I still say that the Duchess of Cambridge looked super-cute at her Christmas tree event yesterday. I so rarely want to own anything from Kate’s outfits, but I would love that sweater and that puffer coat. Both are cute as hell. The jeans though… lord. I sometimes confuse skinny jeans with jeggings based on the fit and the stretch of the material. Kate has many pairs of skinny jeans which have more “give,” but these totally look painted-on and stretchy as hell, so excuse me for thinking they were more on the jeggings side of the equation. Anyway, I mostly just wanted to write some more about these photos because Kate looked cute.
Kate also spent a lot of time chatting with the kids and helping them pick out Christmas trees for their families, and write letters to Santa. At one point, Kate complimented a little girl on her crimped/wavy hair and asked how the girl achieved the look. The girl told Kate that she puts her hair in braids at night and Kate said she might try it. She also chatted about Prince Louis:
Kate Middleton‘s little prince is growing up fast! The royal mom spent Wednesday at Peterley Manor Farm helping young children pick out Christmastrees for their classrooms — and one little boy, who held her hand up saying “me, me!” reminded her of Prince Louis. She also revealed that her 1-year-old son had hit a new milestone: talking! Kate stroked his cheek, saying, “You remind me of my little Louis, he keeps saying, ‘Me, me, me.’ And he wants to come everywhere with me!”
During the outing, Kate also shared what kind of fir Prince George, 6, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Louis find their presents under on Christmas morning.
“She was asking about the trees which drop their needles and those that don’t, and which ones smell nice!” farm owner Roger Brill said. “She said that they normally have the Nordmann Fir inside that doesn’t drop the needles.”
I don’t have an opinion about real trees because I haven’t had a real tree in years. I have a plastic one and it’s really nice. I was going to get a real wreath but then I was in Pier One this week and I ended up buying a fake one (it’s SO pretty). I bet Kate is the kind of person who has real everything – real tree, real wreaths, and I bet she gets real poinsettias too. Sigh…
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I don’t doubt that Louis is a mama’s boy, and that his mum is totally besotted with him haha. The few times we’ve seen him seem to prove that
He’s adorable, those cheeks! I remember that age, they want to be with mommy.
Give this woman mother of the year award already !
LOL
I think she’ll campaign for a fourth kid.
All she has to do is remind William that she kept her mouth shut about Rose and Baby #4 it is.
She really shines when she’s with children. I thought she looked cute here too.
😹
some people will froth at the mouth if you say anything remotely positive about Kate.
Although I have no dog in this fight, the reason why some people may “mock” people for saying “she really shines when she’s with kids” is because it’s been said a trillion times at this point. Literally, that exact sentence. That, and, “she really shines when she’s doing something sporty!”
But, it should really be “Kate really shines when she’s around white children!” Because it’s more accurate. (Go ahead, get upset. It’s part of the ritual.)
@stepup I get what you are saying but the last part of your comment doesnt necessarily ring true. I mean when she was in Pakistan she went to orphanage (of non white children) and people made the same comments (she shines around kids). Also at yesterday’s event she was holding hands with an adorable little black girl. So I dont think its really fair to says she shines when she’s around white children only.
She barely interacted with any of the kids in Pakistan to defer to William. I don’t think I’d call simple hand holding “shining” but that’s just me.
@Maria perhaps we saw different coverage of the Pakistan tour bc I saw a few pictures of her talking to kids and drawing with them. Perhaps we see what we want to see.
The comment wasn’t “she’s never nice to nonwhite children”.
But nice and “shining” are two different things. I find the bar set very low for her.
@Jadedone and Maria,
You got it, Maria. Shinning and polite are two different things. And like you, to me, she always looks slightly uncomfortable around non-white kids.
Jadedone — Also, she didn’t start getting her picture taken with non-white kids in earnest until Meghan came along.
Maria that’s pretty subjective to your perception of a situation.
@STEPUP you must be forgetting the royal tours before Meghan came along, like to southeast Asia where she very much interacted with non white children. You don’t like her and that’s totally fair but to start insinuating that she is racist without proof is pretty unfair. Is Kate lazy, yes ( so are all the royals), does she spend too much on clothes, yes, these are all fair criticisms. But to say “Kate shines when she around white children” isnt fair. She has the expression on her face yesterday when she was talking to the white kids as she did talking to the non white kids. Again I’m not saying she is great or that you have to like her, I’m saying that’s a pretty harsh assessment with no real evidence but your personal opinion and inaccurate statements.
Again, no one ever said she doesn’t interact with nonwhite children, that she hates them, or that she is racist. Ever. All anyone said was being polite and “shining” are two different things.
@Jadedone
First of all, I don’t dislike Kate. That is your inaccurate assumption. Observation and constructive criticism don’t automatically equal dislike or hate.
