Duchess Kate in green Catherine Walker on St. Patrick’s Day: lovely or matronly?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge present shamrocks to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards

I am one of those people who think that the Duchess of Cambridge just looks so much better when she’s pregnant. She seems happier (pregnancy hormones?) and her face is fuller, which gives her a youthful radiance. I’m not sure she’s ever looked this happy to put shamrocks on a wolfhound on St. Patrick’s Day. These are photos from the annual Irish Guards event, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are supposed to pass out shamrocks to Domhnall, the Irish wolfhound mascot of the Irish Guards. Kate hasn’t always been so keen – in 2016, she noticeably and notably skipped out on the event for no real reason, even though Kensington Palace tried to make several dumb excuses after the fact. Kate was criticized quite heavily after skipping out, so obviously, she’s been keen to do this annual event last year and this year.

For this year’s event, Kate wore a new maternity coat from Catherine Walker. I have two big opinions all at once. One, I think this Walker coat is actually really nice and flattering and a good length. Two, I think the non-maternity version of this would look 100% at home on the Duchess of Cornwall. Like, it’s sort of dowdy and it would look great on a 70-year-old woman, but Kate’s bump and her glowing, youthful face makes it seem less dowdy. (In truth, the hairstyle isn’t helping matters AT ALL.) Per tradition, William and Kate were offered a pint of Guinness. Only William partook. Kate toasted the holiday with water. I also tried to choose some glamour shots of the real star, Domhnall.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visit the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at the St. Patrick's Day Parade at Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow, West London to present shamrocks to the officers and gu

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge present shamrocks to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge present shamrocks to the 1st Battalion Irish Guards

Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News.

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114 Responses to “Duchess Kate in green Catherine Walker on St. Patrick’s Day: lovely or matronly?”

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  1. magnoliarose says:

    I love that dog. They would have to drag me away from him because I would get stuck petting and chatting. He’s the best part!

    • still_sarah says:

      Yes, he is the BEST part. And he looks like he is totally over it – “Really, that Duchess again? OK, fine, I’ll do it but don’t forget to give me extra biscuits tonight!”

    • Milla says:

      The dog won. But Kate does look nice, although doggo stole my heart.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      Love Domhnall the mascot, he looks so over this, always does.

    • MissMarierose says:

      Domhnall is not keen. But he’s still a good dog.

    • Lahdidahbaby says:

      Love. Love love LOVE Domhnall.

      And Kate looks nice, coat is a lovely shade of green, etc., but I’m not understanding the hair. I usually like her up-dos, but this one is so weird. That bulge above the chignon — it looks like the back of her head is pregnant, too.

    • anon14 says:

      The doggie is so cute!!!

  2. Cher says:

    Kate does look nice her and always looks healthy and radiant.

    • Alix says:

      She actually looks happy to be there. THIS is the Duchess of Cambridge we’ve been waiting for, Kate!

    • SK says:

      Yes and I really love her hair. In truth I have no problem with her hair being down (as long as it is nicely styled) but people are are constantly complaining that her hair should be up and here it is – up in an incredibly elegant, chic style and now that makes her look old? [shrug] I think she looks lovely here and the hair is great.

  3. WMGDtoo says:

    She looks so lovely pregnant. Looks like she really takes care of herself. Not gaining too much weight. Her face is fuller and it softens her somewhat to me.

    • Princessk says:

      Kate does look lovely, she looks very good in that outfit. I do wish you had put up the picture with her mouth wide open laughing while she was receiving a salute.

      http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/17/13/4A473D2600000578-5512723-image-m-59_1521292214195.jpg

      If Meghan had done this she would have been slated and a petition started to stop her marrying Harry.

      • whatever says:

        In fairness, the guy in the picture was trying to contain his grin while saluting. Perhaps they saw something amusing happen a few seconds before?.

      • Princessk says:

        I am not blaming Kate for laughing, its just that Meghan would be deemed unfit to be a royal if she did that. Why?

