Duchess Kate To Begin First Official Solo Engagements Next Month And Will Begin With Lucian Freud Exhibition + Collette Dinnigan S/S 2012

January has been an unusually quiet month for Duchess Kate in terms of appearances and royal engagements. As Prince William is preparing for his imminent deployment to the Falklands, I had thought this dry spell would continue but it seems the Duchess is eager to immerse herself in royal life while William is away. Clarence House has announced Kate will officially begin her solo engagements next month. 

"The Duchess will have a handful of engagements while the Duke is away. She will visit all her patronages publicly at least once and continue to visit them privately. It will be a busy period. The reason she chose so few charities is that she wants to get to know them all intimately".

To recap on Kate's choice of charities please Click Here. 

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It is expected Kate's first official solo engagement will take place at the National Portrait Museum where the Duchess will tour n exhibition of the late Lucian Freud's portrait paintings. Freud who passed away last summer aged 88 was the grandson of Sigmund Freud. The exhibition known as 'People in my life' will feature over 100 works fro museums all over the world. As an Art History graduate, Kate will be familiar and will no doubt appreciate the technical virtuosity of his work. The exhibitions open February 9th, You can find all booking details Here.

A Royal aide said

"The Duchess, as a patron of the National Portrait Museum, will take an active interest - publicly and privately - in all aspects of the gallery's work. While the Duke is away, she is fully intending on using those six weeks to do nothing but work and will visit her patronages and undertake a number of engagements in support of the Royal family".

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I'm delighted we will be seeing the Duchess engaging with her patronages. As you all know I'm also very excited to see which designers she will choose for these engagements. (Yes, I'm always thinking of the fashion possibilities :)) I couldn't help but notice how simply beautiful the Collette Dinnigan Spring/Summer 2012 collection is. Collette is one of Kate's favourite designers and is becoming a household name worldwide.

 Both Nicole Kidman and Rachel McAdams chose a delicate nude and black lace, knee length, off the shoulder dress from the collection recently and I think it would be perfect for Kate. If it was full length it would be an ideal piece for an evening reception.

Duchess Kate adores lace detailing and no one designs lace dresses quite like Collette. These feminine, delicate pieces are very Kate.

The detailing and structuring on these dresses is stunning.

The strapless, blue evening gown is my personal favourite piece in the collection. What's yours?

With minor alterations these black pieces would be perfect for a Duchess!

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I will update as soon as the exact date for Kate's engagements are announced. Hope you all had a great weekend :)

Sources (Daily Mail, Trisha What Kate Wore FB, The Telegraph, Colette Dinnigan)

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Duchess Kate Performs First Official Solo Engagement At The National Portrait Gallery

The Duchess of Cambridge carried out her first official solo engagement tonight, visiting one of her patronages The National Portrait Gallery to view the Lucian Freud Exhibition.

Socialite

Lucian Freud is widely considered the best figurative artist of his generation. This exhibition entitled 'The People In My Life' is being described as a fitting farewell to Freud who died last year. Insightful paintings of the people closest to him demonstrate the drama and depth to his work. Featuring over 100 works from museums and private collections throughout the world, the exhibition is being hailed as the event of the year. Officially opening to the public tomorrow, you can book tickets here.

"I've always wanted to create drama in my pictures, which is why I paint people. It's people who have brought drama to pictures from the beginning. The simplest human gestures tell stories".

                                                                                                                                    Lucian Freud

Kate told photographer Mary McCarthy (daughter of Paul McCartney) she has been looking up her work and was hugely impressed by it.  Kate toured the gallery and admired the collection of portraits, As an Art History graduate, Kate will be familiar with Freud's style.

AP

Kate decided to choose a different designer for this occasion. Wearing a beautiful tweed, grey dress coat with a large shawl collar, designed by Joyce Stewart from Jesiré. Jesiré is a high street label stocked in department stores, but unfortunately this is one Kate piece fans won't be able to get their hands on as Jesiré went into liquidation last year. Kate bought the dress in 2010 for the sale price of £60. Kate was the picture of understated elegance. I love this look and there's something rather 1950s about the silhouette. What do you think?

Kate wore her chic Jimmy Choos Cosmic Suede Pumps. Kate previously wore them to the Millies. They are available for €525 and are described as

"These black suede, almond toed Jimmy Choo's cosmic shoes are five inches high with a one inch platform. Jimmu Choo's black suede pumps provide a chic foundation to any outfit".

Kate accessorised with her black suede clutch and a detailed belt. 

For jewellery Kate chose her Asprey pendant and her diamond bracelet and earrings (With many thanks to My Small Obsessions)

Tonight's engagement is one of many for Kate this year. On June 4th, The Duchess will attend The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert. Artists from every decade of the Queen's reign will perform. Stars Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, JLS, Elton John, Shirley Bassey and Cliff Richard have been confirmed to play at the historic event organised by one of Kate's favourite singers, Gary Barlow. The concert will take place outside the front gates of Buckingham Palace. Now for the really exciting part... 10,000 free tickets will be available via ballot until March 2. For more information on the tickets Click Here.

 A look at the spectacular stage....

