Kate attended a reception held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace for actors, directors, producers, and other members of the entertainment industry and RADA in honor of the Queen’s 60 years as patron of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.  Prince Michael of Kent also attended.  They meet the guests and watched a few short performances.

There were a number high profile guests including Helen Mirren, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve McQueen, Ralph Fiennes, John Hurt, Uma Thurman, among many (250) others.

Some notable absences were Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch.  Cate was reported as going prior to the event but didn’t attend—she attended Sunday’s BAFTAs though.  Benedict was in New York.  He was supposed to be at this event and at the BAFTAs but the weather is terrible in NY right now and couldn’t make it.  I had a nice quip all planned out in my head about how Kate supporters always claim detractors are “just jealous” (even though they mean “envious”) and how that is never really the case, but it is in this one instance since Kate got to meet Benedict Cumberbatch.  But that doesn’t work now because she didn’t meet him.

The Queen has an honorary BAFTA and apparently keeps it on her TV.  She was talking to Steve McQueen (the director of 12 Years a Slave) about his BAFTA wins and the Queen said she was looking at hers while watching the show because she keeps it on the TV.  ITV has a video of the encounter.  They won’t let me embed the video so go here to see it.  It is a cute exchange.

Kate met Helen Mirren.  Apparently Mirren said, “Your husband called me granny last night.”  And Kate giggled a response of, “I know.”  The word giggle was used by the reporters.  I’m not sure what to make of this.  The giggling is something people harp on with Kate since she does it a lot and it makes her seem childish.  But from the video it wasn’t really a girlish giggle so much as it was a laugh.  Laughing at a joke is fine.  She does need to stop touching her hair though.

I bet Kate loved meeting all those famous people. That should be a dig, because the only events Kate really seems to like are the ones where she gets to meet famous people, but to be honest, I would love to meet a lot of those famous people, too. Kate probably got to meet more people than William. Granted William was at an event with bigger stars, but did he get to meet and chat with all of them? Probably not. So I guess Kate wins this round of “who got the best ‘famous people’ event”. William got to act like a celeb and spent a ton of time walking the red carpet, but Kate got more face time with the celebs themselves. Kate wins.

Kate wore a red bespoke Alexander McQueen dress that she previously wore during the Diamond Jubilee Flotilla in 2012.  The dress in its original form cost $2,045, but Kate had it altered so the true cost of Kate’s dress would be much higher.  Kate accessorized with Cassandra Goad earrings which she previously wore to an event in 2012 (~$2,280), a black bespoke clutch she’s carried a few times (~$750), and black Prada pumps she’s worn a lot.

Not going to lie, I really like this dress… for the most part.  I hate the flaps at her hips.  I hate the peplum trend in general, but these flaps especially look weird.  But that’s something to be taken up with Sarah Burton who designed it, and not Kate.  I’m actually glad Kate took my advice (lol) and wore a vibrant color.  She looks great in red.  The reason I said Kate looks good in red before is because of this dress.  This is one that sticks out in my mind and I remember it clearly from 2012 (she had a really cute tartan scarf that day, too).  I’m glad she brought it back.

Here’s a random thing, Kate wore a band-aid on her left thumb.  I wonder what that was about.  Theories?  George bit her…  Lupo bit her…  She jammed it while trying to lock William in his room to keep him away from Jecca…  Hm…

Is it me or does Kate look a bit manic in this photo?

Why does Kate tilt her head so much when talking to people?

Good lord, her expression!?!