    • Natalia says:

      Lovely AND Matronly.

      Kate looks matronly because she IS matronly at this point. EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT. Ferchrissakes! Is she not supposed to look matronly at this point?

      Also, she looks amazing in this getup. Her hair is perfect for the outfit. Why in the world do a lot of people take issue with literally everything about this woman? She can’t wear her hair down. She can’t wear her hair up. She can’t wear it any which way without someone taking issue. I UNDERSTAND she’s blah in person, I GET she’s not into the job a lot of the time. But she looks good here.

      I just don’t get it.

      • CeeCee says:

        I agree – she looks gorgeous, and it’s hard not to look a bit matronly while 8 months pregnant She’s doing great.

      • SK says:

        Yeah I think the hair is lovely and super elegant. I also like her hair down. I don’t get the constant hair criticisms. I don’t love her style a lot of the time (and sometimes I think she knocks it out of the park) but I don’t get the heavy critiques of absolutely everything either. Even when her style isn’t great it isn’t necessary to rip every detail apart. Also, I know people who have met her at events and they all said she was warm, friendly and engaged and did a great job. So I think this idea that she is blah and not into the job when at events is a bit of a myth based around the fact that she is not Diana and doesn’t have Diana’s one-of-a-kind charisma. I think Kate and William need to work a LOT harder (they are a year older than me and there’s just no excuse to be this lazy –
        even with young kids); but I believe when they are at events that the people there are usually very happy with their performance.

  4. the better bella says:

    Does the jacket look thin to anyone else?

    • magnoliarose says:

      Yes. It hangs strangely at the bottom, and the material doesn’t look high quality. I noticed that too. The color suits her though.

  5. Lolo86lf says:

    She looks great in that color.

  6. lightpurple says:

    I’m just here for Domhnall!

  7. xena says:

    It is a bit nasty, but a part of me is looking forward to all this articles in the years to come, where it will be mentioned that she skipped 2016 just because she wanted to. This really really stuck in people’s heads and it feels like the journalist are enjoying to keep that information present. I am pretty sure, she will do it again, just wonder when? Classic example of how to draw attention away from an event.

    • Shotcaller says:

      According to people who claim to know Kate had a rough go of it after George was born. High strung for days then depressed for days. the labor and delivery were extremely difficult and word is she had a terrible time recovering physically and psychologically. That’s supposedly the real reason her mother was around so much. Kate was trying to get William to give more of a damn from what I hear but it was a talk he had with Zara that did the trick, apparently. She was fine after she got pregnant with Charlotte. I think pregnancy hormones balance her out.

      • Megan S says:

        @Shotcaller – that is an interesting theory and certainly sounds like it could have been a contributing factor. However, at this point in the mythology there will be no reason put forth that will ever considered plausible unless it runs along the lines of laziness, petulance and complete disregard.

      • Natalie S says:

        @Megan S, It’s because there’s a track record. Your past actions inform the way other people think of you. We all have to deal with that.

        I believe Kate had a difficult time of it when George was born in 2015. Apparently something was wrong with the portions of food he was getting and I think they found out that he kept crying because he was hungry. I believe William was not great. There’s a picture of Kate from around then where she’s clearly exhausted while William looks fine.

        In 2016, we were told she didn’t want expectations made that she would do it every year and then stepped out to do an engagement the next day. It’s another example of the bad management around them because who in the right mind would say something like that about an event to support the military?

        People are very quick to want to defend Kate and William but they are making real mistakes and just defending them doesn’t fix that.

      • JustBitchy says:

        George was born in 2013

      • Nic919 says:

        She got her hair done instead of going to it in 2016 which is why she was criticized. And I don’t see how George’s birth in 2013 would affect an appearance in 2016.

      • Megan S says:

        @ Natalie –
        I have no defense for either one of them – I was merely pointing out that there will never be an explanation put forth that will be accepted as fact if it is contradictory to the laziness theme.

