173 thoughts on “Kate Middleton finally visits SportsAid again for their 40th anniversary dinner (update)”

1. Yes, finally a dress in the UK I really enjoy! Lovely color and cut, which adds some interest compared to her recent high necked designs. Like her hair and makeup fine too. I would have had a bracelet; Kate tends to under accessorize although these earrings are Cartier so maybe she wanted them to be the sole focus. Good for her on giving a speech, and the clip showed some improvement from past speeches. Now all she needs is to make more appearances for this patronage…

   1. Hah! with this dress you see how Kate uses sport to keep her desperatly thin silhouette. Why not a more sportive dress (there are some!), to make a real statement for sport. Why talk so naive and indifferent about sport and olympia, when it is known, that in High-performance sport there is so much doping, corupption and NO teamspirit or healthy competition. She could have pointed this very elegantly and diplomaticly out and motivate for a better and friendly spirit, without beeing political, which is fordidden for Members of the RF(I know! Sigh!). If it is not possible to say something profound about what´s going on in the world, so their speeches( and roles) are rather useless and just terrific and naive sugar in a challenging world.

      1. Huh? She’s attending a black tie dinner, why would she wear something more “sportive”? Also, this dinner was not that place to speak out about doping in sports.

   2. The speech sounds ‘technical’ in its delivery – lacking emotional content….

2. Thank You KMR, for this rapid entry!!! I have to agree, this dress is simply breathtaking on her. It’s truely marvelous! I am not going to spoil her Fashin WIN by commenting on all the times in the past where Kate has not measured up to this! I give her entire look a Six out of Five Stars!!! 🙂

3. She looks good, gave a speech that was an improvement, and showed up to a work event. Keep it up.

4. Things I liked: The color and style of the dress are flattering. Kate really seems to have the coloring that compliments a jewel-toned outfit. My guess is she’s either a Winter or Summer. I also liked that the speech was a bit longer.

   Things I didn’t like: Posture, earrings (they remind me of gauges), and she was talking suuuuper fast while giving the speech.

   That’s it for now! Once I finish my snack (and take my meds) I’m off to lala land!! I hope this isn’t too much to ask, but for those of you who believe in prayer and/or a higher being, please pray for me. I fly out EARLY tomorrow morning to CLEVELAND for the TRANSPLANT GAMES and while I’m super excited at reuniting with my transplant family, I’m not a big fan of flying.

   On top of that, the last time I flew to the games (2014, Houston) I had such an issue with my airline that: we left late, I missed the connection, was put on standby and missed *that* one, had to stay overnight at a shady Days Inn and eventually landed at my destination about 12 hours later than originally planned. I’m praying that this doesn’t happen again!!

   Thanks! Again, here is the website for the opening ceremony, which will be on live stream Saturday night and FREE to those in the area who wish to attend:

   http://www.transplantgamesofamerica.org/openingceremony.html

   Here is the main games website: http://www.transplantgamesofamerica.org

   Thank you, KMR, for allowing me to talk about my transplant and the games!!

   1. Kimothy,

      If anything crazy happens or you need a ride or anything, I can pick you up as I live not far from the Cleveland airport. I’ll say a prayer for you!

   2. Hi Kimothy, I saw your comments on other posts regarding the games, but never got a chance to read about it. It’s a really nice initiative, reminded me a bit of the Invictus Games. Hope you have fun and make it there on time!

   3. Will say a prayer for traveling mercies. Have a wonderful time!!

   4. Kimothy, I wish you a wonderful hassle-free flight and will say a special prayer that you travel safely and well, and more, that the Games are another fantastic success for you and all concerned. I doubt I will be able to follow the opening ceremony live from Australia but will try to find it somewhere; excerpts will probably go up on the website. Have a fantastic time!

   5. Have a safe and hassle free life and an amazing time at the Transplant Games Kimothy. It is wonderful that you are dedicating so much if your time and passion for this.

   6. Have a good trip, Kimothy. Don’t worry, everything will go fine. Enjoy your games and do report back!

   7. Have fun Kimothy, and the flight will be fine.

      If you do get delayed then have a look around as it could be God’s way of showing you something, or someone?, new.

      Most of all have fun and happy 20th!!!!!!!!!

   8. Have an awesome awesome trip! Let us know how it all goes!

   9. Have a wonderful time and wishing you the best of luck Kimothy xx

   10. Hey Kimothy,
       Saying prayers for your flight(s) and for the games in general. Have a great time

   11. Have a fine time, Kimothy. Huuuuuuugs to you.

   12. Prayers have been said for safe, no hiccup travel. Let us know how things went for you.

       1. Prayers for safe travels, dear Kimothy. Have fun!

   13. Safe travels!!

   14. To dear Kimothy:
       You are in my prayers and I am sure the prayers of many others. I wish you a safe and easy flight to and from the Games and a wonderful time while there. You truly inspire me with your ability to live a life of energy, joy and good will. How lucky to have met you on this blog!

