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The Duchess in Emilia Wickstead for South Wales Engagements

By Author admin

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We enjoyed a nice surprise this morning when seeing photos of the Duke and Duchess at previously unannounced engagements in South Wales.

Their day began with a visit to Barry Island, a seaside resort town. As restrictions started easing this week in Wales, the couple wanted to learn more about the impact of the lockdown on the area’s tourism industry and see how businesses were reopening. Below, the royals speaking with people on the promenade.

Another view from the promenade. 

Below, Kate and William speaking with the Hughes family (on the right) about the beach hut they rent. Twenty-four huts were recently installed on the promenade as part of a £6 million regeneration project the local council is overseeing.

More via The Evening Standard’s article: 

The couple also spoke with David Hughes, 42, who rents one of the beach huts with his family. Wills called to children: “Have you been in the sea yet?”

David said afterwards: “They asked about how lockdown had affected everything and we said to have the beach huts means the family can come to the beach and exercise.”

The Duke and Duchess chatting with Rob Thomas, managing director of the local council.

A crowd gathered as people heard about the royal visitors. 

Another view. 

Kate and William visited Island Leisure amusements arcade, which reopened on Wednesday.

They heard about the measures being taken to make the reopening safe.  More from Danielle Stacey’s Hello story:

The couple met Andrew and Hilary Phillips, the owners of Island Leisure amusement arcades, which reopened to the public on Wednesday.

“We talked about the business, this is the fourth generation since my great grandfather in 1946, and said how important it is to be back open both for us as a business but for people to come and have a fun holiday.

“He asked about the safety measures and we have many signs in place and hand sanitisers.”

They also played a couple of games at the arcade.

In her story, Danielle reports, “The pair competed side by side in a bid to grab a soft toy from the claw machine. Delighted Kate gave the thumbs up when she managed to grab a blue fish, but looked crestfallen when the cuddly toy fell from its grasp.

Another view of the royals at the claw game. 

They also played Drown the Clown. 

Barry Island is a favorite for many because portions of the popular BBC comedy, Gavin and Stacey, are filmed there.  More from ITV’s story:

No visit to Barry Island is complete without a trip to Marco’s cafe, made famous by the TV series Gavin and Stacey. The pair dropped by and spoke to Marco himself.

“To have the future King and Queen here in my humble abode on Barry Island just blew me away. It’s not your average Wednesday morning” said Marco.

Above, the Duke and Duchess chatting with Marco Zeraschi. Here is another video from The Daily Mail’s Rebecca English, it shows the pair speaking with business owners. 

Below, the Prince talks with Craig O’Shea, owner of O’Sheas Fish and Chip, in a photo Mr. O’Shea shared on Twitter.  

More from the Wales Online’s coverage: 

Local fish and chip owner Craig O’Shea said it was a great boost for the town after what had been a difficult summer.

He said: “They were fantastic and it is great to see them in the town. They said they were big fans of Gavin and Stacey and wanted to visit.

“Kate said about how wonderful the beach was and said that it must be a fantastic place for children to grow up, and William was very interested in our fish, chips and curry sauce. He said he didn’t like it too spicy, but curry is his favourite.”

The Duke and Duchess then went to visit the Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff. 

A video of the duo arriving comes via Rebecca English. 

Below, Kate and William speaking with a staff member at the care home. 

The Duchess viewing a scrapbook. 

You may recall the May videocall the Cambridges did with Shire Hall employees and residents.  As Kensington Palace put it on Twitter….

Here you see the pair as they called bingo back in May. 

After that bingo match, William and Kate asked those taking part in the match how they did, and a resident named Joan Smith said they “weren’t very good,” prompting laughter from both the Duke and Duchess. Today they saw Joan again and the Prince spoke of her comment. Well, Joan’s opinion hasn’t improved. More from The Daily Mail (note: language warning): 

…the Duke said: ‘Hello Joan, do you remember we did the bingo with you? You said we weren’t very good!’

‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘You did a b*****y s****y job.’

The royal couple, briefly taken aback by her blunt assessment, roared with laughter, but they got a kinder response from fellow resident Margaret Stocks, 95, winner of the virtual game.

Joan is in the red chair in this photo. I believe the picture was taken just as Joan shared her opinion.

Seeing the one staffer with hands over her mouth above, and looking at Kate and William’s faces in this next image, I think that might be the case. 

William looks like he really had a giggle. Rebecca reports that William later told staff members, ‘I love Joan, she’s brilliant. If only everyone was as honest as her.’

In this photo you see the couple speaking with Arthur Hobbs, 86, and his wife Brenda, 79.

