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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How Kate Will Spend Valentine's Day Without William, Official Solo Engagements, News On The Cambridge Puppy and More

Good evening Kate fans,
I have some exciting news to share with you regarding Kate's first solo engagements but before we move on to that I am glad to report Prince William had landed safely in the Falklands. Flight Lieutenant William Wales arrived at RAF Mount Pleasant at 5.20 pm London time after an eighteen hour flight. The Minisitry of defence said 

"Ministry of Defence can confirm Flight lieutenant Wales, as part of a 4 man search and rescue crew, has arrived in the Falklands on a routine operational deployment and will shortly take up search and rescue duties post a period of briefings and a familiarisation flight".

Prince William's six week tour of duty will no doubt be a difficult time for Kate. I must admit I feel incredibly sorry for Kate. I know I would find it immensely difficult to be separated from my boyfriend for such a duration and Kate has the added pressure of royal duties and being in the public eye. A time she needs William's support more than ever. Last summer when Kate met a military wife she said

"I don't know how you manage. I miss William so much when he's away. He went once for four weeks and I missed him so much".

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Kate's solo engagements begin next Wednesday (February 8th) with a visit to the Lucien Freud exhibition at the National Portrait Museum. I think this is an ideal choice for Kate's first solo role. As an Art History graduate she will already be sufficiently prepared and has paid visits to the museum last Autumn.

I would imagine Valentine's Day will be a challenging day for Kate, considering it's William and Kate's first Valentine's Day as a married couple. Kate will be keeping herself very busy with three engagements scheduled in Liverpool for February 14th. As patron of Action On Addiction the Duchess will visit alcohol free bar The Brink.

Later that day Kate will pay a visit to the Ronald McDonald House. A house at Alder Hey hospital which provides accommodation for sick children and their families. Kate will also visit the hospital itself. Duchess Kate's kind personality is going to shine through at these engagements and I think we're going to get to know her a little better too :)

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It has been revealed by Clarence House, William and Kate's adorable three month old puppy is a cocker spaniel. The playful pup comes from a litter bred by Carole Middleton who adores the breed. The Middletons have a cocker spaniel called Ella who could be the mother of the puppy.The puppy is the couple's first pet together and replaces Prince William's black labrador, Widgeon who died a couple of years ago. The couple do not wish for the dogs name to be revealed.

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Sources (Alder hey Hospital, National Portrait Museum, People, The Daily Express, Twitter)

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