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The Prince and Princess of Wales End Official Mourning Period with Wales Visit

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The Prince and Princess of Wales End Official Mourning Period with Wales Visit

The Prince and Princess of Wales visited Wales today. 

It was the couple’s first visit to the country with their new titles.

The Royal Family’s official period of mourning ended yesterday. The King and Queen Consort will resume public duties with engagements in Scotland next week. 

The Prince and Princess started their day at the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) Holyhead Lifeboat Station in Anglesey, one of the three oldest lifeboat stations on the Welsh coast.   

Many will recall Prince William and Kate Middleton had their first joint engagement in Anglesey in February 2011. Ms. Middleton christened a lifeboat.

Holyhead is also where the Duchess of Cambridge served as the race starter for an ultra-marathon in August 2013.

Back to today’s events, here you see the Prince and Princess inside the RNLI station. 

More about Anglesey from Victoria Ward’s story for The Telegraph.

On Tuesday, they travelled to Anglesey where they made their first home as newlyweds and where they took Prince George and Princess Charlotte during the Platinum Jubilee weekend. 

Sources said Wales had a special place in the hearts of both the Prince and Princess. It was where Prince William’s parents took him for his first royal engagement, aged eight.

From The Times of London’s story.  

As the couple arrived at the lifeboat station they reminisced about living nearby on Anglesey while William was a search and rescue helicopter pilot based at RAF Valley.

He said: “It’s good to be back, it really is. It feels like going back in time, seeing where we all started to be a family unit.”

My favorite part of this engagement has to be the moment four-year-old Theo Crompton saw the Princess. 

More from The Mirror’s coverage. 

A young boy was adorably overcome with joy as he met Prince William and Kate today on their first outing to Wales since taking up their new titles. The Prince and Princess of Wales crouched down to greet four-year-old Theo Crompton as he handed them a bunch of posies during their visit to an RNLI station. 

The schoolboy was spotted beaming as he spoke to the royal couple before they met locals and staff in Holyhead, Anglesey.

Here is a quick video from Roya Nikkhah of The Times. 

Another photo of Theo with the Prince and Princess. 

And from Wales Online’s coverage.

The pictures of four-year-old Theo Crompton – wearing his school tie and uniform – presenting a bouquet of pink roses to Kate and also meet William are heart-warming. But his mum has been explaining that they nearly didn’t go to see the Royals today.

His mother, Rebecca Crompton, 35, said: “We were actually on the way to school when I changed my mind and decided to bring him down here for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And now he has just met the future king. Today’s visit is history. We had to be here.”

The royals spent time chatting with people, including representatives of small businesses and local organizations, such as the Coastguard and Sea Cadets.

More from Simon Perry’s People article. 

The lifeboat station — which is just miles from where the couple once lived — has received 70 awards for gallantry as crews battle the often-stormy seas to help the stricken.

After the lifeboat station visit, the couple took a short walk to the Holyhead Marine and Café Bar to meet people from small businesses and organizations like the Coastguard and Sea Cadets.

Another view. 

From the BBC’s coverage.

 Glenys Johnson, 73, who used to work at RAF Valley when the couple lived on Anglesey, waited for the royals at the cafe. “She [Kate] told me they had been reminiscing about places they visited in their journey over,” Ms Johnson said. “They said Anglesey was a happy place for them.”

The couple then traveled to Swansea on the south coast of Wales, where they visited St. Thomas Church. (That is God Save the King being played on the church bells in the background.)

A video as the Prince and Princess arrived. 

St. Thomas is a redeveloped church that has been “transformed into a thriving community hub that is home to a vast array of services including a foodbank that supports over 200 people per week, a not-for-profit café and community training kitchen, and a surplus food distribution network…” per a palace news release. 

Simon Perry reports, “William and Kate had an animated chat with a group of kids from the 1st Swansea Eastside Boys’ Brigade and Girls Association.”

Another view.

The couple met adults and teens who volunteer at the church. From this Denbighshire Press piece. 

Inside the church they met local school pupils and workers at a community kitchen which teaches parents and children how to cook.

Speaking to one young girl who was making cookies, William said: “Kate is a very good cook.

“I do very good breakfasts. Bacon, sausage and egg, I can do that.”

The Prince and Princess were introduced to volunteers and staff from Swansea Baby Basics, an organization collecting and distributing vital items for vulnerable mothers. The Princess also met two-year-old Charlotte Bunting. 

The couple chatting with Charlotte, who was dressed in a traditional Welsh ensemble.

The Princess is said to have told Charlotte, “I have a Charlotte too; she’s got plaits today,” per media reports from Wales.

From The Daily Mail’s story by Rebecca English.

The cheeky toddler took out a pair of blue knitted booties Kate had been looking at and handed them to her, and then proceeded to lift up her feet and show the royal visitor her own adorable white Converse shoes. She then took out a plastic feeding bottle and gave it Kate, who hunkered down on her heels, laughing.

