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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. 

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. 

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. 

 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. 


 

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Larissa

Monday 3rd of May 2021

What a delightful engagement for the Duke and Duchess to return to work after the family period of mourning, and ahead of their wedding anniversary. They look like they really enjoyed the day with everyone they met.

Kate's country outfits have become almost a uniform at this point, but I still love them – and she occasionally surprises us with a new piece, in this case that stunning and versatile Seeland jacket. (I have to admit I had to look twice at the product photos you pasted side by side, I thought the model's hand was going through the warmer pocket into the inside pocket on the other side, but the proportions were a bit off!) I tend to take good care of my clothes and can wear them for years, but I've never owned a pair of boots like those Penelope Chilvers, that can look so good after so many wears and adventures. I'd love a pair of my own!

As the UK comes slowly out of lockdown, I expect we'll see most engagements taking place outdoors this year since it is much safer. In that case I look forward to more country looks from Kate in 2021!

Laura

Friday 30th of April 2021

I’ve just discovered this blog and love it! I also love that Kate regularly re-wears things in her clothes. She is so naturally beautiful and has such great taste , looking fabulous casual or glam, and always dressed right for the occasion. She just seems like such a nice, normal person. may I also say I love the queens wardrobe too! No one wears color better than her... would you consider blogging about her clothes as well?

Mary B.

Friday 30th of April 2021

Love all the clothes, want the boots (either pair!) and am just so impressed with their public presentation.

Sarah

Friday 30th of April 2021

I adore Kate's "country" looks the most! Those Chloe boots are my absolute favorite, but I was never able to find a pair in my size. Alas, I do own the Penelope Chilvers! They're such a great investment piece. I'm currently considering the Troy/Brora sweater, but I'm not sure I like the light shade. I wish it came in another, darker, colorway.

katefanatic

Thursday 29th of April 2021

Kate's casual ensembles are always my favorites, as they look like something the rest of us might actually wear on a daily basis. I love those Chilvers boots so much, and I don't really understand why she changed boots and jacket for the second half of the day, as the original outfit seems like it would have worked well all day. Kate does layering like no one else. If I wore a blouse and sweater under a puffy coat I would look like a lumpy, bumpy, dumpy mess.

So great to see them out and about and looking so happy and engaged.

Karen

Thursday 29th of April 2021

I wondered the same thing about why did she change her boots? Then thought maybe she wore her “old” boots to the farm, because, well, farms have things you would’t want to step in with your “good” boots on!

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