For the Duchess of Cambridge, 2019 has been all about gardening. Even more specifically, 2019 has been the year where we were all supposed to embiggen Kate because she “designed” (she co-designed) a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show. There were months of hype pieces ahead of the Chelsea Flower Show, there were accusations that Meghan would storm in and steal delicate Kate’s thunder, there were fawning pieces about how Kate The Future Queen truly understands the humble British lifestyle because she is a garden-designer now. It was all a bit much. Minus all of the hype, her garden was cute and kids liked it and it was fine.
We’re now in Month 9 of Kate’s Keen Garden PR though. Her garden has been moved around to various gardening shows and hospitals and what have you. Today, Kate made a surprise appearance at the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Wisley. She was visiting a “playground paradise inspired by her Chelsea Flower Show garden.” Did she design this garden, or was this garden simply “inspired by” Kate’s (co)design?
Kate chose a floral Emilia Wickstead dress, because chica loves to theme dress. And look, the wedges are back! And the dress has weird breast pockets/flaps. But where are the buttons??
Photos courtesy of Getty.
after the last year, I can’t stand to look at her or her husband.
Same.
Boom. Said perfectly, Lily.
Same ugh hate them both
Thank you, Lily.
Yep
Another co-sign.
co-signing, too.
Please stop beating the horse, KP…it’s already dead.
Long live the wedges.
Wedges are perfect for fetes, garden parties, horse shows and polo.
And I think that’s key. Wedges all the way when ‘appropriate’. I personally love them because I’m pretty clumsy haha.
I wore Adidas Allstars, jeans, and a t-shirt to polo last weekend.
I’m not wearing a dress and a large hat to play polish horshoes and drink beer all day. Leave the fancy outfits for people in the stands.
I own several pairs of wedges because they’re comfortable and I can walk in them. I get why people don’t like them but I’m too old to care.
It’s probably a better idea to wear wedges on grass then heels
They look fine to me.
I’m a sucker for comfortable shoes, so they’re fine to me as well haha.
That dress is ugly and the pattern looks like bad wall paper.
It’s not a nice dress
I hate this dress. Just when I think she wears some of the worst things, then she outdoes herself once again. This thing is a complete mess. The fabric, the pattern, the dress design. There is no way to salvage it other than throw it away.
I like sleek wedges, but don’t like espadrille wedges. Too clunky. Why can’t this woman wear some nice looking flats (in an INTERESTING COLOR) when she has these sorts of functions? Maybe they would improve her horrible posture, too?
Kate and Pippa have the most extraordinary ability to pick ugly and unflattering dresses. It is truly remarkable.
Ugh. The pattern is particularly fugly.
I do wish she’d spend more patroning something a little more important. Gardens are great but with that big of a platform surely she could spend time on something else
Does anyone recall the last time she visited one of the EACH hospices for children? I’ve been racking my brains but can’t recall it. While I do think her and William’s focus on mental health is wonderful and much needed, it just makes me sad to think that her patronage of the EACH hospice has now fallen by the wayside.
I wonder how often her personal secretary just wants to pull her hair out. They brought in an over qualified professional to up Kate’s image and this is the best she can get from her. Seems sad.
Maybe it’s time for the hospice to find someone more suitable – someone with a bit more drive , commitment & enthusiasm ?
@Christy, I have a friend named “Rose Who?” and this EACH charity is right up her alley.
@ Christy, I’ve heard that EACH relies on Ed Sheeran quite a bit when they can’t get Kate to attend events.
As it happens, Kate visits the EACH hospices very regularly. Privately – without any media attention or publicity. I have this on good authority because a very close friend of mine works at one of the hospices and mentioned how much both she and Ed Sheeran do for the children and how much they value their support.
I see your point, but beautiful gardens can be very helpful in healing physical and emotional trauma. Plus some plants purify indoor air. For example, check out the garden at the Stanford Childrens Hospital in CA, as well as the plantings throughout the building .
Exactly, I would have loved it if Kate had designed a garden for children in hospice. I so often think of ways that Kate could, if she were so inclined, really do more to champion her patronage of EACH. For instance, borrowing from Camilla, Kate could open up KP during the holidays for a special Christmas party or borrowing from Princess Madeline of Sweden, host a Prince/Princess party complete with little tiaras! I just find it so frustrating that W&K continue to do just the show-up, shake hands routine when with a little imagination they could do so much more.
