New photos! New photos! New photos, just in, of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, better known as “Will and Kate” (how gauche!). They made an appearance today at the opening of a children’s cancer unit at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. William was just coming off of a 24-hour sleepless work bender in Wales, where he was on duty doing search and rescue. He met up with Kate at the event, having only arrived in London just moments beforehand it seems like. William has been the cancer hospital’s president since May 2007, and his mother previously held the position. You can read some sweet stuff about the kids about William here – much like Diana, he’s good with kids, as is Harry.
As for Duchess Kate’s style today… she wore a cream Amanda Wakeley dress that fits like a glove, and I don’t believe it’s a repeat either. I think this is a new dress for her (only) second appearance in the UK as a duchess. It looks nice on her – she looks good in whites and creams, as well as jewel tones. If I was dressing her, I would put her in lots of creams and strong, bold reds, greens, blues and purples. Never beige, never pastels. Also: what are the thoughts on her little diamond cross pendant? Jesus is giving her the side-eye for living in sin with William for years.
Should we talk about whether she’s pregnant? She doesn’t look knocked up. No part of her looks bigger. I don’t think she is.
A few more stories about Kate, via Us Weekly (she’s their cover girl this week). One, Kate’s wallet is full of “rewards cards” from stores, according to a blogger bystander who witnessed Kate making some purchases at Topshop a few days ago. What does this mean? It means Kate shops a lot (that‘s all she does), but she still loves a good deal. Second story, this bizarre tale:
It’s hard to imagine that Kate Middleton can walk among the commoners unnoticed these days — but that’s exactly what the Duchess did when she visited the National Portrait Gallery in London Wednesday.
The 29-year-old spent the afternoon touring the contemporary collection downstairs with a small group of curators, an onlooker tells Us Weekly exclusively.
“She was dressed all in black — she must have been boiling because it was a really hot day in London — in knee-length black boots, black tights and a slim-fitting black dress,” the onlooker says. “She had her hair up, completely pulled up into a twist at the back.”
Middleton, who studied art history at St. Andrews (where she met future hubby Prince William, 29), wasn’t fazed by some of the more controversial pieces, including Marc Quinn’s Self, a self-portrait cast of the artist’s head made from his own blood and then frozen.
“She was asking lots of questions and talking to the experts at length about the piece,” the onlooker tells Us. “She seemed completely fascinated by it.”
Because the gallery downstairs is split into many side rooms, Middleton was able to move around without too many people noticing her — though one tourist did attempt to snap a photo of the Duchess. “Her security guard suddenly appeared and told the man he should delete the photo, but other than that she wasn’t bothered at all.”
Middleton — who has broken tradition by not posing for her own post-wedding portrait — viewed a portrait of William and Prince Harry, 27, on her way out.
“She didn’t spend a huge amount of time looking at it,” the onlooker notes. “She just smiled and admired it briefly.”
[From Us Weekly]
So she went to a museum (dressed for winter, in the middle of a heat wave) and asked a lot of questions about one of the odder pieces, and her security guard made a bystander delete photos of her. Does anyone else think that whole incident is bizarre?
Back to the photos – Kate is getting a lot better at not staring directly into the cameras. But she’s still obsessively touching her trademark hair. And thank God, there are NO BUTTONS on this outfit (that I can see). So… a great deal of improvement.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
She looks lovely.
I like Kate
I Like the dress
I dont think the museun incident is strange
I dont think the cross is strange as I assume she is a christian
I do think the cross is strange on madonna who always seems to wear one even though she has supposedly converted to judaism – the mystical Kabbalah Judism – madonna should not be wearing the christian cross
In the 3rd and 4th photos from the top, you can really see her pockmarks.
Yes on all counts: lovely, classic, appropriate. Still dislike her hair though. Either make it all straight or put waves in the entire length of it. Those little curls at the bottom look so juvenile and dated. Looks good overall though.
Beautiful!
@First? we all have flaws on our skin by the time we reach our twenties. Don’t be so nasty.
Can’t believe nobody has tried to go with the hiding her stomach with her purse to hide her pregnancy routine.