        I love that there are a few very invested Royal watchers on this site and I love, love, love it when those in the know bring the historical references to the discussion (and don’t get me started on tiara threads). After reading these threads and those commenters for so long, my opinion is that W&K do exactly the amount of work expected of them by the family. Yes, the public expects more and this website expects much more….but does the Queen or Charles?

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        Well if she was having such a rough go of it to miss this event then why did she go and get her hair coloured the day of the event only to show up with a new do at another event a few days later, looking all groomed and happy. There were a couple of theory’s at the time, first one was that she didn’t go because she didn’t want to, the other was that he (William) didn’t want her to go as he needed the good press and didn’t want her to take media focus away from him. William is his fathers son in so many ways.

        And yes she did struggle with George for the first few months, that much was obvious and something they both hinted at at the time. He didn’t support her as he wasn’t there.

      • magnoliarose says:

        I think Natalie S meant Charlotte. Kate does look run down after giving birth. I don’t judge for that. I had to learn after my first how to manage my nutrition and sleep, and I tried to work which meant doubling up on exercise. Fortunately, I don’t get the hormonal drops that cause emotional issues, but I really do believe she does.
        I can’t imagine William is especially sensitive or helpful at those times.
        I side eye Carole for many things, but if Kate were my daughter, I would be in full protective mother mode and want her with me in such a circumstance. I think her mother tries to compensate, but that is a band-aid and not a long term solution.

      • Natalie S says:

        Aaah. In case anyone is still looking: I totally got the timeline wrong. I was thinking of the pic of Kate with the center part and the engagement was on a bus. That was when George was a baby.

        @Megan S. Sorry about the super late reply. I don’t know if it’s about more work versus doing the type of work Charles and the Queen want. -So, for Charles that would have meant the Prince’s Trust and maybe the Queen also had her preferences. Also, probably be more involved than making appearances.

    • Malificent says:

      I think the smart maneuver would have been for William to take Charlotte, assuming that she wasn’t frightened of crowds at that age. Would have kept the tradition of a female in the family attending, made for some cute optics, and alleviated some of the noise that William is an uninvolved parent.

      • magnoliarose says:

        Have you sent them your bill for some excellent advice? lol You are right. The optics would have been lovely. Charlotte is such a dumpling with so much personality. I like seeing her.

    • notasugarhere says:

      It also sticks in peoples heads because their lies were so blatant. The Palace told the press the week before that she wasn’t going to show up. She didn’t want to set the expectation that she would show up every year.

      After that got out, the spin followed she wanted to spend time with the kids before a tour. More spin (especially from fans) that she just *had* to be at a St Patricks Day event at George’s school.

      As written above, she spent the day at the salon.

  8. minx says:

    Love the color on her. She looks happy and healthy; that baby is coming soon.

  9. Nic919 says:

    The side photos show that her blush is so poorly applied. It looks like a rash. Come on. How can she not know how to properly apply it by now?

    The dog is super cute though.

    • Merritt says:

      She likely has pregnancy mask.

    • Amy Too says:

      Was just going to say that. That is one HARSH contour line. I think she wears a lot of makeup.

    • Brandy Alexander says:

      See, now – I think they’ve been doing the same thing to Meghan recently, and I just don’t get it. These are both beautiful women. The royal makeup artists must secretly hate these women.

  10. Sullivan says:

    Kate looks happy to be there. In fact, she’s looked quite happy for some time now. Maybe if she’s been enjoying her work as much as it seems, she’ll be inclined to do more.

    • whatever says:

      Whatever is making her so happy recently I hope it stay after she has had her baby.

  11. Rumi says:

    Love this shade of green. Either she dresses too twee or too old. You can do modem and classy, look at Tilda Swinton.

  12. Natalie S says:

    Okay, it’s her hair and she can do whatever she wants.