I think gardens are a wonderful thing to promote – see Michelle Obama.
Michelle had a veggie garden. It grew food that was served in the white house. These other gardens are very pretty, but they are just fancy playgrounds.
I’d like to see a fancy playground style garden planted with food plants. Herbs would work, at the very least. Sunflowers too.
I get the feeling William is stiffing her up in the patronages dept to make himself look better. Notice how his emphasis has recently shifted to social causes more akin to what Harry and Meg would traditionally be involved in and Kate has moved increasingly towards safe topics.
It could also be just a case of William feeling he is more able to pursue those causes now that an example has been set by Team Sussex.
Are those Hyacinth Bucket’s (it’s pronounced Bouquet) curtains?
Meanwhile, Mary Berry is the Queen we need but don’t deserve.
Mary Berry is all that matters in this article <3
I adore Mary Berry..and her pearls. I have been scanning the internet looking for who designed or manufactured her pearl necklace
Lol when I scanned this article I was all “MARY BERRY! Oh yeah and that drip.” If given the choice between spending an hour with Mary or Cathy Cambridge, Mary wins hands down.
Dropping in to certify the love for Mary Berry resides in the states too! Miss her on GBBO.
Yes! Love Mary….want to eat all her goodies. I actually like Kate’s dress. But I also like flowery vwallpaper.
I SCREAMED!! MARY BERRY!!!
I do miss Mary Barry on GBBO, too! She was so sweet, like everyone’s Grandma!
LOVE MB. She is perfection!!
also miss Mel and Sue <3
I came to see Kate’s fug dress and I stayed because of Mary Berry! I adore her!
She looks like a teacup
Curtains. Fugly cheap curtains.
Yes, I fully expect someone came home to bare windows the day she got that dress.
Or like a Shabby Chic brand bedspread.
That was my thought. Just add a dust ruffle
@Elle—Teacup! 🥇🏆🥇 Today’s best award goes to you.
Can we get that teacup with good posture?
BEST comment here hahaha! I swear my mom owns a teacup in a similar pattern. I really do not like this dress!
hahahaha, spot on! She looks great from the neck up, but the dress is beyond fug. IMO she is cosplay trolling us …
Mary Berry!
Forget Kate, this is the real story here!
I thought so!
Exactly! Mary Berry is a treasure.
The look is fine. I dont like the middle belt part? But beyond that it’s cute and the wedges were appropriate.
I got a flannel nightgown exactly like that when I was eleven. Hated it. Still do.
Right, that was my first thought, it looks like a pajama pattern! But it’s not a bad dress, she has done much worse.
Hate the dress, it looks like a Cath Kidston knockoff.
Lordy KP is really making this Year of the Garden.
I don’t love the dress, but don’t hate it either, she has definitely worn worse, but you all know how I feel about the wedges. She also has tons of very similar dresses she could have worn to this event. I thought she was the thrifty duchess?
Well its not as if she has anything else going on.
The dress itself is lovely. I don’t like tea length stuff, but she is tall and thin enough to pull it off. There is really nothing wrong with wearing wedges when you’re on grass to avoid sinking into the ground.
That lady standing next to Kate in the first photo? Her dress is fun, and I would totally wear that!
I would wear that too, in fact I have a similar dress from Amazon which cost $39.00. It is way cuter than the sheets. But agree it isn’t horrible just looks like someone made it from my grandmother’s sheets.
She and William are cancelled for me.
Same.
I like the silhouette and design, just not the pattern. Larger scale florals are more my jam.
I’ll never stop wearing wedges, either.
looks like my post disappeared. I’ll try again. I wear my wedges in the paddock at races all the times. Make no sense to hobble around in heels on turf. I don’t like the print or the breast flaps but the style of the dress is fine. I AM a little tired of the love Meghan/Hate Kate that goes on these days. I like both women & understand they are different people with different approaches.
Agreed. It’s tiresome. One can like both; I do. I think Kate seems to be a good mother and great with kids and sporty/outdoorsy things and is maybe not totally comfortable in the public eye (I’m not either, so I get it). And I think Meghan is a breath of fresh air and I love her with Harry.
