Bringing cheer wherever she goes! Duchess Kate stunned in bright emerald separates while bonding with families at the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices on Tuesday, January 24, in Quidenham, England.
The royal mom of two, who shares Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, 20 months, with her husband, Prince William, teamed the jewel-toned number by Hobbs (currently sold out) with a white Gerard Darel blouse with a Peter Pan collar and contrasting black stitching (about $131, gerarddarel.com). She finished the ensemble with black stilettos.
As the royal patron of EACH, the duchess, 34, was greeted by 40 schoolchildren, one of whom, Nell, presented her with a bouquet of posies. Four-year-old Nell’s brother Finnbar received care from the Quidenham center due to an inoperable brain tumor, but died last year.
Duchess Kate met with many families at the hospital, including Nell’s. “She gave us a hug and said thank you for doing this,” Nell’s father, Tristan Cook, shares. “I think she was really trying to put herself in our situation. In the space of six months, we had to watch [Finnbar] go from being a healthy 5-year-old, going to school, to watch him become so unwell.”
Nell’s mom, Claire Cook, added, “She said to me, ‘I’m a mum and I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.’ She had lots of questions.” Claire explained that EACH not only took care of Finnbar, but also provided support for their entire family after her son’s passing. “Without EACH, our journey would have been very different,” she said.
Later the duchess met with donors and volunteers, during which time she confessed that her first speech as a royal, which was for EACH, was “terrifying.” She then sat in on an art therapy session in a room stocked with plastic dinosaurs, where she quipped, apparently referencing he own children, “I can see these going down very well with someone I know!”
One mother, Michaela, noted, “[The duchess] was very down-to-earth and happy to sit with [my daughter] Isabella.” (Isabella has epilepsy.) But it was Michaela’s other daughter, Daisy, who couldn’t get enough of the royal. “Daisy asked her what it was like to be a real princess, and Kate said she’s very well-looked after by her husband,” Michaela shared. “Daisy is 4 and absolutely loves princesses.”