       Roll with any snafu that dares to come along, but may any snafu be so slight that it will hardly matter at all. You, who have overcome so much, can take on a flight or two with tremendous grace and ease. Go for it, my friend. We are eager to hear all about the time you have!!!!

   15. I hope your flight to Cleveland was an uneventful success!

5. This dress is one of her best and the colour looks great on her. Good on her for sticking with a colour and a silhouette that suits her. Even she looks happy and confident in this outfit, her hump back is not so noticeable as usual. I love the shoulder details on the dress- gives it a visual interest. Although, I gotta say, she is looking very old and rough in the close-up pictures.

   Whats with the heavy bags and the terrible skin, for a woman who lives a life of endless leisure?

   Good on her for giving a speech and a speech that actually makes sense.
   Now in her own words, she admits that she loves sports. So why does she not do more to support sports charities and give it the mental health and physical health angle?

   1. I thought she looked younger here than in recent events. When she goes too heavy on the makeup, it ages her. Here I thought the makeup was not too harsh. I think before India she had Botox since her forehead looks smoother the past two months. I think she looks older than her years since she was known to be a sun worshipper in her twenties. There were rumors of smoking too. Both of those things will accelerate aging. But, really, I hope Kate ages relatively naturally in the future with no major procedures. Of course one can decide if it’s right for them but I often get the sense that those in the spotlight feel pressured to look young forever. Even Botox can make one look quite frozen in the face, which in my opinion isn’t all that more attractive than having wrinkles! Kate’s parents look healthy and so hopefully she will physically age in a similar fashion.

      1. Yes, I agree Anne. Kate suits that colour – the same as that lovely blue coat she wore in Scotland. The dress does accentuate her build but my, she is so thin. I hate commenting on a woman’s body but this is concerning.

         I wish she could do something else with her hair… her face was obscured when she was giving her speech. Her speaking style (rhythm, pauses etc) was very reminiscent of some of Diana’s speeches.

         1. I think that the hairs are a protection when she speaks, the look of the public on her seems less important like that. I don’t know if I am clear.

            1. Yes, Clem, I think you are right. Kate hides behind her hair – it is her ‘safety net’.

   2. Agree with you

   3. I loved this look too, but my one complaint is the dress length. She wore a long evening dress to a daytime sports related function. She looks out of place in these photos. This is a perfect evening look, all that’s missing is a tiara on her head. I think she should have worn one of her boring monotone sheath dresses for this event. But she does look good overall. The color and silhouette of this dress are very flattering on her.

      1. Something has been gnawing at me about this look for this event and you’ve hit the nail on the head JET – the dress is too long and formal for a day event. In all honesty, if I was at an event wearing a t-shirt (like some of the guests here) and my host showed up in a long evening dress I would feel totally under-dressed and embarrassed.

         ps. Hi everyone! I’m a long time reader but have never commented before. Just thought I’d say you wonderful ladies are a bright spot in my day… Laurie from CA, Rhiannon, Birdy, Herzaeus, Snowsie, Clem, Jamel, Red Tulip, Wild Rose, Kimothy, Mrs. BBV (and of course, everyone else I’ve missed), I love hearing your thoughts, reading your perceptions and learning about where you are in the world. Thanks KMR for creating such a lovely community to check in with.

         1. You are so kind! Welcome!
            I think a tea length skirt would have been perfect. Or a shift dress.

            1. Thanks Rhiannon! I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed that you and Mr. Rhiannon finally meet so I can hear all about it!

         2. Hi Beanie Baby what a great name you have chosen!! Welcome and we look forward to more of your comments. We are all missing the Wild Rose at the moment but she will reappear off the high seas subject to getting some internet coverage at some point and we can all sit back and enjoy her rants!!

         3. Hi Beanie Baby, welcome to the comment section.

            About this event: This was not a day event, the dinner didn’t start until about 7, and the dress code was black tie. So Kate was appropriately dressed.

      2. Wasn’t the dress code here evening wear? I had the impression it was a dinner reception. Maybe Kate is not overdressed. Instead some ladies here are underdressed. With the children being there in uniform, it may look more casual, but the occasion might have been formal.

         1. That makes more sense. But don’t the photos look a little strange? They are outside in the daylight, and everyone looks informal except for Kate. That is throwing me off. It looks like she left the ballroom, strolled into the garden, and took pictures with some tourists.