I think they look really good.
RE: The Cross – If only those without sin signified their Christianity by wearing a cross, well duh, there wouldn’t be anyone wearing crosses!
Pretty!
She looks lovely. She has gorgeous hair and I think it would also be fantastic for her to put it up or try a different hairstyle.
She has worn that cross before, I bet they gave it to her when she was affirmed in the Church of England before the wedding.
But who cares what Jesus thinks, its all about what the QUEEN thinks.
So pretty! I think she trimmed her hair and it looks nice. Like the dress and shoes. Nothing strange about the museum bit to me except I am now hoping that Kate has a macabre side!
In her defence, this heatwave has come out of nowehere. We all have colds and flus to wrap up and suddenly its fianlly summer. Also, getting dressed in the morning you wouldn’t think it was going to be a heatwave when you look outside.
Sory, just had to get that out there as every day this week I’ve wrapped up only for the heatwave to emerge in the afternoon!
The cross is both lovely and appropriate. As for the museum outfit, wellll … she wouldn’t be the first person to assume that a day was going to be cold, dress appropriately, then be shocked by a warm spell. I do that all the time. Ditto dressing in a light shirt and linen trousers, only to be hit with an unseasonable downpour.
I like her simple tastes. She could be very fussy, but she makes it seem like she’s not. Her hair is beautiful, and shiny!! I like this dress, it fits her really well.
I agree with @Jackson and will add that I still want a moratorium on the eyeliner. Would love to see her with less lower eyeliner and straight hair. She’d look amazing.
This dress is such a snooze-fest. It’s like she’s purposefully leaving any hint of individuality out of her attire. Even her necklace is something so ordinary that it’s probably mass-produced in China.
Please Kate. I want to like you. You’re probably very nice and I’m very likely going to have to listen to non-news about you for the rest of my life. But it’s kind of hard to like a girl without a personality, even one that’s as inoffensive as you.
The dress is gorgeous and she is wearing the hell out of it. She looks really good.
She looks amazing-albiet very thin but of course the clothes look so good then dont they- and Ive said it before the 2 ugly sisters-‘Princess Beatrice and Eugenie” need to take tips from her….
Aw, when I got to the part about the National Portrait Gallery, I thought, “See! She does visit museums and cultural exhibits,” but reading about the mini-team of curators, it was probably just part of her princess lessons. Lucky duck, I studied art-history in college, and I’d find it so much fun to be given a private tour.
She looks lovely, her face is slightly fuller and she looks much happier. But if she would only use a stylist who could help her with accesorizing. Look at Mary of Denmark in a similar outfit: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v503/Santalia/Australia%202005/Peopict_Mary_Frederik30-1.jpg.
@anne she’s opening up a children’s cancer ward. I’m pretty sure that’s a solid time to have a classic, well-fitting “snooze-fest” of a dress. Save the fun red lace dresses for weddings.
As always lovely, but too thin.
Bor-ring. The dress kind of looks like the gray one she wore to plant the tree in Canada, but without the big school-girl collar.
The color looks nice on her but it’s all just so blah. @Anne, I completely agree!
And, please, do something with your dang hair! All the touching is so annoying.
I know I say it every time (so one of these times I’ll be correct 😉 but I do think she’s pregnant since she’s holding her bag/hand over her abdomen in so many shots. Seems protective.
She looks really good like she’s put on the 5lbs that she lost between the engagement and the couple of months after the wedding. Slim but healthy looking. The dress is a little plain perhaps but i still like it.
The dress is lovely and appropriate.
I’m starting to come around to those of you who think her hair’s too big. She’s got hair I’d kill to have, but maybe a bit shorter and less full.
But that’s the only thing I can criticise. Her Princess training is paying off. I’m no Princess (except to the fam who think I’m full of it) but her conservative outfits are a good idea. Start off conservative, see how it goes, and then start zipping it up a bit.
I also agree with the person who said she should try straight one time. I think she’d look great.
The dress is boring, it fits her boring personality to a T.