Also, did I call her a racist? No, I didn’t. (Thank you, Maria) I said that she, to me, appears uncomfortable around non-white children. That is what I observe. I said what I said and still stand by that. It’s what I have observed.
@stepup but it’s not “constructive criticism” that you are offering, its your personal opinion based on photos. You also stated incorrectly that Kate “didnt start getting her picture taken with non white kids until Meghan came along” which is wholly untrue. I have viewed photos and I disagree and I’m just as entitled to my opinion as you are to yours.
@Jadedone
If you didn’t take it as constructive criticism, that’s fine. It’s how it was meant.
Did I say you weren’t allowed your opinion? Again, no, I did not. Life lesson: Just because someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean they are preventing you from voicing your opinion. Did I say, “Don’t type! Stop talking! I don’t want to hear your opinion!” No, I did not.
And, you’re right, I should have said what I meant, which is: “Kate didn’t get her picture taken much with BLACK children until Meghan came along.” Not “non-white.” And, to me, the token times she did, she looked hella uncomfortable.
I agree with you Gingerly. She does best when she is around kids or something with sports.
@Gingerly: she absolutely shines with children and at sports events.
snort
Agreed!
She looks pretty,happy and relaxed.Good for her.
She shines with white able-bodied children. The others get thumbs up outside the hospices, or inane comments and ring flashing on the streets of Mumbai.
Yup. She’s like a real-life Selina Meyer.
I disagree Maria. I’ve never noticed the discomfort you’re describing around non-white kids, though I DEFINITELY think she was more awkward and unsure around ALL kids before she had her own. (I sympathize because I’m the same way as someone without children, who didn’t babysit regularly, and don’t have any young children in my immediate family yet.) Not to mention that sometimes kids aren’t into being somewhere or aren’t in the mood and you can’t really control that. The engagement in Mumbai was bad, though, I agree.
The one thing I’ve noticed in the last two years or so is that Kate tends to be pretty respectful of a child’s personal space and almost always asks to shake or hold their hands. She usually only gives them hugs when they ask for one or initiate it themselves. (For example, I remember a lot of negative assumptions about this set of photos from June and Chris Jackson had to point out that Faith asked for the hug: https://www.instagram.com/p/BzI0wRABPxR/)
I’d rather her give them a dorky looking thumb’s up than initiate some unwanted touch, you know? That’s not to knock on Diana or Harry or Meghan who were/are a lot more spontaneous and physically affectionate with others, it’s just a different way of interacting and both have their merits.
I don’t think she’s horrible with kids. I do think she’s not as comfortable with non-white ones, not in a malicious way, but it also comes with the fact that her encounters with these children also occur alongside William a lot of the time since they are on tour, which I can understand some apprehensiveness since she seems nervous when he’s around.
Basically I’m just crabby that something as innocuous as hand-holding means everyone will say she is “so good with kids” and “shines” when these things last for an hour maybe and then we won’t see her again for months.
There WAS one time when I really felt she shone with children and that was the December 2013 EACH hospice visit. She was animated and even funny. I don’t feel like I have seen the same energy since.
Anyone who recalls seeing Diana with kids saw someone who could shine and did so from the beginning. Harry has that as well. He didn’t need to have a kid to be able to relate to them. Kate is better than she was pre kids, but you often see her smiling away and the rest of the kids aren’t. That’s not really shining. But there’s not much else to say about her because she doesn’t do that much.
very nice…but would it hurt to take the older kids along with her? would be th perfect opportunity for them to engage with other children.
It’s been mentioned before, but other posters made the point that it would distract from the kids she’s there with.
They have more than enough socialization at school.
Her older children are at school during the day.
+1, and Kate would be busy watching her own kids so … not ideal for such an event… can you imagine Charlotte & George running around the x-mas trees? 🙂
This. I think William and Kate have confused wanting “normal” time for their kids as “isolation”.
If she did that she would be accused of using them for good PR (which is exactly what was said when the kids went to Kate’s RHS Garden in Chelsea). If the kids go they are just a tool for good PR, if they don’t go W&K are ‘isolating’ their children, they can’t really win tbh.
Besides, I think the kids were at school.
Whatever- are you kidding? Future Future Queen Kate can do no wrong anymore, of course the tabs would love it.
They’re probably in school…
This.
I don’t think its really appropriate to bring the kids to these kinds of outings. I know people have made the comment a few times and I think there are definitely times when the kids should be included, but so far I actually think they make the right choices there (i.e. regatta – that was a good event for the kids to attend. This kind of event – probably not.)
