It’s a Mix of Old and New for Mini-Tour Evening Events

Day Two of the Royal Train Tour wrapped up in Manchester this evening.

The Duke and Duchess visited FareShare Greater Manchester, part of FareShare UK, the largest charity in the UK that fights food waste.

More from The Manchester Evening News. 

FareShare redistributes surplus food from food businesses to 11,000 charities and community groups across the UK – including school breakfast clubs, community centres, homeless shelters and food banks.

During their visit, William and Kate met representatives from the food industry to learn more about their support for FareShare.

And from FareShare’s coverage of the visit. 

FareShare staff greeted their Royal Highnesses before providing a tour of the warehouse and introducing representatives from key FareShare partners Asda, Kellogg’s, John Lewis and Waitrose, which have been supporting FareShare with funding and diverting surplus food – which would otherwise go to waste – through FareShare’s network of charities for several years. 

The Manchester Evening News story also noted that “During the first national lockdown, the number of families relying on FareShare in Greater Manchester nearly doubled.  At the same time, the charity was inundated with people offering to volunteer with them.”

Lizzie Robinson of ITV reports the couple “heard from staff and volunteers about how FareShare adapted its operations during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure it continued to support those in need.”

Kate and William also met representatives from charities who receive food from FareShare and heard about the Coronavirus impact on families they support.

FareShare reports that since “lockdown measures were first introduced in the UK in March, FareShare has experienced soaring demand and at the peak of the crisis the charity was distributing the equivalent of over 3 million meals to people in need each week across the UK.”

Prince William delivered remarks. 

More from The Times: 

Prince William has warned that the work of charities that feed hungry people will become increasingly important over the winter, saying that the generosity of donors will be “called on even more over the difficult months ahead”.

William described FareShare’s work as “truly remarkable” and said: “Sadly, given the economic challenges ahead, the generosity of your donors is going to be called on even more over the difficult months ahead. But it is inspiring to know that you have risen to the challenge once this year already. And in bleak times, and particularly on this very cold December evening, you give us hope about what can be achieved if we all work together.”

Prince William said in a speech tonight: “Catherine and I felt that it was extremely important to visit just some of the heroes that have emerged this year to thank you for all that you have done.” pic.twitter.com/bIIVDXoA2C

— Lizzie Robinson (@LizzieITV) December 7, 2020

The Duke also thanked volunteers and staff, saying,  “You are the people that have not only kept our country going but have also helped warm all our hearts by showing us the very best of human nature.” 

During their visit, there was a special musical performance by Wayne Ellington and Manchester Inspirational Voices, a community gospel choir. Mr. Ellington is the choir’s founder.

The couple watching the entertainment.

Richard Palmer of The Express shared a quick video of the entertainment. 

William and Kate watched a performance by Wayne Ellington and Manchester Inspirational Voices pic.twitter.com/b2p9gTF1DC

— Richard Palmer (@RoyalReporter) December 7, 2020

 Another view. 

The performance was made available on Zoom for FareShare’s network of staff across the UK.

Now for what Kate wore to this evening’s engagement. 

The Duchess was in the ‘Bianca’ coat by Hobbs London we saw earlier in the day.  In case you missed that post, here is a refresher on the style.

It is sold out in navy but still available in black ($560).  

Beneath the coat, Kate wore a new jumper by Scottish retailer Brora. It is part of a capsule collection done in collaboration with another Kate-favored brand, Troy London; the capsule features three Fair Isle designs.

This color is called ‘almond’ and the garment is described this way: “… this superfine lambswool eco jumper features an Icelandic-inspired fair isle design.  Made in Scotland with a zero-waste seamless knitting method giving a natural fit and clean silhouette.  Round neck, draped sleeves, and finished with an elegant elongated ribbed cuff.”

It is available for preordering ($260) with shipping anticipated in March. Thank you to Mallory for another fab ID.  

The Duchess wore the Emmy London ‘Josie’ pumps and Jigsaw trousers we saw earlier in the day but wore a new face mask. It is the Wiltshire Bud style (£15) from Amaia Kids. 

I haven’t yet had time to look into the maker of Kate’s gloves. 

The Duchess also had on the Simone Rocha Faux Pearl Curb-Chain Earrings ($310) identified earlier today.  

We’ll leave you with a terrific photo of the Duke and Duchess shared on the Kensington Palace Instagram page and then tweeted by ITV’s Daniel Hewitt. 

If you missed the post covering the day’s earlier engagements, here is a link. 

We’ll see you tomorrow for Day Three of the tour. 

VIDEOS: 

Online News offers about 1:30 from tonight’s event. 

 

LINKAGE: 

• Visit the Fareshare UK site here; the organization’s Facebook page is here and its Twitter feed is here; the charity’s story about the royal visit is here
• The Manchester Evening News article is here; The Evening Standard’s coverage is here; The Mirror’s story is here
• Emily Cronin’s column on Kate’s ‘tourdrobe’ for The Telegraph is here; The Telegraph has a photo gallery here; Harper’s Bazaar’s gallery is here