@Kloops, yessss on the eyeliner! I try to save my eyeliner comment for when really close-up shots are posted, lol. Otherwise I would always say it! I wish she would at least TRY wearing less, or smudge it a little underneath. Something. Anything!
love love love love love!
My take on purse thing is that she’s transitioning from her pre-wedding shoulder bags to clutches. If she’s not used to holding one, it feels awkward. One can really hold it only at one’s side or in front. Some royals never carry bags. Some (the Queen) carry bags but never money.
I think the eyeliner is permanent, it just looks the same every.single.time. Either she has a very steady hand (and good eyeliner product) or she had it done.
She looks lovely & very appropriate. I wish I had her hair.
Gorgeous! Awesome figure too.
I am sick of both of them. He is really starting to look bad. A little anorexic and terribly bald. She is so boring. Everything about her is boring. Everyone raves about her hair but it is totally dull. My God, is the world going to be subjected to stories about her forever? If she wasn’t married to him no one would ever talk about her ever or even look at her.
She looks as lovely as ever. The dress is very classy and I like the nude pumps. And if she wanted to get REALLY crazy with it, I think a nice deep plum colored pump instead would give the outfit some pop without losing it’s toned down vibe, which is what she seems to go for. Regardless, she’s a beauty and she looks great here.
I like it but it needs something.
Why are ppl obsessed with them having a kid? Can’t they be married for a while? JS.
Either way, I wouldn’t want to get knocked up til after the Olympics. At this point she’d be fresh out of the hospital at opening ceremonies. That is not a happy pretty time. That is I just squeezed a out a butternut squash time. Those Olympic pictures, especially, do not go away. Ever!
Don’t her arms look a tad bit bigger? Or am I seeing things?
She looks gorgeous, but in her private life her face always looks so saggy..and when she appears for an event she looks fresh.
Whats her secret?
Simple and elegant.
Dull as dishwater.
she’s very pretty, but people can relate to her. another too-skinny girl in my opinion. but like all of us, sooner or later the weight will come on without even trying LOL
She looks so elegant, and her hair is gorgeous. I’m happy she is keeping it long – it suits her, and is luxurious. Great couple.
she looks beautiful and healthier. her make up looks less “racoonesque,” and her hair is beautiful and full! go kate!
They are going to have gigantic kids.
@ladybert62: DUDE! for real? have you ever heard of messianic judaism? Translation: jews that believe in Christ. 🙂
The College-girl hairstyle has to go. Either that or put it up. Does she use her hair like little kids use their blankets? Source of security and comfort?
Her hair is too long, too big, and all over her face. You almost can’t see her because of the big hair.
The dress is okay. But so very boring. Where’s the style? There are so many dresses that have more modern, youthful styles but still appear conservative. She looks like she’s a politician’s 40-year old wife supporting her husband while campaigning, instead of a 30-year old Duchess who’s being dubbed as a fashion icon by the media and public. There’s nothing trendsetting about her style. It’s all dull and conservative with no hint of style or detail. No flair or pizzazz. Her non-personality and lack of charisma don’t help.
Her dress also costs $450. I would never pay that kind of money for a dress that is so, so plain.
Still, it’s nice to see her out and about “working”, instead of shopping all the time.
I like Waity, but there are a few things I can’t help but notice about her (wait for it:). I sort of hate when women tear other women apart to make them selves feel better, so I won’t do that. However, it is obvious to me that she constantly wears eyeliner to hide the scar from her lower blepharoplasty, i.e. she had her eyes done. If you look at pictures pre-2007 and post 2007 she had a little tweaking done to remove some excess skin. I also think she narrowed the tip of her nose. Whatever, she looks great. But i can’t believe no one else has called her out on this – I suppose that means she has a great surgeon
I really like Kate, but not in this set of photos. She looks like she is hiding behind her mane of hair. It would look great pushed behind her shoulders instead of hanging around her face.
The dress is beautiful and classic and so are her shoes!
Why doesn’t anyone talk about her shoes?
She always has amazing and classic shoes.
Her hair is not too big or long.
The only thing I would change about it is add more curls and waves.
