The Duke & Duchess Have an Away Day in County Durham

The Duchess debuted a new label today at an engagement in Durham County in northern England.

UPDATE APRIL 28: This was not a new brand, please see note towards bottom of the post about Kate wearing Seeland in 2020. 

Below, the couple after they arrived at Teesside Airport in a photo shared by Ben Houchen, the mayor of the Tees Valley. It looks like the Duke may be carrying one of Kate’s Longchamps totes.

The couple visited Manor Farm, a fifth-generation family-run enterprise. 

More from The Northern Farmer’s article. 

Farm owner, Clare Wise, who is the fifth generation of her family to farm at Little Stainton, said she was passionate about animal welfare and ensuring natural habitats are protected within the farm.

People reports “They were also shown some of the tools used at the farm including grass monitoring, land rotation and feed sampling to improve productivity and ensure that they are able to give back to the environment and increase their sustainability.”

The couple spent time with the owners’ daughters.

More from the BBC’: 

The duke and duchess joined the farmers’ daughters Clover, nine, Penelope, seven, and Wren, four, and their lambs named Dumbledore and Heather.

Afterwards, Clover said: “It was very exciting, but it was also quite nerve-wracking.

“She [Catherine] asked me about when my friends came over were they surprised at how well I train the lambs.”

A brief video via Kensington Palace. 

Sustainable farm tour ???

Located in Darlington, these two amazing owners of a fifth-generational family-run farm, were able to take us through the ins and outs of how they’re working toward the UK’s 2050 net-zero target.

Even the tractors got a test run! pic.twitter.com/S7kAGJsMfb

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 27, 2021

I think the Duchess particularly enjoyed this part of the engagement. 

We return to the BBC story.  

The royal couple then met farmers from County Durham and North Yorkshire to discuss their experiences of the last year including the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on mental health and the challenges of balancing home-schooling with farming.

The prince said: “The pandemic takes away your coping mechanisms. We all have ways getting through the days when you strip that away and at home all the time it starts to wear on people.”

And from The Northern Farmer: 

William praised those who have had to juggle homeschooling with farming, saying it was ‘very impressive’. 

He sympathised with farmers losing the social aspect of the industry in not being able to attend markets and country fairs during the national lockdowns. 

He said: “That is one of the ongoing things, being at home all day, it starts to wear on people and the pandemic has take away those coping mechanisms.”

Both royals took a turn driving a tractor. 

Another view. 

Following this engagement, the Duke and Duchess visited the Cheesy Waffles Project at a Durham community center.  Cheesy Waffles is a charity in Durham helping additional needs children, young people, and adults. 

Cheesy Waffles receives support from The Key, one of twenty-six charities chosen by the Duke and Duchess in 2011 to benefit from donations made to their Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund.

The couple heard more about the other initiatives the organization provides to help its members develop independent skills. 

The Northern Echo reports, “…the couple asked how everyone had coped with lockdown and whether they had go their jabs. Kate said: ‘It must be good to get back together again. You must have missed each other.'” 

Back to the BBC story one more time: 

William and Catherine heard how people had helped out in the community during the pandemic, including afternoon tea deliveries for elderly people and an online bingo session.

Referring to their efforts at a Cardiff care home in 2020, William joked: “We did online bingo and we weren’t very good at it.

“We were bingo callers and we got told by an elderly lady some very rude words – she said we needed to try a bit harder.”

And from The Northern Echo: 

At one point during the visit to Belmont Community Centre, Prince William got to chat to Evan Jones, 18, and Lee Middleton, 23, who have earned their gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Prince William told them “Did you know he was my grandfather?” adding “he would [have been] so pleased you got your awards”.

Evan said later: “Today has been brilliant. It’s the best thing that has happened to me in my heart.  

Lee added: “It made me feel really good. They were really friendly”. 

There was also some golf today. 

The royals took a turn. 

Including the Duchess.

Roya Nikkhah of The Sunday Times shared a quick video. 

pic.twitter.com/hb6fXTeZj9

— Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) April 27, 2021

Kate’s reaction to her shot. 

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

We’ll begin with the new jacket, a piece by Denmark’s Seeland brand, a fab ID by Emily Collins.

The Woodcock Advanced Jacket (£189, sold out) is constructed of a poly/Spandex blend and described as a classic shooting jacket. It features multiple pockets including fleece-lined handwarmer pockets, as well as a removable hood, and adjustable waist and cuffs.  UPDATE APRIL 28: With thanks to Erin for her comment, this was not the first time the Duchess wore a piece by Seeland.  When visiting Northern Ireland in February 2012, she wore the Seeland ‘Hawker’ quilted jacket shown below. 

Kate brought back the Fair Isle sweater (£195, roughly $270 at today’s exchange rates) from a collaborative collection by Brora and Troy London that we first saw during the December train tour.

It’s 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.”

Beneath the jumper, it looked like the Duchess wore her Margeurite Blouse by Sézane.

She also had on her Penelope Chilvers boots. 

It looked like the Duchess wore her Yellow Pepper Mask (£15) by Amaia Kids. 

For the Cheesy Waffles engagement, the Duchess changed into her Barbour Longshore jacket, with its distinctive chevron quilting.

And her See by Chloé boots. 

Kate wore her Orelia Chain Huggie Hoop earrings ($22) to both engagements.

We’ll leave you with this video of 4-year-old Wren giving the Duchess a posey at Manor Farm. 

VIDEOS:

A very quick Kensington Palace video. 

Sustainable farm tour ???

Located in Darlington, these two amazing owners of a fifth-generational family-run farm, were able to take us through the ins and outs of how they’re working toward the UK’s 2050 net-zero target.

Even the tractors got a test run! pic.twitter.com/S7kAGJsMfb

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 27, 2021

 The Royal Family Channel’s video on the farm visit. 

 

And from the Cheesy Waffles engagement. 

A video from the Cheesy Waffles engagement with some of those who spent time with the couple. 

LINKAGE:

• The Daily Mirror’s piece is here; The Daily Mail’s coverage is here; The BBC story is here; The Northern Farmer’s piece is here; The Northern Echo’s story is here
• People’s article is here; a Hello Canada gallery is here