-term changes to their lives.”

This was the first time the Duchess has visited the charity; that is not the case for the Duke. More from the BBC:

William first visited the charity in 1994 with his younger brother Harry, when the pair were 12 and 10, alongside their mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

William has continued to support the organization. Here you see him in 2016 as he given a photo showing his 1994 visit with Harry and Diana to The Passage.

A closer look at the 1994 photo.

Below, Kate and William with Mr. Clarke, who praised the couple’s “real empathy”. “They very much care about the issue and I think it marks the way they care about the poorest in society,” he said, according to the BBC story.

They spoke at length about the impact the drug Spice is having on the homeless population. More from The Telegraph’s story.

The synthetic drug is seen as a growing problem, and the biggest challenge the homeless charity faces is that it is cheap, readily available and can exacerbate existing problems like poor mental health.

The Passage carried out a survey of its homeless clients and found 50 per cent had tried the drug at least once in 2016 – when this study was repeated this year the figure had increased to 70 per cent.

The duo met staff and volunteers, as well as some of those receiving assistance via the charity’s resources.

They also took part in an arts and crafts workshop. My imaginary caption for this is: “Oh, William said he is good at making bead bracelets? Really?”

You can fill in your own caption here.

The Sun’s Emily Andrews posted a video of Kate as she worked on a bracelet.

It’s always very amusing seeing Kate & Wills do craft. Kate is clearly very at home doing it, William very much less so…love the look on Kate’s face in the previous video… pic.twitter.com/o9cbUw3hZg

— Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) December 11, 2018

This looks like William is explaining why he may not be the best bracelet maker at the table.

More from People:

While the couple helped prepare cards and gifts for the Passage’s Christmas party next week, Prince William was put on the spot when he was asked to help create a “Welcome to Xmas Dinner” sign and was in charge of cutting out the letter E. After Kate shot him a skeptical look and let out a giggle, Prince William let the cat out of the bag.

“My son knows I’m useless at this,” he joked. “Catherine is the artsy one.”

Kensington Palace also shared a quick video.

? The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge join @PassageCharity service users for an arts and crafts workshop to prepare cards and gifts ahead of centre’s Christmas party next week. pic.twitter.com/MEYQZSKpph

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) December 11, 2018

Now for our look at what Kate wore.

She was in LK Bennett’s ‘Mortimer’ dress. It is 100% silk and features princess seaming, a bow at the neck, flared skirt, gathers at the shoulder seam and cuffs, and faux pearl buttons down the front and at the cuff.  

The dress is available in most sizes on the US site ($645) and also on the UK/International site(£325). John Lewis also has it in stock (but be aware they have it labeled as the ‘Montana’ dress).  It also comes in a navy and cream style. Thank you to Heaven for such a speedy dress ID.

Thoughts about the look from The Telegraph’s Chloe Mac Donnell:

…the sartorial allure of polka dots is as vast as the type of women who have worn them since they first appeared in the guise of a polka dotted ballgown on the front cover of American Vogue in 1921.

However, whilst many have flitted with the print, wearing it one week then ditching it for something bolder the next, it seems polka dots have one true and slightly surprising stalwart fan – the Duchess of Cambridge. From Wimbledon to weddings, over the years since officially joining the royal family, the Duchess has turned to the print on many an occasion.

More from The Telegraph column:

Arriving on Tuesday for a visit to the Evelina London Children’s Hospital in London, Kate once again opted for what has steadily become her go-to print. This time it came in the form of a green and cream patterned dress from LK Bennett…. With its pine tree-esque hue, the dress gives a subtle nod towards the festive season but won’t look dated once the last of the Christmas decorations have been taken down.

In its post, Who What Wear UK refers to the pattern as: “… the dress trend that has swept the high street this year — a polka dot dress.”

Kate carried the Dora clutch we first saw last week during the Cyprus engagement. Also from LK Bennett, the bag is still available on the UK site, and it is discounted from £175 to £119 (roughly $150 at today’s exchange rates).

The bag is also offered on the US site in navy velvet and green, as well as black, red and blush pink on the UK site. 

It looks like the Duchess wore her Gianvito Rossi olive pumps; we first saw them last week in Cyprus. They appear to have the shorter heel, the 85mm height.

A ‘thank you’ to Laura and Middleton Maven for their work on the shoe ID.

Kate wore familiar earrings.

Her Annoushka Pearl Drops and Kiki McDonough hoops.