    That said, why is there a random bump of hair on the back of her head? I don’t understand it. What kind of hairstyle is that?

  13. Beluga says:

    She always looks so much happier and healthier while pregnant. All the more impressive since she’s always suffering from severely terrible HG at the same time.

    I hope the backlash two years ago when they skived the event spooked the two of them enough that they will be present every year from now on. It may have given them a clue that the public’s goodwill towards them isn’t infinite.

    • Nic919 says:

      She clearly hasn’t been suffering from HG in the last few months because otherwise she would look like death and be hospitalized. Kate’s HG always seems to last about six to eight weeks in the first trimester when everyone else gets regular morning sickness. And then she gets better. The pattern has been the same for all three pregnancies. I would be more impressed if Kate worked a 40 hour week while pregnant as basically every other pregnant woman in the world is required to do.

      • Beluga says:

        There may have been an itsy bitsy hint of sarcasm in my comment… 😉

        Expecting Kate to work full time is fruitless. It’s never ever going to happen, so I’ll be super generous and settle for Kate matching Sophie’s schedule – Sophie being married to the 9th in line rather than the 2nd and having a truly horrible pregnancy experience that nearly killed her and the baby. Shouldn’t be too high a bar to clear, right?

      • Nic919 says:

        Missed the sarcasm.. because sadly there are many who wouldn’t have been sarcastic. She hasn’t matched Sophie’s numbers yet and considering Sophie almost died while giving birth to Louise and she still did more engagements that year than Kate ever has, I don’t expect much improvement. The bar is so low for Kate it is buried underground.

      • notasugarhere says:

        And Sophie was still running her PR business on the side during all of that.

  14. Cara says:

    Kate always looks pretty, so there is that. However, I’m of the opinion this coat, plus those shoes and tights, are not the best look. I can see the queen wearing it. She is dressing 30 years older than her age.

  15. Merritt says:

    I’m pretty sure this coat is a repeat from the recent tour in Norway and Sweden.

    • Plantpal says:

      I sure hope so! A new, bespoke coat for this event, this close to the end of her pregnancy, would be pretty cheeky

      • whatever says:

        It is the same coat first worn in Sweden. The hat, shoes, gloves, earrings and the detachable faux fur bits are also repeats, if anyone is interested knowing this.

    • JustBitchy says:

      Yes it is. Was worn in Stockholm

    • LizB says:

      Yup! She wore it while in Sweden.

  16. Naptime says:

    She looks so much like Charlotte in the photo taken in the pub.

  17. Lauri says:

    I love the fit of Domhnall’s coat! The color really flatters his fur color and the cut shows off his long limbs to perfection! And look gold buttons!!! Domhnall is truly a fashion icon!! Oh yeah, I guess Kate’s coat was fine too.

  18. Citresse says:

    Kate looks lovely.
    With regard to due date my guess is early April.

    • Adele Dazeem says:

      Agreed. She has really popped out these last few weeks

      • Citresse says:

        W&K have a long history playing with the press so baby due dates especially included. George and Charlotte were probably not late babies. I’m guessing baby boy will arrive between 5-11 April and name will be Albert.

  19. Ladiabla says:

    Yes, she looks really pretty in the photo with William. Pregnancy def agrees with her. I hope she doesn’t go back to super thin after the baby is born. She looks better with a bit more weight on her.

    • Lauri says:

      I agree Ladiabla and hope that she doesn’t become super thin again but sadly I think she will.

      • Nancy says:

        Blame it on society. Blame it on the designers, but thin is always the goal. Forget about health and all that inconsequential nonsense…….it’s not how you feel, it’s how you look. Don’t believe me, ask Kim, Kourtney, Kylie and and every Hollywood starlet who posts a pic a month after giving birth thinner than before. The end….

      • LAK says:

        Nancy: In her case, i blame it on William before fashion / society. It’s pretty clear that William likes tall, willowy women. Every single one woman he has dated, had a fling with, one nighter is tall and willowy with the exception of one and that was very brief indeed.

