The 'Before the Announcement' Appearance
With each of Kate's pregnancies, we tend to remember her last appearance before the big announcement was made. On St Andrews Day's in 2012, the Duchess visited her old preparatory school in Pangbourne, Berkshire where she participated in a game of hockey. Wearing a tartan McQueen coat dress and Aquatalia boots, Kate cut a stylish figure. Fast forward to August 2014 when Kate joined William and Harry at the Tower of London for the official unveiling of 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red', an installation of poppies in the Tower's moat. Kate chose her striking blue L.K. Bennett Detroit dress for the outing. Last August, William, Kate and Harry returned from summer break to pay tribute to Diana ahead of the 20th anniversary of her death. A smiling Kate chose a poppy print Prada number with smocking at the waist.
The First 'Post-Announcement' Appearances
Sadly the joy of each pregnancy announcement has been accompanied with Hyperemesis gravidarum for Kate. We first discovered the Duchess was suffering from the illness when it was announced she was expecting her first baby and she had to spend four days at King Edward VII Hospital. Kate looked incredibly frail as she left, wearing a DVF coat and a purple scarf. When Kate was expecting Charlotte she spent much of the first two months following the announcement in Bucklebury quite unwell. She carried out her first duty in late October 2014 to welcome President Tony Tan Keng Yam of Singapore and his wife Mary Chee Bee Kiang at the start of a four-day state visit to Britain. Kate wore a bespoke McQueen coatdress and a Jane Taylor hat. For her third pregnancy, Kate returned to engagements for a World Mental Health Day reception. She chose the pretty blue Temperley London Eclipse dress.
Christmas Day Appearances
William and Kate elected to spend Christmas 2012 with the Middletons in Bucklebury. Kate still looked quite under the weather as she was photographed departing church. She wore her Hobbs Celeste coat with red accessories. In 2014, The Cambridges celebrated Christmas at Anmer Hall with the Middletons and the group made the walk to St Mary Magdalene Church with the royals, ensuring time was spent with both families. Kate chose British labels for the day: a Moloh coat and a scarf by Really Wild. Dressed in an appropriately festive Miu Miu coat, Kate was in great spirits as she made the walk to church with the Royal family in 2017.
St Patrick's Day
The St Patrick's Day appearance is undoubtedly a readers favourite; Kate attended in each year she's been expecting. In 2013, the Duchess opted for Emilia Wickstead; in 2015 she surprised us in a chestnut brown Catherine Walker design; and it was Walker again this year.
Royal Family Events with the Queen
A radiant Kate joined the rest of the Royal family for the Queen's Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey in a bespoke Jenny Packham outfit. The Duchess was very much blooming at the service and enjoyed a chat with Zara Tindall afterwards. We also saw Kate in pink McQueen for the 2015 Commonwealth Observance, and in navy Beulah London for Commonwealth Day in 2018. Her Majesty and a number of BRF members were out in force for all three events.
A Touch of Blue
Blue is undeniably one of Kate's favourite colours and a tried and trusted go-to for the evening events. When Kate was expecting George she sported an Emilia Wickstead dress for a reception at the National Portrait Gallery. The empire line piece very much had a 1960s feel to it; it remains one of Wickstead's most-loved creations. When Kate was expecting Charlotte, she opted for a fabulous Packham gown with a split. She teamed the gown with a pair of pink L.K. Bennett Agata sandals. And for the Royal Variety Performance last year, it was a sparkling blue 'Elsa' Jenny Packham design.
Casual Kate
When thinking of 'Casual Kate' appearances over the years, I instantly thought of the day she volunteered with the Scouts in the snow at Great Tower Scout Camp. Kate wrapped up in a Barbour jacket and her trusty La Chameau wellies. In 2014, Kate, appropriately attired in a Scouts jacket, scarf and woggle, enjoyed a pre-Christmas engagement with a group of Beavers. And in January of this year the Duchess was back in the snow during the Scandinavian tour. Kate's first casual look of the tour was a real winner for me; she wore a black Burberry trench, Sorel Boots and a beanie.
Kate's Working Wardrobe
During Kate's first pregnancy, we very much saw her sticking to her personal style with a selection of high street pieces from Topshop and Hobbs. It was really only when expecting Charlotte we saw a larger number of pieces coming from maternity brands such as Séraphine and Madderson London. This time around, we've seen a marked increase in bespoke pieces from designers such as Catherine Walker and Dolce & Gabbana, in addition to a significant number of repeats. There are several reasons for this: William and Kate are carrying out many more engagements now than they were in 2013 and for the Scandinavian tour Kate opted to order several coats from Walker. We tend to see the Duchess in fewer high street brands than when she first married. The hemlines are also longer with Kate favouring midi length dresses quite a bit recently. I suppose one could say we've seen the evolution of Kate Middleton's wardrobe to the Duchess of Cambridge's in the past five years or so. The graphic below offers six looks from each of Kate's pregnancies.
The Final Appearance Before Maternity Leave
Before Kate's maternity leave in 2013, we saw William and Kate at Trooping the Colour. Kate looked elegant in a pink coat with a heavy collar, three-quarter length sleeve and pearl buttons (you may recall the appearance prompted rumours Kate was expecting a girl). A day of engagements in South London in March marked Kate's final public appearances before Charlotte's arrival. The Duchess wore her much-loved cerise Mulberry coat. And Kate's last royal appearance this time was Easter Sunday service with the Royal family, when she brought back her brown Catherine Walker coat for the day.
It was fun to look back on Kate's maternity wardrobe milestones throughout the years. It's hard to believe George will soon be 5, and Charlotte almost 3!
With George back at Thomas's tomorrow, and a very busy week ahead for William with CHOGM events, and of course a very important impending arrival - the Cambridges are now back at KP where they will remain until the baby arrives. The Mail on Sunday reports Kate was out with her brother James in Hungerford, near Anmer Hall shopping for his new country home. I imagine the sighting may be from before Easter when the Cambridges were staying with the Middletons. Hungerford is about a twenty minute drive from the Middleton home.
