Getting Artsy with The Duchess of Cambridge

While the ball and chain away, the wife will…work? Wait, that’s not how the saying goes..

The Duchess of Cambridge was back to work for her patronages yesterday, just a week after making her first official solo engagement. Catherine spent Pancake Day visiting two schools on behalf of The Art Room. Last year, Kate Middleton spent Pancake Day with her fiance flipping pancakes in Belfast; my how things have changed!

First up – Rose Hill Primary School, where Catherine arrived to a crowd of well wishers. In fact, the crowds were so excited to see their beloved Catherine, Max Foster tweeted that between The Duchess of Cambridge and all of the teenage girls he wished he brought earplugs! Once inside, Catherine visited with a group of eight children as they worked on a poem.

The Duchess of Cambridge continued her day at Oxford Spires Academy School. While visiting The Art Room facilities there, Catherine met with both current and former students and heard of how the organization had imrpoved their lives. The Duchess of Cambridge aproned up and spent time with the children as they painted.

Both appearances left students, staff and onlookers in awe of Catherine as she earned high praise from all who interacted with her. The Art Room trustee Pat Norman was quoted as saying: “It’s very special that we have her patronage.” Perhaps Mr. Norman is alluding to Catherine’s strong connection to the arts; students and teachers alike commented on her knowledge and understanding of the program. As you will recall, The Duchess of Cambridge has a deep-rooted passion for the cause; she graduated St. Andrews University with a degree in History of Art.

For video of The Duchess of Cambridge in Oxford yesterday, please visit The Huffington Post and BBC News.

The Duchess appeared in a coat dress by Irish designer Orla Kiely. As usual, the brown, patterened frock, which looked stunning on Kate, had the Twitter universe fluttering with discussion. Personally, I could never pull the pattern off (most others I have chatted to agree), but Catherine wore it well. Can that woman do no wrong? I have yet to see her look bad. I was disappointed to see her hair down; it would have been nice to see it up as she wore it for the Skid Row day of arts in Los Angeles. I have to hand it to her though – if I had spent the day around paints and children with my hair down, I would come out with fresh highlights!

For more on Catherine’s outfit, check out What Kate Wore’s latest post and be sure to follow along on Twitter – the go-to source on Kate’s style.

 

All images via PopSugar.

Finally, after curiosity over the most guarded royal secret since Kate’s wedding dress, the name of the Cambridge puppy has been revelead – Lupo! Wait..what? Yea, that was my reaction too. Chances are if you placed your bets in Las Vegas, you lost big. Lupo is an adorable name;will be curious if we ever learn the meaning behind it!

 

Image Via People Magazine

 

Week in Review: Jan. 8 – 14, 2012

Hello Royal Watchers! Apologies for the lack of updates this week, I was quite sick for a few days – blogging is a little difficult when you can’t stay awake! Now that I am on the mend and caught up on all of my regal news, thought it would be a good idea to compile all of the week’s headlines in one post.  This is a simple post to get back in the swing of things and share the week’s news. I was hoping to do more in-depth posts on major stories, however that was just not possible this week. I promise to be back with clever posts soon and continue to work on taking this site to the next level.

There was not shortage of headlines this week; from controversy to accolades, royal news was all over the map:

The Duchess of Cambridge

As always, Catherine was a daily fixture in the news this week- from a milestone birthday to show-stopping fashion moments, she has held our attention..

• US Weekly: Inside Kate Middleton’s Intimate 30th Birthday Party – Monday, January 9 marked Kate’s 30th birthday and of course, the rumor mill was churning as to how she celebrated and what gifts she received. The truth is we may never know the exact details of her first birthday as a royal, but it is always fun to guess!*
• Marie Claire: Kate Middleton’s Wedding Dress Up for Design of the Year – It was announced this week that the McQueen gown that left the world speechless on April 29, 2011 is up for the Design Museum’s Design of the Year Award, 2012. The Sarah Burton creation is up against the McQueen Savage Beauty exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as the 2012 Olympic Torch, to name a few.
• The Huffington Post: Kate Middleton ‘Boosts UK Economy By £1bn’: Shoppers Copy Duchess Of Cambridge’s Style – Women yearning to be more like the fashionista Duchess, or “Copy Kates” as they have been dubbed, have reportedly boosted the British economy with more than £1billion spent to be just like her.
• Hello! Magazine: Our readers vote dazzling Duchess the most elegant woman of 2011 – Hello! Magazine readers have voted the always classy Duchess of Cambridge as the most elegant woman of 2011 – is anyone really surprised?

* More on Catherine’s Birthday: Happy 30th Birthday to The Duchess of Cambridge, A Birthday Present to Kate

The War Horse Premiere

• BBC: War Horse premiere attended by duke and duchess – Prince William and Catherine attended the Jan. 8 London premiere of ‘War Horse’ on behalf of The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. Despite the rain, the duo dazzled the red carpet; William in a sharp tux, and Kate in a lace Alice Temperley gown. *
• PrinceofWales.gov: A Speech by HRH The Duke of Cambridge at the War Horse UK premiere

* More on The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the ‘War Horse’ Premiere: William & Catherine Attend ‘War Horse’ Premiere, Jan. 8th 

Royal Gifts – 2011

• PrinceofWales.gov: List of Gifts Given to TRH The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Official Overseas Tours During 2011 – Perhaps one of the most talked about royal headlines of the week, a list of items gifted to the royal couples on official overseas visits from the past year was released by the palace.
• PrinceofWales.gov: List of gifts given to TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall during overseas tours in 2011 – A complete list of gifts TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall received in 2011 – from an electricity monitor to books.
• PrinceofWales.gov: List of gifts given to TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during overseas tours in 2011 – A full list of items gifted to the newlyweds in their first months of marriage, including many presents you wouldn’t suspect – from a sleeping bag to an iPad.

Diamond Jubilee

• London Evening Standard: Fit for a Queen: first sight of barge to lead Diamond Jubilee river pageant – An 88 foot rowbarge will be gifted to The Queen after it leads the family in the June 3rd Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pageant down the Thames River. The gift will become the first state barge in the monarch’s possession in nearly a century
• Travel with Val: Upper East Side British Candy Store Looks Forward to a Jubilee Year – This is not a story that has made major royal headlines, in fact, unless you are from the New York City area you may not have heard of it. It is not a necessarily a news making story, but for us Americans it is something to look forward to in 2012. For those of us who can’t make the hop across the pond, this NYC British candy store – The London Candy Company – will be all decked out and serving the most extensive selection of British candies this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Miscellaneous Royal Happenings

• Architectural Digest: Prince Charles Unveils Dumfries House – Architectural Digest takes an exclusive look inside Dumfries House, the historic country house HRH Prince Charles lead in restoration and redecoration
• CNN: Duchess of York faces charges over Turkey children’s home film – This is a headline sure not to disappear from the news quickly, as it was announced this week The Duchess of York is facing charges over secretly filming children at an orphanage in Turkey.
• Google+: Clarence House – Clarence House joined social networking site Google + this week.
• Gadling: The British Museum has great lineup for 2012 – Another lesser known story that caught my travel news hungry eye this week – a fascinating list of a stunning lineup for The British Museum in 2012.