Why would the regatta be fine but not picking out Christmas trees?
oh, because the regatta was more of a spectator thing for the kids. Here, the kids would be a distraction and Kate would presumably be interacting with them throughout the event instead of the charity she is supposed to be supporting. Or, their nanny would be there (or Carole). The regatta was kind of a “spectacle” anyway. This event really isn’t. I think as the kids get older bringing the kids to more engagements would be appropriate but right now I think they do a good job of deciding when to bring them and when not to.
There would be ways to manage it, especially if she only brought George. The Swedes have the presentation of Christmas trees each year, and Estelle has been to several of them starting when she was 2-3.
I don’t agree. The only issue I can see would be them not attending school, and frankly I think there are plenty of ways around that. If Kate’s attention span is so limited she can’t interact with more than her own children, that at least can be managed, with RPO’s, or other members of the charity.
Since Kate will never do anything of value and being around children apparently wipes out everything negative about her (one only has to see this comment section – “she really shines with kids!!” being the constant even though she appears so infrequently we have no way of knowing if that’s true), bringing her children to a Christmas tree event with other children makes sense.
She could bring her kids to events when they are scheduled during school break, instead of disappearing for a month like she did this year. During that same break Sophie and Edward did an engagement with their kids. George is old enough to go to certain things and there could easily be a kid friendly event that they could find. It may be more of an issue with both George and Charlotte together but if they wanted to do it they could, as they did with the garden event.
@Maria – that’s fine, we don’t have to agree 🙂
@nic – yeah, I think she can bring them to certain events, like I said. And certainly over school break would be a good time to do so.
I just don’t agree with the chorus of “she should have brought the kids” whenever she does an activity like this. It’s happened a few times in the past few months. It’s not always necessary nor will it add anything to the event.
And take her kids out of school to do this? No.
I think her kids are too young to engage on command. I have two the same age … usually, they are fine with other kids. But not always. And if I am around, they require my attention. Imagine the optics of Kate bringing her kids along, and then either interacting primarily with them instead of other children, or sending them off with a nanny.
I think they bring the kids specifically when they can focus on them.
When the kids are slightly older, closer to 9/10, and can be depended upon to stay close to their parents, not ask too many questions and dominate the conversation, and make small talk with other kids, then it is appropriate to bring them. It’s a bit much to expect that of a 4 year old.
They’ve taken their two oldest kids to work engagements before. Presumably they are capable of behaving in public now that they’re even older now.
Yes, but surely her kids are at school when these engagements are taking place? As well as that though the presence of her own children would totally take the attention away from the children she is visiting. An absolutely ridiculous suggestion. I am also amazed at this categorizing of the children into white and non white children groups. Surely they are all just children?
This is cute. I do love hearing about any and all the kids, they’re just so adorable!
Right?!? They’re all so precious!!
Hopefully all of their parents take a look at the long history the Windsors have of ruining children and break the cycle.
I now understand the people that talk bout watching Will and Harry… (The non crazy ones) But with any celeb kids, you just hope for the best…because despite the money and privilege they will definitely have their own set of obstacles
I love her interactions with children. She always seems completely focused on the child she is speaking to, really in the moment. And yeah, she looked super cute in that outfit.
Them jeggings are so TIGHT!!! Its not flattering her at all!! If only the green sweater was longer🤦♀️
I looked for the video of this interaction because I’m always fascinated by how she brings up her kids into her kiddie engagements and yup there isn’t one!! I dont doubt her loving being a mom and Louis being very attached to his mummy but its intresting that with her tendency to copy diana she hasn’t yet copied taking her kids to engagement like this!! I assume Will doesn’t like the kids being fuly exposed yet but that will change during sandringham walk of shame later this month!
Yeah they’re not flattering and not really appropriate for a work event. And yes, I would say the exact same thing if Wills came to an event in skinny jeans this tight. I mean it’s so tight that it really is more jegging than skinny jeans. Here’s the reason it’s inappropriate for work for men and women – when you bend over or crouch or sit, 95% of the time unless you have zero butt, it rides way down and plumbers crack or underwear pops up. I see that happen so much and although I myself love me some skinny jeans, I do not wear any that tight to casual work events.
Kate has a cute butt, however there is no reason we need to see every contour. I call these jeggings because they are form fitting all the way to the ankle. If other people want to wear these or leggings as pants, that’s fine. But for someone in her official capacity they are inappropriate.
@GOOFPUFF
The solution is high waist skinny jeans. I am a black woman with a sizable ass who wears skinny jeans to professional events and I never have this problem.
At least when Charlene wears something like this, she wears a long sweater and cape over them.
That’s a great solution. She still gets the look without us having to see everything….
Ahh Charlene the white gold digging wife of the Monaco Prince. Oh, wait – no, you only call the non white women, who marry well – gold digging social climbers.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with her outfit choice for the occasion I just think she lacks the curvature needed to look good in it. She should have worn a long jacket to conceal how straight her legs are.