        Kate is not naturally thin, but she has become progressively thinner the longer she is with William. Becoming famous has it’s contributions too, but her primary relationship likes tall, willowy girls and Kate is all about satisfying her primary relationship.

        Ps: this isn’t just observation on my part. A drunk William was once crass enough to tell a dinner party of his preference and Uncle Gary eagerly retold to Hello magazine.

  20. Lauri says:

    I just can’t pinpoint what it is that makes so many of Kate’s clothes look matronly or tweeny on her. She has several pieces that are just lovely but for some reason they don’t look all that great on her. I just don’t get it.

    • minx says:

      I don’t get it either.

    • magnoliarose says:

      Her styling and how the pieces are put together. One traditional piece is enough on a woman her age. She dresses in styles my mother and grandmother don’t even wear. My mother in law is classic, and yet she wouldn’t be head to toe like that, and her hair wouldn’t be styled that way.

    • notasugarhere says:

      You could pull this out of the closet, put it on Camilla or HM, and it would look like part of their wardrobe.

    • Anastasia says:

      It feels like the clothes wear her rather than the other way around.

  21. MerrymerrymonthofMay says:

    Lovely!

  22. Weatherby says:

    There is a photo worse than the one posted here, depicting Kate with her coat blown by the wind and entirely up around her thighs. I never thought I’d say this, but the cure for that particular flashing incident would have been *more buttons*. To hold the two sides of the fabric together.

    But since this happens with far too great a frequency, I can’t exactly say that Kate isn’t aware of this anymore.

    • Nick2 says:

      Oh my god, we saw a female’s thighs?! THE HORROR!!!

    • whatever says:

      Good heavens, pass the smelling salts we saw erm… part of her leg!

      • Megan S says:

        in tights no less…tights!!!

        There is actually a dress under that coat (I wonder sometimes to be honest) that is below the knee and didn’t fly up anywhere.

    • Merritt says:

      Grab the smelling salts.

      • Weatherby says:

        If I’d flashed bits of my upper thigh (let’s not mention the other bits at the moment) *that* many times at my place of work, my employer would be having a very serous conversation with me. About whether or not I should stay on with the job.

        At this point, how is this dignified? It’s such a simple fix that it can’t be sheer stupidity, can it?

      • notasugarhere says:

        Once is an accident. Twice is coincidence. Three (+) times is a pattern of behavior. A choice.

      • Merritt says:

        Except the dress underneath the coat didn’t fly up. So her coat flying about a little wasn’t any different than the men’s coats flying around.

      • Weatherby says:

        I don’t see a dress underneath the coat. In the image that CB provided above, what we’re seeing below her knee is the other side of the coat. In an image on DM, we see a lot more because not only has the one side flown apart from the other, but they are both whipping about frantically in the wind.

        Go and have a look if you’d like, but I for one am really getting tired of seeing this woman’s body.

  23. Tough Cookie says:

    As the proud life sharer (I hate the word “owner” for some reason when it comes to my dogs LOL) of Irish wolfhounds I look forward to the coverage of this event every year. Special thanks to you Kaiser for the glamour shots of Domhnall <3
    Those of you who haven't been around as long as I have should google The Queen Mother at this event….I love the way she rocked pastels.
    If you want to read more about the BRF and their association with Irish wolfhounds here is a link
    http://www.irishwolfhounds.org/princessmary.htm

  24. Amy Too says:

    William always looks so much nicer and about a 15 years younger when he’s wearing a hat to cover his bald spot. His face is actually quite youthful, his skin is rosy, and his profile is quite attractive—but I only ever notice those things when he’s wearing a hat. Otherwise, with the balding head on display, all I see is a 40-50 year old man.