            1. +1

               If it was a dinner reception, then fair enough: wear evening gowns like nobody’s business (I LOVE having a reason to put on a pretty dress) BUT why have your guests of honor in running shoes? Its totally confusing. I feel like I’m belaboring the point, but an afternoon reception with Rhiannon’s tea length dress or JET’s sheath dress suggestions would have been perfect to showcase the athletes in their uniforms. OR better yet, invite everyone to dress up and visit KP in their finest (again, love having a reason to get spiffy) and mingle with royalty in those gorgeous gardens and state rooms.

            2. To be fair this wasn’t afternoon it was evening. In this part of the world in the summer it is light until 10pm so at 7 pm it looks like daytime. If it had been me I may have worn long , but less formal long if you know what I mean?
               Glad it didn’t rain in London this morning. I currently have a very wet dog, banished to the kitchen it’s been raining all day and eventually I had to give in and doggie walk in the rain.

            3. Hi Jet
               At this time of year since the UK is so far north it stays light out until about 9pm if not later.

      3. The dress code was black tie, and the dinner didn’t start until about 7. Kate was appropriately dressed.

6. I love the dress and hair but the eyes are becoming more dead with every event. There is no spark, no passion. Makes me sad. :/ Loving what I do is what gets me out of bed in the morning.

   1. +1

7. $50k earrings. That’s about what one expects from her I guess.

   She looks very ill, tired, and very old for 34 despite the vibrant color of the gown that suits her. Whatever underthings she’s wearing create weird lines under the gown, which in general I like but I think the silhouette would suit someone who stands up straight and doesn’t let it wear her. The dead eyes just make me sad for her. There’s no light or life in there. Nobody’s home.

   The speech–me, me, me, I, I, I. If she cared so much about SportsAid she’d be involved but I think it’s time to just admit that Kate doesn’t care about anyone but herself and her position through William. It just all is so underwhelming. I like to think she has potential but I don’t think so anymore. :/

   1. Totally agree. Only interest is me, me, the middletons and family of +4 with taxpayers paying for her her làifestyle. What a waste of position and Title.

      She looks ill, malnourish and the toes …. At such an event, she seems overdressed – the color is too much.

   2. Hi Ellie, I just noticed the odd bunching under the bodice of this dress and I wonder if she was wearing a lace bustier or one with some type of applique on it that caused the weird ripples? It’s the little things like this, the things that don’t get noticed by either the Duchess or who ever else is helping her prepare, that hold her back and prevent her outfits from really wowing.

      1. That’s what I was thinking she was wearing underneath. I’d go for smooth Spanx, myself!

         AFAIK she doesn’t paint her toes because William doesn’t like nail polish. I’ve heard that multiple times from multiple sources. Not sure how true it is though.

         I just find it so underwhelming and I’ve gone from disappointed to just… Well, this is as good as it will get with her. At least she doesn’t say rude things like William, but inane, embarrassingly stupid things, but hey, she’s polite and nice to people. Just dull as dishwater with about as much depth as a kiddie pool.

         If you have that much privilege you should be making sure you darn well earn it…

         1. Really?! She doesn’t have nail polish because William doesn’t like it?! Girl needs to grow a spine and some personality. I do my nails for me, not for my boyfriend or my mom or my friend or anyone. You don’t like it? Get over yourself.

            Agreed on her being dull. Love the dress, but she ruins it with her blahness.

            1. Is it not a matter of protocol?

            2. Some say she does not like nail polish but she had her feet nails painted red for official events twice, so maybe she didn’t wanted bc she could not find one to match the dress we all know how hard it is for her to accessorize (if I’m not mistaken the red toenails were used with sparkly/metallic sandals and a white dress).

               There are people who say protocol only allows for women to wear very light and transparent colours so it could be it.

               However I’m more inclined to believe the first bc, from my observations, protocol has became very flexible since The Queen Mother passed away.

         2. When a woman is her own person, she does what she wants. I say, a little toe polish never hurts. Especially, if Kate likes it. Maybe, she doesn’t though.

            William wants. William likes. William, William, William. What’s Kate, 13 years old?

            1. Exactly! I’m not one to wear it on my fingers. I do like a little peekaboo on my toes. Why? Because it makes me happy. Gone are the days that I do what a man wants 24/7. I might consider it, but it will be my choice. Kate’s starting to sound like she can’t breathe without William’s approval.

         3. During Diana’s time, colored nail polish was against the royal dress code. You only saw her wear colored polish after the separation. Could be that is still in effect.

      2. I’m assuming she’s wearing underwear; apparently if she wears hose, then she wears no knickers. If no hose, a g-string. I’m wondering if the bra was just padded with lacy detail causing the ripple? Sad we’re discussing her underwear or lack thereof!!

         1. Oh, Jen, I was thinking the same thing.

            With Kate, there is always the subject of underwear or not, though. Right?

            I am not a huge fan of the dress — other than the color.