It’s one of her best features.
She lost weight but is holding her purse right where the belly would matter if she is pregnant.
She is so skinny that I doubt anyone will see anything until she is 4-5 month along.
But what’s with the cross?!
Seriously, it’s like she is trying to erase what we all know about the past decade and how the first met (she was “modeling a bra…).
Please.
No one is buying this sudden religious pious act.
i totally agree with dot: princess mary of denmark is the royal whose fashion sense should be emulated. mary’s outfit on dot’s link is similar in style but she’s accessorized in a way that shows character. kate: what is unique about you?
agree on too much (dated, younger woman) hair. it almost looks like she’s got a ruff on (as in giant stiff collars from the days of yore).
Morgfunk, She has been called out on the plastic surgery. There has been a lot of conversation on the net right after the engagement about the nose whittling and the lower eye job. It was done very well.
Here’s the thing about “royalty” (I could explain the quotation marks around that word, but it would take a while): If they aren’t visiting hospital openings & doing walkabout tours (you know, smiling & waving & reminding people that hey, there’s still a monarchy!), then people get angry because the “royals” aren’t “working.” But when they are “working,” then you sit back and realise just how useless their “work” is. The only useful thing they could really do is use their media power to point the spotlight at causes that are in desperate need of help. Example: Princess Di, for selfish or altruistic reasons (conflicting accounts there), used her media pull to say, “Hello, world, look at how horrible land mines are!” BOOM: We all look at how horrible land mines are, and steps are taken to do something about them. Some of the “royals” do this, to a greater or lesser extent. I’m still not sure if this justifies the use of huge amounts of taxpayer money to fund the lifestyles of these unbelievably out of touch, spoiled people, but it’s something, at any rate.
Think of all the people who toil for 40 or more hours a week to make a living. Then think about donning expensive clothing & showing up to wave and smile at a publicised event. Gosh… just the thought of putting on overpriced clothes, showing up to an event, waving, smiling, & making small talk is giving me the vapours.
Now I’m nostalgic for smelling salts.
Well said Nymeria.
Video of the event:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-william/8796683/Duke-of-Cambridge-races-from-rescue-mission-to-royal-engagement.html
From the video: William is warm and welcoming. Kate is awkward, insecure, and uncomfortable. It’s obvious that William has more experience meeting people from all walks of life, especially people with illnesses. He’s very comfortable in his surroundings. He wants to connect with people. His rolled up shirt sleeves showed he wanted comfort while interacting with others, instead of appearing ‘perfect’ for the cameras. He’s the one who goes to people and approaches them. He doesn’t wait for them to come to him. It’s his willingness to be close to others.
Kate, on the other hand, is more aloof and distant. She tries to appear warmer and kinder, but she’s not there yet. In one scene, William met other kids and their parents in the hall, and immediately greeted the kids. Kate just smiled and did nothing. William bent down on his knees, to one of the children’s level, to have their photo taken, while Kate stood in the background doing nothing. She could have spent that time making small talk with the dozen or so people in the hall, instead of just waiting for William to finish and then moving on.
And THE HAIR. Oh My God. THE HAIR. Every shot of Kate in the video, her face is covered by her hair. She keeps on touching it and pushing it back from her face. Why not put it up if she’d just keep on touching it? It prevents her from seeing people clearly and they, her; she can’t connect with people with her hair covering half of her face.
Kate didn’t know where to stand when pulling the curtain, and had to ask William what to do, and William had to direct her. These things are things that are discussed before the event, it’s protocol and proper organization. Did someone brief Kate on what to do at all?
Notice the smile she gave William after pulling the curtain. Her expression looked like one of “yearning”. She looked to William for his approval, like a little child would when he/she learned how to go to the potty by him/herself. It’s the same expression as saying, “Did you see what I did? I’m so happy! Aren’t you proud of me?”
I know royal life is hard, but if she’s truly getting Princess lessons, where are the results? She’s good at making small talk, but she doesn’t appear warm and engaging, IMO.