More about the couple from The Daily Mail article: 

The husband and wife were unable to see each other in person for nearly four months, but can now meet in the garden for 30 minutes at a time at least once a week.

‘It must have been so hard during lockdown not having that face-to-face contact,’ the Duchess sympathised.

Now for our look at what Kate wore for the day’s engagements.

The Duchess repeated her ‘Aurora’ dress by Emilia Wickstead.

Part of an exclusive capsule collection the designer did with Net-a-Porter, the dress is a lightweight cotton seersucker with a touch of elastane for stretch and ease of movement. The midi-length dress features a button front, chest pockets, deep cuffs, a wide belt, and self-covered buttons.  The Duchess initially wore the Aurora last September when opening her Back to Nature Garden at RHS Wisley. 

The Duchess also wore her Castañer Carina wedge espadrilles ($190). 

Kate wore her Amaia Kids face mask again, the retailer’s Adult Reusable Cotton Face Mask (£15) in a Liberty print called Wiltshire Floral.

Amaia is donating two masks for every mask sold and contributing 30% of mask sale proceeds to the NHS Charities Together fund. The retailer also offers masks for children. 

She repeated her Amberley Small Clutch, also referred to as a crossbody at some retailers, as well as a clutch wallet ($976) by Mulberry. The bag measures roughly 9″ x 5″ x 1, has multiple credit card slots, an interior zippered pocket, and a detachable chain.

Kate wore new earrings today, the “Alia” style (£62) by Spells of Love, a small Welsh firm founded by designer Hayley Jones.

The earrings are brass, and “coated with a super thick 2.5 microns of 18 Karat Yellow Gold.”  Our thanks to Natalie for her fab earring ID!  

She also brought back her Daniella Draper Trio Diamond Midnight Moon Necklace (£1270, roughly $1650 at today’s exchange rates).

If you look at Kate’s necklace you’ll see it is personalized with initials for George, Charlotte, and Louis.  

NOTE: Face masks are not mandatory in most places in Wales, including shops and other enclosed spaces, although they are required on public transport as of last week. A quick question: if you would like to see a portion of a future post covering masks made by retailers Kate frequents and perhaps a few others, just let me know in comments.  

VIDEOS: 

The Royal Family Channel has two videos from today’s engagements. The first is from the Barry Island location. 

The second covers the Shire Hall Care Home visit. 

Barry Magazine tweeted a video of the royals talking with people on the promenade. 


The UK Press Association has a quick video of the bingo discussion. (Language warning.) 

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Valerie

Tuesday 25th of August 2020

I bought the Alia Style earrings from Spells of Love and they are beautiful. Very comfortable and elegant looking. Affordable and great customer service and delivery to USA. I am pleased. A little retail therapy goes a long way during this difficult time.

Kristy

Sunday 23rd of August 2020

I love the dress and find it flattering on the Duchess. The way she re-uses the garments and accessories in her wardrobe makes her seem very “real.” As usual, I admire her style and respectable demeanor. She is an asset to the Royal family.

BlondieBlueEye

Sunday 16th of August 2020

Duchess Catherine and Prince William look great in looks and proper summery outfits. I see that William is stepping up his wardrobe and coordinating his outfit with Catherine in colors, nice ?. William is wearing a navy belt, he just needs to get or wear navy suede shoes, because from my observation he like wearing these brown suede shoes. They are probably very comfortable, just needs to get the same one’s in navy, otherwise looks good.

sue d

Monday 17th of August 2020

Another gorgeous summer frock on DOC. True William is not always spot on with his wardrobe!

Amelie

Thursday 13th of August 2020

I didn't like this dress the first time around she wore it for the Chelsea Flower Show for her garden, though I understand the floral pattern and Kate's enthusiasm for theme dressing (though she has way better floral dresses she could have worn as demonstrated by Susan's fantastic write ups of all the floral dresses she owns). And I still don't like it on this second wearing. It's much too long and the pattern is so froufrou, something you'd see on sheets, curtains, or a wallpaper from decades ago. The bust pocket flaps are also visually unappealing, why would any woman want those on a dress? Lordy, no. I think this could work if the sleeves and the dress were shorter and the cut was more fitted. As it is, Kate looks like a giant walking teacup. This is the kind of style she frequently gravitates which I don't understand.

Also girlfriend loves her wedges but those shoes do not go with the dress at all. It's like she picked her shoes in the dark and just grabbed the first thing she felt.

Her Amaia mask is okay, but I've seen prettier designs. NOTE: admin edit

Robbin

Thursday 13th of August 2020

I loved the outfits. Looks great!! Thanks for sharing:)

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