  25. Starlight says:

    She looks ready to pop now rather than another month, besides I think she found out in July at Wimbledon as Willie looked concerned. It looks like a boy, and a very good decision not to have a home birth in my view. Perhaps this will make her family complete and she said three at their engagement interview, think Wills has now settled into three. Nice coat and she looks happy

    • notasugarhere says:

      No, she didn’t. She didn’t answer the children question (even though it was asked of her). William answered and not enthusiastically IMO.

      “TB: One of the things that has been clear for a long time is you very evidently have a close-knit family and family’s very important to you.

      Miss Middleton: Yes. It’s very important to me. And I hope we will be able to have a happy family ourselves. They’ve been great over the years – helping me with difficult times. We see a lot of each other and they are very, very dear to me.

      TB: People are bound to ask you know. It’s a bit of an obvious question but, children, do you want lots of children? You, know see what comes? What’s your..?

      William: I think we’ll take it one step at a time. We’ll sort of get over the marriage first and then maybe look at the kids. But obviously we want a family so we’ll have to start thinking about that.”

      William’s comment about marriage is telling – “get over the marriage first”. Not “wedding”, marriage. Freudian.

  26. Rachel in August says:

    I love her coat. And really, if it’s matronly, who cares? She’s a mother.

  27. Claire says:

    She’s a real asset to the Royal Family and beautiful as well. I just don’t get the criticism.

  28. starryfish says:

    She looks perfectly nice, but I’ll never get why she insists on wearing clothes that wouldn’t be amiss on the much older Camilla.

  29. Poodlemom says:

    II think Kate looks lovely…and so does the dog.

  30. Vava says:

    The color is good on her. Her skin looks good these days.

    The styling, no. The coat is too small at this point. The hairstyle is just awful. I’d say it’s time for Kate to kick back, put her feet up, and have some tea. She looks ready to give birth any moment.

  31. Shannon says:

    I really like her in green, especially that shade. But I don’t care for the outfit otherwise, honestly.

  32. Amanda2 says:

    I think it’s the fur cuffs that make the jacket look matronly. And the dated-looking fabric covered buttons.

  33. Jana says:

    Dang, when I was that pregnant with my boys, I would have worn a muu muu to a wedding.

    Oh yeah, I did actually wear a borderline muu muu to my best friend’s wedding! And my friend and all of the grandmothers there applauded me for it.

  34. ItsLateandINeedSleep says:

    I see Ms. Quinn’s influence and she is clearly made aware of current social media on Prince William and the Duchess. Prince William has his arm around the Duchess?! Will wonders ever cease…..come on someone somewhere is reading and paying attention……

  35. LizB says:

    Echoing everyone else to say she looks good – great, even – and by far the most happy and glowing that I have ever seen her. This pregnancy must be amazing.

    About her looking matronly; listen. That is who Kate has decided to be and obviously, the palace is happy with that. She’s not gonna change, she’s just going to get older and finally match the way she dresses. Oh, well. I’ve stopped getting all twisted up about it and accepted that.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Other than when she wears plunging necklines, backless dresses, and no lingerie to movie premieres and State dinners…

  36. Darling says:

    This is in response to one of @Whatever’s posts that said: “In fairness, the guy in the picture was trying to contain his grin while saluting. Perhaps they saw something amusing happen a few seconds before?.”

    Look at the background.  No one else is laughing (or even smiling).

    Zoom in on the gentleman’s face.  Cover his mouth and just look at his eyes.  Does it look like he’s smiling?  The eyes contract when people give genuine  smiles, but not polite smiles.

    Google “how to spot fake smiles” and “low EQ signs.”  Over-the-top giddy for no reason is a low EQ sign.

  37. Scarlett says:

    BORING and insincere, as usual…..

  38. cindyp says:

    She needs to wear all her coats that length, much more elegant & flattering. Above the knee for slacks only.

  39. Molly says:

    I love that green and agree with others who say lovely AND matronly. One can be both. : ) But can we talk about the Guinness in Starbucks? WTH?