Sure, she looks nice in her boring dresses, but so far, there’s nothing more to her than a pretty face. No charisma, no personality, seemingly no people skills either. This is what happens when you don’t do anything but shop, party, and go on vacations for 10 years: you miss out on skills that should have started developing in your early 20s by working and meeting many people, like warmth, confidence, and charm.
She’s the commoner in the marriage, yet William has more warmth and the “common touch” and is able to connect to people better than Kate. It just makes it more obvious that Kate lived a very sheltered life before marrying William and she’s never had the experience of meeting people who are sick, impoverished, miserable, etc. so she doesn’t quite know what to do when attending these events except smile and be pretty.
I hope her Princess lessons are truly going well, because it’s just sad seeing a 30-year old woman who is still unsure of herself and doesn’t know how to interact properly with other people. She acted almost child-like in the video, very shy and uncertain and waiting for William’s cues.
She looks great – leave this poor bitch alone.
FUCK PIPPA
The dress looks like oatmeal, but she looks appropriate as always. No substance, but attractive.
Luise @34: I think William lost his looks starting about 10 years ago. He was such a beautiful teenager, but what an awkward transition into adulthood. And it’s not just the hair loss. Lots of balding men are very sexy. Not William.
Yuri: Good points. All the princess lessons in the world will not give this girl substance. There’s just no there there.
Yuri – She’s the commoner in the marriage, yet William has more warmth and the “common touch” and is able to connect to people better than Kate.
I don’t know why would this be weird. It’s completely normal. Williams has been meeting people he doesn’t know, shaking hands with them and chatting with them since he was a kid. Of course he is more natural at that. I doubt it has anything to do with Kate’s “sheltered life”. She needs time to get used to that. I know I would feel very uncomfortable been thrown in a room with a bunch of people I have never met and having to talk to them all the time. It’s a skill that William has been developing his whole life. It’s unfair to hold it against Kate and expect her to be natural at it just because she’s a commoner.
The dress is lovely, classic, appropriate, and boring.
@Mare: isn’t the ‘common touch’ one of the things that killed the Charles/Diana marriage. No one showed her what to do, she might have made a few mistakes, but she was charming from the beginning, drawing and approaching people in equal measure. Cruelly, on their mutual engagements, people would groan if they were stuck talking to Charles and would want to rush over to Diana. Charles, had been trained all his life, were as Diana was not…….Perhaps Kate should study the Diana walkabouts to learn. Incidentally, even though both William and Harry have been trained from birth, i think Harry is the one who inherited his mother’s charm
Wills is starting to look gaunt. As for vanilla Waity- meh.
I had great hopes for Kate after Canada but so far zilch. She landed Wills so she’s not Waity Katie anymore, more like Clingy Katie she can’t seem to do anything by herself but shop , there really is only one word to describe her ….. Bland
Aww I thought she looked plain old nervous in the video. I get extremely nervous when all eyes are on me. I act like she was acting–looking for signals of approval, involuntarily hunched shoulders and acting a little stand-offish, even when I don’t want to be. Perhaps it’s just a matter of personality type? ‘Cause I would have a COMPLETE NERVOUS BREAKDOWN if people scrutinized my hair, my weight, my eyeliner, my skin, my supposed plastic surgeries, my clothes, my shoes, my purses, my flicking my hair…ok, you get the idea!
Thanks for posting the video, btw.
Damn that eyeliner!! It has to be that permanent-tattoo crap. She still looks too thin but she may as well rock the tighter dresses while she still can.
Yawn, wake me when this woman becomes newsworthy. Royalty in 2011 is just dumb. The whole concept is archaic. They have done nothing to warrant or deserve their lifestyle.
I can’t believe there is no public outcry to get rid of these overbred nitwits. Especially when people can’t even find decent jobs to feed their own families. Yet, this fool shops like she’s Marie Antoinette 2.0. Why don’t we bring back public beheadings we are at it.
