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.

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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.

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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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Kate takes on her first patronage, poll results, McQueen and more

Duchess Kate has certainly been making the headlines over the past few days hence I have plenty of news to share with you today. After the couples visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital it was formally decided at a meeting of the board of trustees that Kate would become patron of The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. The foundation set up in 2009 raises funds for the Princes favourite charities. Duchess Kate has been working closely with the foundation since her wedding. It is also thought the foundation will be renamed in the future to reference Kate's involvement. Prince William said 


"We believe that it will provide a unique opportunity for us to use our privileged position to make a real difference in the many areas of charitable work. We feel passionately that, working closely together with those who contribute to our foundation, we can help to make a long lasting and tangible difference"


The three primary areas of focus are young people, the environment and the armed forces. Duchess Kate is reportedly very keen to support the arts also. I think this was the perfect choice for Kate. She will have the support of William throughout her work with the foundation. I look forward to seeing how Kate's participation and influence further extends the excellent work the foundation does. 

I'm sure you were all following Paris Fashion Week. I suspect Kate had her eye on one show in particular......... After designing the dress of the decade Sarah Burton unveiled the McQueen  Spring/Summer 2012 collection which is radically different from anything we could picture Kate wearing.  One model had her face entirely encrusted with shards of black jet and polished ivory shell and a low cut black chiffon dress with open laced corsetry. The word 'bondage' has been most frequently used when describing these pieces. I think we can safely assume Duchess Kate will not be wearing these pieces to her upcoming royal engagements :)

Burton seemed entirely taken aback at the suggestion the collection was intended to shock simply saying "I just wanted it to feel light" Burton has been praised for adding a feminine touch to McQueen. The raised waist was an exaggerated empire line of ruffles.

McQueen has always been a risk taker, Inspiring trends no one else could. The looks on display are quite a departure from anything Kate has worn, However I was always whenever Kate would wear a McQueen piece, as she would look classic, simple and elegant. 

Despite the 'edgy nature' of the collection. There are pieces I can see being altered for Kate to wear. I believe her fashion relationship with Sarah Burton will be a long and successful one!

The Royal wedding may have been almost six months ago but news about it's influence has been everywhere in recent days. Brides are buying two wedding dresses instead of one. Like Kate they wish to have a fairytale gown with a train for the service and a lighter gown for dancing and enjoying the reception. I often feel Kate's evening dress didn't quite get the praise it deserved. It was absolutely stunning.

Speaking of Kate's evening dress, the bolero she wore with it has been setting yet another trend. The angora knit brought a softness to the look. Not only brides wish to purchased one but women in general want to update their wardrobe with this simple yet chic item.

The enormously successful exhibit featuring Kate's wedding dress at Buckingham Palace finished up yesterday. Since July more than 600,000 people came to see a glimpse of the dress encased in glass. (The Queen memorable thought the display was horrid :)) The number of visitors is record breaking compared to other years. It is estimated to have raised almost ten million pounds. Before the display, the all time highest number of visitors was 420,000 in 1994I was reading through the wonderful, What Kate Wore Facebook Page when I saw this photo of what appeared to be Duchess Kate with Elton John and his baby. Excellent lookalikes and almost very convincing :)

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for voting on the poll. "Do you think Kate should appear in Vogue". 78% of you felt Kate should not appear in the magazine while 21% felt she should because she is a style icon. Interesting results! In the meantime Kate will continue to grace the cover of numerous magazines such as the current issue of Hello.

I expect we shall see Kate relatively soon as she begins her work with the foundation!

Sources (Prince of Wales.co.uk, Clarence House Via Twitter, style.com, Hello, What Kate Wore Facebook Page,)

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