I assume when the Smartworks capsule collection comes out (which I’m excited for) that it’s over-stressed how much help Meghan had in designing it. Just like it was stressed here that Kate co-designed this garden over and over.
I like the cut of the dress on her, it’s flattering. The pattern is meh.
Meg seems pretty good at giving credit where due, so I’m sure the fabulous help she had will be mentioned.
I didn’t mean stressed by Meghan, of course she’ll give credit. She is good at that, it’s one of the things I like about her. I meant stressed by this site as they stressed repeatedly about the garden. 🙂
Every person has and IS entitled to their opinion and should be free to express their opinion without fear of being ridiculed. If one likes both women that’s really nice, it doesn’t make yr choice any more valid than that of one that likes just one of them and dislike the other. And I don’t see anyone posting about how tired they are of the love people show for Kate. There have been quite a few that post about how sick they are of reading posts about the love Meghan is getting on this site, and I say the same to everyone. If you don’t like a particular post, just scroll by, don’t read only to tell me of how fed up you are of me expressing my opinion or of reading my posts.
I agree @snappyfish & @LW , I like both Kate and Meghan who are very different people. They each bring different qualities and experiences to their roles.
The hatred and the nitpicking is exhausting to me and I have no time for blatant racism. Which is why I don’t go to DF any more.
I like Kate the mom.
Actually, I never said I’m tired of the love for Meghan. I think it’s great. Especially because of all the bull she puts up with from tired, old racist reporters and courtiers. What I don’t understand is why it seems some people think you have to loathe one to like or love the other. And of course you’re entitled to your opinions. No ridiculing you here. Have at it!
The bar is so low for her, Jesus.
I do not blame Kate for William’s laziness but I do blame William for Kate’s supposed laziness as I will always believe that William is holding Kate back from doing anything really productive.
People keep saying this and I disagree. If she had it in her to do something productive we would have seen it in the 15 years she has been in the public eye. She couldn’t even hold down a job. This is all Kate, imo.
Yeah, I don’t get why people continue to give Kate a pass for her laziness because William wants her to be lazy. He obviously doesn’t mind her lack of work, but I don’t get the impression that Kate has been chomping at the bit for the past decade to work more and William wont let her.
It is very difficult to hold down a job when you have to be at Lazy Normal Bill’s beck and call. Between her mother & Lazy Normal Bill, I actually feel sorry for this woman as she is poster child for ‘be careful what you wish for because you might just get it”.
Right now she has the kids to keep her occupied. I think in about 20 years Kate is going to find herself very unhappy and at loose ends. I imagine William has lots to keep himself occupied (Rose who), but what is Kate going to do, shop?
And completely off topic, how often do you think they are going to be in the country once they become King and QC? I bet they find travel curtailed once they are the head cheese and cheesette.
I think even the RRs are getting sick of this? The reporting is less slightly less fawning and even they say it was designed by others, inspired by her work (one of the co-designers is the architect she used for the garden), so they’re not even giving her undue credit. And in the DM article it says (paraphrased-ish) “Kate believes spending time outside will help with things people experience as adults like addiction” almost like they don’t really believe it.
Also, as a Canadian, reading about these gardens…does the UK not have playgrounds? It just sounds like a playground, not some innovative thing?
Sorry, after the constant stream of articles battering and bashing Meghan in addition to reading about pedo Andy, it’s hard to give 2 fuck*s about this. I got as far as the dress and didn’t read on to see what cause she was promoting.
I agree with you. It is at the point of who really cares what Kate or William does. They both are pathetic.
I mean, I care. I like both Kate and Meghan, because I don’t have a tin foil hat on. I don’t think Kate/Will is behind all of the racist articles of Meg. They certainly seem like they get along fine.
I find the article and the comments quite entertaining, which is perfect after a sh** day at work…
Tinfoil hat? I reread her comment & don’t see any suggestion of a conspiracy(?)
Nice pattern – for a pair of shower curtains! Geez why does she dress like an old woman? Her stylist should be fired
Hate the pattern.
Forget Kate! Mary Berry looks amazing. Her dress is what Kate should have worn.
Did she get her eyes done? Looks like it to me. She has a good plastic surgeon.