Am I the only one who doesn’t like wearing skinny jeans? I have sticks for legs and skinny jeans do not improve their look one bit.
They look so painfully tight. I don’t think they are appropriate at all and I personally don’t like wearing them because I don’t feel comfortable in anything that form fitting.
I also get a real tree (well, a branch, so no trees are cut down) and real poinsettias every Christmas… What’s the problem with that? They look nice! 😉
Same! Nothing wrong with that!
I have a small one in a pot which is on the balcony the rest of the year. Looks great and good for the climate. 🙂
Well, Louis is the baby. Of course, he wants to be with her all the time, she’s home all the time. I hate the jeans/jegging/whatever they are. They are entirely too tight, but that’s what she loves about them. They show off her legs.
We have fake trees. They are just easier to put up and decorate. If I want the natural tree smell, there are candles.
That manic grin, coupled with her freshly botoxed forehead make for quite the “smile” in the 3rd pic. Poor kid must be terrified. Joker, much?
Red and Green theme dressing for a Christmas event?
now you know she didn’t even consider any other colors!!! lol.
I’m surprised the sweater doesn’t have snowflakes or Christmas decor on it. New $200+ sweater BTW.
£200, is that it? My new blouse costs more! I forgot tho around here cheap clothes are the norm for everyone here.
Looks like a nice event. Kate looks fine. That’s all from me.
Aw… Kate always looks like she truly enjoys her events with children. I think she’s a good, engaged mom (mum) too.
And we started getting a real tree because of our lack of attic storage but also I believe it’s a better carbon footprint than mass produced petrochemical-based products that have to be shipped around the world? This is based on just my brain, so if anyone can tell me that actually a really nice pre-lit tree from Costco is better from the environment, I’d appreciate that info next November when the idea of getting the real tree totally overwhelms me. lol
I’ve been reading up on this because I’m passionate about sustainability but also a die-hard real Christmas tree lover.
If you already have an artificial tree then the best thing you can do is keep it and love it to bits until it’s worn out and on its last legs.
If you buy real trees, the first best thing to do is to try to replant outside or in a pot (which is a little out there for me). Apparently this can be done in London, if that’s where you are, we don’t have that option here in NYC (to my knowledge). Second best thing is to try to compost or wood chip it, which can be done in NYC but you are responsible for dropping it on site, which can be challenging depending on where you live.
If I had a back yard I would definitely consider replanting it! I think it would be kind of amazing to nurture and welcome the same tree back into my home over and over again. It’s like another family member!
I saw an event a few years back where the local park was accepting trees to be replanted after Christmas. They did this for two years and the park turned out great. The trees ranged from 1-4 feet when donated and they had a hotdog/pop party when it was time to plant them. I was hoping the idea would catch on.
We always had fake trees growing up but we’ve been getting real trees for the past couple years because the fake ones take 500 years to biodegrade in a landfill. So in the very long term, the fake trees are not good. At least Christmas tree farms have an economic incentive to plant more trees after they cut them down. I’m kind of pleased that we get the same varietal as Kate, the Nordmann fir, because they’re not that common in the US but they really don’t drop needles and their needles are covered in wax so they don’t have that much of a scent (great for people with allergies). They are a little more expensive, though.
All she has to do is breath. Sounds about white. Um….right.
The puffer jacket is cute but that’s about it. Everything else is wrong especially the proportions. This outfit calls for a longer jacket or sweater. The gurning in the third pic 🙄🙄
She literally gets praised just for having her picture taken with children. Because that’s the epitome of womanhood: thin, empty-headed, white, no opions, no job, deferential to her husband in eveything, blind eye to cheating, but likes to be seen with children = perfect woman. It’s insulting to women (and to Kate, if she was smart enough to see it, or cared).
That’s just it – she’s having her picture taken, not working with and caring for these children for an extended period. Even the most grumpy, cantankerous (sp?) individual can “act” engaged and interested and smile for a few minutes.
It’s amazing how so many think that being a silent stepford wife is acceptable. All the other royal women do much more but yet excuses are constantly made for this one.
Louis was probably wondering as to why she’s leaving the house
This is a good look for Kate all around. Her outfit is cute and very appropriate for the event, and she does look like she is taking time and truly engaging with the kids which is very cute.
Her holding hands with the different kids is so cute, and I love that she mentioned what Louis is doing — talking and walking. Awww!
Actually no, the skin tight leggings are not appropriate for a work event.
I agree, she looks cute. I recently saw pics of Meghan wearing her tight black leather trousers. I think it’s good both duchesses dress casual at the less formal events.
She really loves kids. In another life she would have been a fantastic kindergarten teacher. I say this as someone who isn’t regularly impressed with Kate and Wills.