The Duchess is Casual for Visit to Ancient Maya Ruins

The Duchess wore casual styles for today’s visit to Belize’s Caracol Archaeological Site. 

The Duke and Duchess visited the remarkable Maya ruin located in the Chiquibul Forest.  

More about the site from Caracol.org:  

Caracol is the largest Maya archaeological site in Belize, Central America. In AD 650, the urban area of Caracol had a radius of approximately 10 kilometers around the site’s epicenter.

Another view of the couple.

More from The Mirror’s coverage: 

The 3,000-year-old royal residence and temple, built by the Maya civilisation, stood at the centre of a city – home to an estimated 150,000 people.

Allan Moore, associate director of Belize’s Institute of Archaeology, showed the couple around the site which featured other buildings and was discovered in the 1930s by a logger looking for mahogany.

He told them: “It’s like looking at the inside of Buckingham Palace. This is just a small fraction of what we have here.”

Caribbean Culture and Lifestyle reports the structure includes four palaces, three temples, and more than 100 tombs.  

More from Chris Ship’s ITV story.

Caracol is at the end of a two-hour ride down the most uneven of tracks which cut their way through the steep terrain of the Mayan Mountains.

On a good day, only a few dozen determined tourists will make it along this road and yet it’s a sight which could easily be a stop on this planet’s most popular tourist routes.

After being told that this ancient city dates back to 1,200 years before Christ – the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge climbed the giant stone steps to the very top – where the views extend across the interior of Belize in one direction and into neighbouring Guatemala in the other.

We return to The Mirror’s article: 

Mr Moore told them as they climbed the steep steps up: “People often like to try and run up here.”

William replied: “What they race? You must be very fit if you are doing this three times a week Allan.”

A video from Chris Ship of ITV. 

Steps? There were a few … pic.twitter.com/T6G40KMW05

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 21, 2022

They learned about the history of the Caana “sky palace,” the tallest man-made structure in Belize. Here you see them at the halfway point up the structure.

Here is a wide shot giving you a sense of the scale. In his Evening Standard story, Robert Jobson reports that “As they caught a glimpse of the vista, the couple marveled at what they saw. “Wow,” Kate said.”

 Here is how the pair looked to photographers.

A posed photo posted by The Daily Mail’s Rebecca English. 

The next engagement was at a location Prince William visited 20 years ago, BATSUB, the British Army Training Support Unit Belize. 

BATSUB is an army training unit in the jungle that provides “challenging terrain and an austere environment giving the British Army a world-class training environment.” From the British Army site: 

The British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) is manned by 12 permanent staff and employs more than 100 local civilians.

A number of UK and Belize international partners conduct training in Belize. BATSUB is based in Price Barracks, which is also home to the Belize Defence Force.

And from a Yahoo UK story: 

William was just 18 when he was taught the essential techniques by the British Army Training Support Unit (BATSUB) in Belize at the start of his gap year in 2000.

He was reunited with his former Sandhurst sergeant major who now runs the jungle unit, and the officer described the future king – who turns 40 this year – as having “aged gracefully”.

The Duke drinking some rainwater. 

We return to the Yahoo story. 

As they were helped to raise the giant vine aloft to take a drink of water William suddenly rocked back laughing, saying: “It’s got a bit of bark in it. Nothing wrong with a bit of Belizean bark.”

The royals also spent time with representatives of Friends for Conservation and Development, a non-profit “actively engaged to conserve some of Belize’s most impressive wonders,” as well as Panthera Belize, a non-profit “devoted exclusively to the conservation of the world’s 40 species of wild cats and the vast ecosystems they inhabit.” Below, a group photo. 

And now for our look at what Kate wore today. 

The Duchess was in a pair of cargo pants by G-Star Raw, the label’s High G-Shape Skinny Cargo Pant ($120). The high-waist style is made in the brand’s Bracket Superstretch Twill, “woven …with a good amount of elastane to create a comfortable stretch and recovery.”

The pants also feature a shaped waistband that ‘wraps around the waist to eliminate gaps,’ with a zip front, thigh pockets with flap and hidden snap closures, and a single zipper pocket on the back. With thanks to Caroline Leaper of The Daily Mail and Middleton Maven for this ID, as well as Heaven and Bojana. 

Her tee looks like it may be by John Lewis, the retailer’s Double Front Scoopneck Top in cotton with a touch of elastane. 

Thank you to Christine for identifying this piece. 

The Duchess wore her Superga sneakers today, the Cotu Classic, which is 30% off at Superga ($44.50), and $48.71 at Zappos.

The Duchess wore Ray-Ban sunglasses again today. They appear to be the New Wayfarer Classic ($151). Thank you, Lady Parky, for this ID. 

It looked like the Duchess brought back her Spells of Love Medium Hoops (£60, about $79 at today’s exchange rates).

Enormous thanks to Heaven for also identifying the Duchess’s boots on the second engagement. She suggests the Palladium Pampa High in the Olive Night color (£80).

I link to them above at Palladium’s UK site, but a similar style is offered at Nordstrom ($80). 

And Heaven suggests the Duchess was wearing Scotch and Soda’s Belted Tencel Safari Shirt ($120). It is described as, “Belted safari shirt for women made from drapey Lyocell fabric. The shirt features front chest pockets statement buttons and a classic collar.”

The post covering tonight’s reception is here.

The Duchess wore a dress by the Vampire’s Wife for tonight’s function.