The Duchess Keeps a Promise and Wears Pink

Today the Duchess kept a promise she made to five-year-old Mila Sneddon.

In a phone call last autumn, she promised the little girl that she would wear a pink dress when they met. 

You may recognize the young cancer survivor whose photo (shown below) was chosen for the Hold Still project.  Mila was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in November of 2019 and was isolated during the pandemic while she received chemotherapy.  More from The Daily Mail:

When the pandemic hit, parents Lynda and Scott decided to isolate separately to minimise the risk to their daughter. Lynda stayed with Mila while service engineer Scott and Mila’s sister Jodi, 16, went to Lynda’s parents. 

Mila’s mother captured a photo of her blowing her father a kiss through the window and submitted it to Hold Still.  It was chosen as one of the 100 images featured in the exhibit and book.

In the phone conversation released last week, the Duchess said she hoped to meet Mila someday and promised to wear pink.  That day was today.  Below, Mila and her family as they arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

More about the phone conversation between Mila and Kate from The Telegraph’s story by Victoria Ward. 

Mila asked the Duchess if she was wearing a costume. “I’m not wearing a princess costume right now, I’m afraid, Mila,” she replied, before being told that Mila’s favourite colour was pink.”OK, well I have to make sure I go and try and find myself a pink dress so that when one day, hopefully, Mila, we’ll get to meet, I’ll remember to wear my pink dress for you.” 

The Duchess arriving to meet Mila and her family. 

Below, a video of that encounter. 

? Watch the moment five-year-old Mila met the Duchess of Cambridge for tea at the Palace of Holyroodhouse ? pic.twitter.com/DV6oSxiYNg

— Lizzie Robinson (@LizzieITV) May 27, 2021

From The Mirror’s coverage: 

The outgoing little girl who is battling cancer has captured the duchess’ heart and when they met she told the youngster she wanted to give her a “big squeezy cuddle”.

The four-year-old stood up as did her father and mother Scott and Lynda Sneddon and her big sister Jodi.

Kate praised the little girl who was dressed head-to-toe in pink with matching headband, dress and shoes.

She said: “I love your dress, can you do a little twirl – and your shoes.”

Mila as she did her twirl. 

The Duchess and Mila chatting. 

More from The Belfast Telegraph: 

There was an exchange of gifts with Kate giving the little girl a tiny trinket box inscribed with a message about bravery while the duchess’ young friend presented her with a candle and a bag.

Mrs Sneddon said: “It’s a really surreal and bizarre experience, we’ve come out of lockdown and this is our first trip out which is really unusual.”

She added: “It’s not quite sunk in that we’re here and we’ve met the duchess.”

The duchess and Mila’s mother found common ground in parenthood, she said: “We’re both parents so we talked a little bit about both (my) girls and obviously Mila’s treatment.”

I am finding myself partial to Mila’s tiara. 

More from The Telegraph’s story.  

Mila was not phased by meeting royalty and even did a handstand and cartwheel in front of the Duchess.  

“It was so good, I’ve never met a real princess in my life before,” she said later.

Asked about what she and the Duchess had chatted about, she replied: “Well I was busy drawing a picture – a robot.”  

Kensington Palace shared a video as Mila is told she is going to meet the Duchess and a little bit from today’s visit. 

In the week prior to lockdown last year, Mila’s family took the difficult decision to isolate in different households to protect Mila, who at this point was only 4 months into her chemotherapy journey for leukaemia.

Today, Mila and her family visited the Palace of Holyroodhouse pic.twitter.com/YJ36Zwx1LE

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

One more photo of Mila for this portion of the post. 

(We’ll see more of Mila in just a bit.)  

The other ensemble worn today is anchored by a Catherine Walker design. The Duchess chose the piece for the Closing Ceremony of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Below, the Duke and Duchess arriving for that event.

You may recall Prince William was appointed as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which started last weekend. 

A quick video as the couple arrived with other dignitaries. 

The Lord High Commissioner, Prince William, Earl of Strathearn, arrives for the final part of the #GA2021 pic.twitter.com/hhFWl5kWa4

— Church of Scotland (@churchscotland) May 27, 2021

Today the Duke delivered closing remarks.

More from The Evening Standard. 

The Duke of Cambridge has delivered a highly personal farewell speech at the end of his Scottish tour, describing how the nation has “shaped” him and praising its people and values.