Right? She looks very refreshed and it’s good work because I can’t really put my finger on it.
Buttons are inside the lining of her dress. Out of sight, but she knows they are there….she knows.
You’re funny busyann 🙂
I think she looks good. However, I actually thought the dress was a repeat because she has so many flowing, flowery dresses but no, it’s yet another one.
It’s about time she made a public appearance for a “work” activity as she has been somewhat lacking in appearances this year. No doubt there will be a last-minute surge before the yearly figures come out.
I honestly don’t believe they’ll feel the need for a surge. As long as the smear campaign against the DDoS maintains its momentum, they don’t have to worry about the tabloids making an issue of their low numbers.
holy botox!
How long is she going to coast on this garden? All of them are such huge wastes of money and resources that could and should be better spent elsewhere. Lot of useless fools #abolishthemonarchy
That dress screams the price tag of $2200+. It looks like a house dress my grandmother used to wear to clean up the house. And it is cotton blend seersucker.
https://www.net-a-porter.com/us/en/product/1139333/Emilia_Wickstead/aurora-belted-floral-print-swiss-dot-cotton-blend-seersucker-dress
From the neck up she looks great, but that dress, the pattern is hideous. That being said, I’m glad she’s out doing work. I think those wedges should have a name or theme song or something by this point. Her old wedges were gloriously called ‘the wedges of doom’….
She looks like the cat that just ate the cream. What a boost to her vanity and popularity that Meghan is her sister-in-law. For years, Kate was uncertain and didn’t know how to play her role. Constant criticism, philandering husband, etc. Now, her whiteness compensates for every shortcoming and she has become bona fide. She’s comfortable in her place because of her race. Same for her spoiled, lazy, bored husband. What an ugly, little world we live in.
HK9, I disagree that from the neck up she looks great. She has aged (a punishable crime for women in the U.S.) and she looks smug. So no.
I’m in my 40’s so I’m not pointing fingers at her for aging when I’ve got 10 years on her! 🙂
Not one of my favorite Kate looks but I love how her and Mary Berry’s pinks match!
The photos out of this event are amazing! Many people complained previously that she was not including kids from her patronages in these garden events and her she is doing just that.
I am a big gardening fan and know how important it is for many in Great Britain — but for me, this initiative transcends gardening and celebrates being outside and enjoying the outdoors in general and that is never something to minimize. Bravo Kate and team!
That dress! I mean, there are no words !
This is the first Kate article I’ve clicked on in weeks and it’s probably the last. I find her lazy and dull and worse I think if her spouse – the heir – were himself willing to work, she would too. This isn’t enough, and their smear job against Meghan is inexcusable, ESPECIALLY since I think it’s to distract from William’s laziness and affairs.
Well put Betsy
With so much wealth and a classic clotheshorse figure, and, likely, every designer in the world clamoring to dress her, how does she manage to look so consistently dowdy?
I imagine designers quietly banging their heads on their desks when they see how Kate has styled their creations.
I do not think Cathy has a stylist. I think Cathy has a personal shopper who procures racks and racks of dresses in Cathy’s size. Cathy gets up, puts on a dress and walks out the door. Dresses that are worn are paid for and dresses that are no worn are returned from where they came.
It’s a belted collared shirt dress with chest pockets. Meghan’s denim dress from the other day has a similar silhouette. It’s nice but not crazy about the print. Don’t like the skin colored wedges. Hopefully this is the last hurrah for gardens as we start to shift seasons so she can focus on something else.
Reminds me of something Jean Brodie said (in The Prime of Jean Brodie – see it if you haven’t!) when she was looking at some particularly tedious flowers in the headmistress’s office: “Oh. Chrysanthemums. Such…serviceable flowers.”
That’s Kate: aggressively…serviceable.
Ahh! With the wonderful Maggie Smith with a Scottish brogue. So memorable …… unlike Kate.
I have really come to loathe this woman and her awful husband. And I was never a fan to begin with.
I used to be a huge fan but over the years they both just leave me feeling disappointed. They seem determined to stick to the old show-up and shake hands routine, while hiding behind the excuse that being future monarchs they can’t possibly do more, when with a bit of imagination they could do so much more. If Kate is so interested in art why doesn’t she show up at a hospital or children’s hospice with art supplies such as coloring books and create some art with the kids? The possibilities are endless but they both leave me feeling as though they only want to do the bare minimum as infrequently as possible.