I am not a raging monarchist, but, whether or not people like her hair, her makeup, her clothes or her personality, she is still William’s wife, and that is the choice he has made. The rest of us just have to live with it. Ripping her to shreds over eyeliner and what shoes she has on is not constructive and serves no purpose. No, she is not super confident in her role yet, but she will grow into it. I wouldn’t be her for anything. I’m just speculating, but there will be baby news before her 30th birthday. I’d bet money on it.
It isn’t her personal fault that Royalty in the 21st century is absurd, so I tend to give her a pass on the existential level.
Her hair is driving me crazy, though! I haven’t had my hair long very much in my life, but I recall wearing it BEHIND my shoulders to keep it out of my way and not overwhelm my face. These days I am forever noticing people keeping their hair in FRONT (Duchess Biscuits, Miley Cyrus, any teen Disney or Nick girl come to mind) and I just don’t get it.
I don’t know why I think this, but I get the feeling that Wills really likes her hair down and that is why she wears it the way she does. I also think the “college girl” thing is part of it — they probably still sort of think of themselves as college age, not early middle age.
I agree with you who say: boring, uninteresting, lack of charisma…
One more thing: Why does she look so old?
She exactly didn’t overwork herself – she is no single working mother of three.
Luise: you’re right, I googled it, her plastic surgery is sort of old non-news, as she’d never confirm it.
NYC_Girl: hilarious, you think the Duchess got the perma chola eyeliner…She might have! I’ve never seen her without in in the past 3 years, lol! That shiz is heavy duty, it’s never smudged or smeared. If it’s not permanent I bet she applies it before prince Willy wakes up, then gets back into bed.
I could never live like that. The upside of being a peasant I suppose
The surgery thing is interesting.
http://www.goodplasticsurgery.com/2010/11/17/queen-kate-is-indeed-great/
Although it’s really hard to tell because they did not choose good pictures to compare from.
But her nose does look a bit stumpy before
http://tinyurl.com/665chvq
compared to her nose now
The surgery thing is interesting.
http://www.goodplasticsurgery.com/2010/11/17/queen-kate-is-indeed-great/
It’s really hard to tell because she did not choose good photos to compare from, although her nose did look knobbier before
@Yuri
You’ve spent waaaay to much time analysing the visit. William was literally born into his role and his first public engagement at 12. But if you want to compare his performance to Kate’s, to find her lacking, don’t let balance and objectivity to stand in your way.
@Anne
Kate’s a Christian. Why shouldn’t she wear a cross? and I very much doubt the wife of the second in line to the British throne would be wearing a cheap mass produced crucifix made in China, if thats what you want to criticise her for.
@Nymeria
Where to start? I work 40 hours a week, but I don’t have a million bitchy bloggers ready to rip apart my appearance, my love of eyeliner, beige pumps or long hair every time I step outside my house. I’m also not married into the British royal family and subject to constant and unending pressure until the day I die. I don’t think all the money and nice clothes in the world would make that a fair swap – Kate’s not it for the fame, she’s in it because she loves William. Lets not forget that. And incidentally, Princess Diana was talking about land mines in the last year of her life, when she was outside the royal family, and had a degree of freedom about what causes she could promote. Kate is a newlywed, and has to tread carefully.
Give her a break.
She’s trying, I’ll give her that, but in the end she comes off as a very insecure woman who is largely focused on herself. I’m sure she’s under a lot of pressure, it’s obvious.
I like her simplicity..the way she dresses up and acts reflects the kind of personality she has..
Lovely!
Ok…did someone look closely at the photos of this couple before they were married and now, an year later. Takes so much PR to make them look from cute young like to dance the night away into this couple that first of all aged 10 years in one year. Whomever does the pr for them removed all trace of personality this couple had. All together! Seriously i think that the pr people couldn’t remove the smile cause that’s all is left from them. Why do people forget this is a young couple, that needs clothing with color and allowed to live their royal life the way they want. they seem very genuine, he looks like he is ready for the big job and i believe he will be fair and kind. she loves him but clearly she is submissive and focused on him and her. And you know what if William likes that why not? But for God’s sake let them be young. You can dress nice and still be decent stylish and don’t bother “grandma”. Yikes all around the world for the bad bad choice in clothing. They look dated! And its not their choice!