Sources (Socialite, Daylife, Twitter, Daily Mail, )

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The Duchess of Cambridge's patronages to include helping children, the Arts and becoming a scout volunteer!

It has been officially announced that the Duchess of Cambridge has become patron of four charities. Kate's choices include the arts, utilising her Art History degree and helping children. The lucky four are Oxford based charity The Art Room, The National Portrait Gallery, Action on Addiction and  East Anglia's Children's Hospices. Kate will undetake her first official visits shortly with the first one expected to be within the next eight weeks. St James' Palace said


"The Duchess of Cambridge considers it an honour to be associated with her patronages and is very much looking forward to getting stuck in. Of her four patronages two were selected from letter sent to St James' and the other two through research. Action on Addiction was chosen because as she visited young people's charities almost everyone working in the field pointed to addiction as a major problem and she wanted to help highlight that. More organisations will follow but she wanted to pick a few she can get involved with on a regular basis'.


While in Anglesey Kate will also volunteer privately as a scout with UK Scouting. The palace were eager to stress that William and Kate want to give something back to Anglesey. The Queen is a patron of the scouts and will be pleased to see Kate getting involved.

As an ex brownie, Kate is already well prepared.

Despite her high profile name Kate had to undergo a criminal records check. It is expected Kate will help to supervise games and go on weekend camps. She will also wear the standard uniform, a polo shirt and scarf.


The scout shirt, I can see Kate making this a fashion must have :) (With thanks to WKW FB)

Let's find out a little more about Kate's choices as we will be seeing her working with them in the future. The Art Room is an Oxford based charity aimed at helping 5-16 year olds experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties. They currently have five school and offer art therapy as a means of helping to increase children's self esteem and sense of independence. 

Kate made a private visit to The Art Room in November dressed casually. Kate obviously took this decision very seriously and it was months in the planning.

Kate also spent time researching her next choice, The National Portrait Gallery. Kate was spotted spending an afternoon taking a tour of the gallery last September. The gallery is a splendid choice for Kate, as an Art History student Kate can appreciate the fact it has the most extensive collection of portraits in the world. Founded in 1856 the aim of the gallery is to 


'promote through the medium of portraits the appreciation and understanding of the men and women who have made and are making British history and culture, and to promote the appreciation and understanding of portraiture in all media'.

Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots

Kate is eager to use her role for good and her next choice reveals how in touch the Duchess is with social problems. Action on Addiction aims to help people with addiction problems through prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, support for families, education and workforce development. Sadly one in three people suffer from addiction, often in silence. With a high profile figure like Kate supporting this cause hopefully more people will open up and the charity will get the vital support it needs.

Kate's final choice is one that touched my heart. The East Anglia's Children's Hospices known as EACH, supports families and cares for children with life threatening or serious conditions across Norfolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. EACH needs to raise around £4.8 million in public donations to continue providing the service needed. These essential service which include therapies and home care are simply vital. When Kate visited the hospice a thirteen year old girl grabbed her by the hand and took her to the play room, Kate took off her shoes to play on the mats.

The hospice is always planning exciting new projects and ways to improve the service offered to children. They are currently fundraising for a new play area. 

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'Kind' Duchess Kate promises to visit cancer patient's blog and pays a visit to the National Portrait Gallery + Reiss sale

I think we all agree William and Kate's visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital yesterday was a triumphant success. Meeting the Duchess was a little extra special for one patient. Nine year old Fabian Bate and his family were thrilled to meet the Cambridge's. William told him he is so brave and hey both seemed genuinely sad about his situation. Fabian went on to tell Kate about his blog. Kate instantly replied "I'll look that up and post a message". The Bate family hailed Kate as 'kind' and were taken aback at how interested she was. "She asked lots of questions. And sounded like she would post on the blog". A very touching gesture on behalf of Kate which obviously means so much to Fabian. I do think Kate connects with children so well. I will update as soon as Kate posts a message for Fabian.

Kate with Fabian Bate

Duchess Kate has been spotted out and about quite frequently this week.  Kate spent Wednesday afternoon touring the contemporary collection with curators in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Kate graduated with a degree in Art History from St. Andrews  so she wasn't afraid to ask lots of questions nor was she fazed by a more controversial piece, Marc Quinn's, 'Self' a self portrait cast of the artist's head made from his own blood then frozen. (Certainly doesn't sound like a typical afternoon for the Duchess :))

A source said

"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. She had her hair up, completely pulled into a twist in the back".

While Kate was unfazed by Marc Quinn's blood head, I must say I was quite startled when I saw it first :) What do you think?

Moving on...........

Despite the excellent weather London has been enjoying over the past few days, Kate went shopping in Hobbs on Sloane Square for a winter coat earlier this week. The Duchess purchased the brown Unlimited Cleste Flared Coat for £369.

"Wrap up this Autumn in this stunning double crepe wool coat. In a sumptuous seasonal chestnut brown, this coat subtly flares from the hips. It's given an on trend toughened edge thanks to the leather stud fastening cuff straps and waisted belt"

Finally for those of you who love Kate's style, One of her favourite labels Reiss has a 10% off sale for today only. If you're interested Click Here!

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