Yes Harla! Exactly. And to me that just speaks to their core person/values. And I can’t help but think they’re simply not “good people” at the end of the day.
But the problem is they don’t even just show up and shake hands. There’s always an excuse which is offensive to ‘normal’ hardworking people
WITH MARY BERRY!! I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR MARY BERRY!!!
I would pay that woman anything to let me follow her around for a year. Even my first born, who also wouldn’t object to living with Mary Berry for a year. Just feed him.
The overall silhouette of the dress is fine to me, but the color is all wrong. This is an early spring colored dress to me.
If this dress would have been in a rich palette of autumn colors to go with her new hair, I think she would have looked amazing. Mary Berry has the summer to autumn palette down, Kate could take some tips!
Kate looks really pretty in the last picture with the little boy in blue.
I have debated whether to post this comment, but it irks me that Kate seems so relaxed in recent times , especially when you consider the barrage of non stop press criticism Meghan faces seemingly just for breathing.
It often feels like Kate feels relieved that someone else is being thrown under the bus on a daily basis. I know that reaction is only natural, but at the same time I can’t help but wonder if she is not in small part gleeful for the respite and the vitriolic attention being focused on Meghan. After-all given the PR manipulations of Carole behind the scene and the Middleton’s growing relationship with right wing publications such at the fail, the way Meg is treated is horrific.
I personally could never be a member of a family which operates like this.
The British Baking Show lady !!! That’s all that registered for me 🙂
So 2019 is the year of the garden. That’s it? How many times has she shown up for garden appearances? 6/7? It just feels like she is working a lot less than normal this year. She is here to live that royal life but without doing the royal work.
I, too, love Mary Berry. She should be the royal, not Kate.
Mary Berry is 84 yrs old and looks better than kate.
I do t even mean this with snark. But my grandmother had sheets in the pattern of that dress. Little castle on the prairie ….
She’s got the Joker face going on and the $2K housedress. What more could a girl want?
I seem to be the lone voice on this site that quite likes Kate’s long sleeved high necked dresses.
Not a fan of this particular dress but it’s Kates go to style and I just see it as her uniform now.
I agree with you!
MARY BERRY!!! Oh yeah and Kate is there too I guess.
Thank you commenter 1 exactly what I was going to say I hate her face so much I’m like Madeline’s Kahn In Clue “flames licking up the side of my face” seriously who cares wth she doesn’t or doesnt do (typo keeping it she doesn’t do crap) at this point shes the UKs Melania now 🤮
How many of these boring garden shows are we going to see??? So f’in’ boring!! Kate is so vanilla.
Y’all may be sick of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge but a lot of us are very sick of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. BOTH couples are overexposed and it is a nauseating.
The overexposure re: the Sussexes is not their fault. Meghan has been on maternity leave for months, with very few public appearances (TTC, the Lion King premiere, Wimbledon, and then Vogue and the US open) which didn’t even involve any appearances from her), and even so the press cant stop writing about her.
That’s really different than yet another overhyped visit by Kate to the one thing she has done all year.
William and Kate should be out and about doing ordinary engagements all over Britain – bread and butter engagements. All the niche stuff should only be playing a small part.
I wanted so much to see Meghan doing good but she and Harry should shut up now and get on with it.
Its nice to see WK wearing a long dress but wonder what brought this on. I say Rose is a good influence on her.
I thought the same thing, reminded of the denim dress Meghan wore. I don’t hate it but at least it’s appropriate and she’s not flashing anyone. The wedges remind me of the good old days when they’d just gotten engaged and we were filled with hope for the future.
What this project the ‘Broken Britain’ project? I know I am calling this gardening a project but it is her first project as a royal, my goodness, can’t believe I am typing that!!!
William is at fault! yeah I know people say we are giving her excuses because I do not see how someone with such a big platform can be this passive
She is the first royal wife who after a few years has little to no accomplishment……..this is not normal so it has to be William holding her back or her trying to upstage him like the Charles vs Diana situation
You know what’s strange? even though this post is about her ‘work’, most end up talking about her clothes. it is like a pattern with Kate.