William said Scotland was “so important” to himself and wife Kate as he recounted their experiences meeting a range of inspirational people from spritely pensioners, selfless NHS workers and committed charity volunteers. 

You can hear part of the speech in this video.  

Catherine and I came here to listen, so we might learn more about your challenges.

But also, to learn of your hopes and aspirations, so that we may serve alongside you with the combination of humility and conviction that speaks so powerfully to us. #GA2021 pic.twitter.com/iVrCleEs1d

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

The scene after the Closing Assembly as everyone departed.

Before the ceremony, the couple hosted former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and ⁦his wife Sarah Brown⁩ at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, per the Court Circular. 

The Duke and Duchess returned to the Palace of Holyroodhouse to attend a Beating Retreat by The Massed Pipes and Drums of the Combined Cadet Force.

There are more than 2000 cadets in the force. The Massed Pipes and Drums on parade this evening represent the sixteen CCF contingents in Scotland, including cadets from Glasgow, Dundee, and Edinburgh.

The Duke and Duchess invited individuals from local charities and schools to watch, along with some special guests.

That is Mila with her sister Jodi above. Below, you can see the entire family, including the girls’ parents, Lynda and Steve Sneddon.

The look on Mila’s face is priceless.

Kensington Palace notes the event had its origins in the early years of organized warfare when the beating of drums and the parading of Post Guards heralded the closing of camp gates and the lowering of flags at the end of the day.

Now to what Kate wore for these two engagements, starting with her pink dress by ME + EM, a familiar brand. 

The Color Block Silk Shirt Dress (£450, roughly $640 at today’s exchange rates) features a pleated front panel, point collar, gathered shoulders, side seam pockets, self-belt, and an asymmetrical hem that is longer in the back. 

An enormous ‘thank you’ to Katherine for identifying this dress.

It looks like the Duchess wore a belt from Boden’s Skinny Belt ($55) in a color called lollipop.  The piece is 1″ wide with suede on the outer portion and metallic lining. 

Thank you to Middleton Maven for her quick ID of this piece. 

The Duchess introduced another color of suede pumps by Emmy London, the Rebecca Makeup ($475), a pink hue.

A refresher on the style: it is a classic point-toe with a 4.5″ heel. Thank you, Emily Collins, for being so speedy with this ID.

With thanks to Natasha for this ID, it looks like the Duchess wore the Pink Betsy Reusable Adult Mask (£15) by Amaia Kids. She also wore her Rhodochrosite Charm Hoop Earrings ($93.50 with promo code MEMORIAL15, normally $110) in 18kt gold vermeil by Missoma. (The photo below is when the earrings were worn to another engagement.)

And now for the second ensemble, with a look at the cornflower blue coat dress by Catherine Walker.   

The coat dress is crafted of wool and features princess seams, an off-center front closure, a full skirt with box pleats, deep cuffs, notched lapels, a self-belt, and oversized buttons.  The color is the perfect backdrop for the jewelry worn today.

We first saw the earrings at a February 2018 Royal Foundation engagement. 

The brooch was first noted in March 2018 at the annual Commonwealth Service when it was worn with the coordinating earrings.

A closer look at the pieces from 2018. 

And a look at them today. 

The pieces have a floral motif: the brooch features a spray of multi-colored flowers with a diamond or rhinestone-studded “bow,” and the earrings showcase a central flower on a bow-shaped base.  

The Duchess debuted a new piece by Kiki McDonough (at least I don’t recall seeing it before), the Apollo Blue Topaz Pendant (£1166.67, roughly $1650 at today’s exchange rates).

The pendant features a central blue topaz and four diamonds set in 18ct yellow gold.  

It appears Kate has brought back the Emmy London Rebecca pumps in the Riviera Blue colorway. 

And she repeated a bag from a Scottish brand, Strathberry.  The Duchess carried the Multrees Chain Wallet Clutch ($355), first noted in December of last year during the Royal Train mini-tour. UPDATE May 28: It turns out the clutch is the same style but in Embossed Croc Navy ($355), and now available for pre-ordering. You can also see the Duchess carried a scarf.

And that wraps up the Scotland tour!

VIDEOS:

The Royal Family Channel’s coverage of today’s meeting. 

Here is the 6-minute call with the Duchess speaking with Mila and her mother.

LINKAGE:

• The Daily Mail’s story about Mila is here; The Telegraph‘s story by Victoria Ward is here.; 
• Hello’s coverage is here; People’s story is here.;