As the couple chatted to to Rachel, Charlotte’s mother, the little girl showed them a rattle and then picked out a blue bottle of shampoo and offered it up to the princess. Kate, like any good mother, quickly took off the lid and opened it up to have a smell, offering Charlotte a sniff too.  

The Princess worked with baby banks before, including a project bringing together 19 British brands and retailers in 2020 to collectively donate more than 10,000 new items to more than forty baby banks nationwide. 

The Prince and Princess spent time speaking with parishioners. 

We return to the Wales Online coverage. 

The Royals are now meeting members of the church congregation – the oldest congregation member being 98. Talking about the importance of community services, Princess Kate said: “With the cost of living crisis, there are a lot of desperate people out there.”

She added: “The food bank is a lifeline to so many people…there is amazing work going on here. Keep up the hard work.”

Pat Hughes, one of the women from the food bank sitting at the table, said: “It was lovely to chat with the Princess and it’s something we won’t forget.”

Before the royals left, little Charlotte had a gift for the Princess. 

It’s hard to see in the pictures, but Charlotte had the national flower of Wales, the daffodil, on her dress.

And the Princess had a hug for Charlotte. 

The Daily Mail’s Rebecca English shared a video. 

The couple did a walkabout outside the church.

From The Denbighshire Press. 

Rev. Bunting told the PA news agency: “We already know they love Wales, but having them here has been amazing and is an early sign, I think, of their commitment to Wales.

“They’ve blown us away by speaking to every person young and old, it shows how wholly committed they are to their role as Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Wales Online reporter covering the visit, Molly Dowrick, said, “The Prince and Princess of Wales really took their time to meet as many people as they could, to shake hands with them and thank them for their support. It was wonderful to see.”

Kensington Palace posted a brief video of the Swansea visit. 

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

We begin with her vibrant red LK Bennett coat, the British retailer’s Spencer style ($1080). Crafted of recycled wool, the single-breasted style features an oversized collar, patch pockets, and gold hardware used for the domed buttons and snaffle detailing on the pockets. Thank you to Emily and Carly for their speedy ID of the garment. 

The piece is part of the LKB Conscious collection, the brand’s commitment to making “better choices to reduce the impact LK Bennett makes on the environment.” (You can learn more here.) 

It looked like the Princess also wore her Roland Mouret Axon trousers (sold out).  

She carried her Grace Han Love Letter handbag ($2213). 

And wore her Russell and Bromley Blade Heels (£245, about $275 at today’s exchange rates), in black Nappa leather with a pointed toe and chunky 4″ heel.

We also saw the return of the Alia Hoops (£79, about $85) in recycled 18K gold over brass by Welsh jeweler Spells of Love. 

VIDEOS: 

Wales Online offers 1:30 of the Princess and little Theo.  

Roya Nikkhah of The Times shared almost a minute of video of the Princess and little Charlotte. 

This Royal Family Channel video covers the RNLI visit. 

 The Royal Family Channel offers plenty of video of the Princess and Theo.

This final video offers more than four minutes coverage of the St. Thomas visit. 

 

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MK

Friday 30th of September 2022

I love how she can stand effortlessly from crouching, with heels on. I’m quite fit and I’d need to hoist myself up on the nearest person!!

Also the shape of her handbags looks much like those favoured by the Queen. Must be purposeful?

katefanatic

Thursday 29th of September 2022

I like that coat a great deal---especially the gold detailing on the pockets. I usually complain about her daytime earring choices, but these go well with the coat and are by a Welsh company, so they are appropriate for the occasion. The all black underneath is nice, but I really do not like those pants. I wish they were more tapered and not dragging the ground. The purse is nice and hurray for side parted hair. Overall I think this was a great day of engagements and an appropriate choice considering their new titles. The two youngsters were just adorable.

LK

Thursday 29th of September 2022

First, I love this outfit.

Second, one of the things I love most about Kate's fashion is I can only think of maybe a handful of times where I felt like her outfit wasn't appropriate for the occasion, whether I've loved it or not. She seems to have an innate ability to plan her sartorial choices to best suit both what is comfortable for her and what's appropriate for the event. Even though her clothing isn't supposed to be part of the job, she's always very conscientious of how closely she is viewed at all times.

I'm assuming the red of her jacket is a nod to the Welsh flag, and it adds a lovely pop of color. I did wonder if there is any sort of unofficial half mourning, like there was in the Regency era. My memory is that lavender and grey were the colors for that period. Either way, even though the official mourning period is over, it seemed like a smart choice to have an outfit that is predominantly black, as a sign of respect for the recent loss of the Queen.

Roxanne rudy

Thursday 29th of September 2022

Always a class act.

Meredith

Thursday 29th of September 2022

LOVE this red coat. I am on the hunt for a lovely red coat for winter, and feel personally very satisfied that my style vision is current!

Somewhat unrelated: I wonder if the "Spencer" naming of the coat by LK was an intentional nod to the late Princess Diana? If not, it's a wonderful coincidence.

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