            This style is not exactly unique. I’ve seen such dresses many times and don’t find them very appealing. Her earrings? I hated them!

            Kate looked so thin. So terribly thin. She also looks lost in the group photo. She’s in the center, but seemed so alone. She doesn’t seem to be able to separate from her own level of discomfort and read how others feel. If she had just been a bit more approachable to the kids, I think the photo would have been lovely.

            Her speech didn’t thrill me, but did I really think it would? I think she just wants to be left alone. Too bad she didn’t realize just what marrying the future King entailed. Kate just doesn’t seem happy. She seems pretty miserable with all the responsibilities that come with the territory. I’d feel really badly if I wasn’t so upset by the fact that she takes the perks with no problem, but just doesn’t want to do any of the work that she’s really expected to do.

            She may be trying, but I don’t see it. I hate to be negative, but that is how I feel.

   3. I found the weird lines under her breasts quite distracting. I wish she would’ve worn something smoother.

   4. $50K for boring earrings.

      1. If I had $50k of my father in law’s cash to spend I’d get some really gorgeous Cartier earrings that aren’t giant hoops you could find for $50 that look great… How about diamond chandelier earrings?! Oh what I’d do with a $50k jewelry budget.

8. I really liked the whole outfit, but I think she should have worn her hair up since the dress has cut out shoulders. Also loved the earrings.

   Watching the video I got the impression that her accent has softened a bit and her pronunciation has improved. She seems nervous, but at least she’s making an effort.

   1. Hi Paula, I only saw a bit of her speech and while she did a bit better, the long pauses in the middle of the sentences really needs to stop, it’s almost as if she keeps losing her place and has to find it all over again.

      1. It was what I noticed too, Lauri. Her long pauses exist since her first speech and really it has to stop.

      2. To me the pauses show she hasn’t prepared for the speech. I’m not the greatest at public speaking either. But I do know that when I need to make a speech, I practice and practice and make sure I’ve memorized it like the back of my hand. Goes to show that she probably just tried to wing it again. She needs to be giving more speeches. She might actually improve if she did.

         1. Hi Jen & Miss K, while there are times a pause is a speech is used to add a bit of gravitas or allow the point made to sink in with the audience, the pauses Kate makes are just awkward and with out meaning.

            1. I admit I was so focused on her accent that the pauses didn’t bother me that much. I’m willing to believe they are due to her being nervous.

               I remember during college I had to do a lot of presentations. Some of my classmates would speak well while we were practicing in private, but when they got in front of the class it was a disaster. Maybe this is her case? After all the criticism she’s been getting, I really refuse to believe that she wouldn’t at least practice a bit with her team.

               I agree, Miss K, I think she would improve if she just put herself out there more.

9. The dress is well-tailored. The color is beautiful. Lovely dress for a woman in her 40s.

   Kate is 34. It’s a boring dress and underaccessorized to the point of distraction. If the earnings were the focus her hair needed to be up.

   Boring boring boring. 34 and a model’s figure and wearing the same colored dress for three straight gala events.

10. I like the side profile of her best because she actually looks like a self-possessed woman rather than a giggling school girl. The other shots of her though— I don’t get the same impression looking at her head on.

11. I love Roland Mouret’s work but I’m afraid this dress does accentuate her painful thinness. Even stood by the children she looks thinner than them. The Daily Mail has actually referenced her physical fragility in a headline……whether it’s still there later today I’ll be surprised but she does not look at all well. But as Ellie says she’s dead behind the eyes. Some of the close up pictures in the Mail show very dehydrated skin and very drawn in the eye area. Easily fixed with a good eye cream so why doesn’t she? Does she want us to know she’s suffering?

    How much she bores me…..I’m more fascinated by the glorious room and the amazing art behind her as she speaks. But good for her for getting up and trying again. I expect she’s been made to realise that public speaking isn’t going to go away so she had better get on and embrace it. You pushed for this life Kate, better like it because it’s your children’s birthright now.

12. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I think the dress is breath taking. This is the first look from her that wow’ed me since the baby boy blue hi-lo Jenny Packham about a year and a half ago! I would have preferred slightly more impressive accessories, and that hair DEFINITELY needed to go up just to be out of her face for the speech, but I agree with the poster upthread: here’s Kate doing her blue/black, hair down, under accessorized look well, for once.

    Kudos for the slight improvements in length/content of her speech, but her hair reminded me of one of those sheepdogs who can’t see because of all the hair in their eyes. Very distracting and obnoxious.

    She must have some vacation plan up her sleeve.

    1. I agree with you, Charlotte. This is the first dress Kate has worn in quite a long that time that really wowed me.

13. Beautiful dress, nice accessories, hair should have been at least half up to show off the great neckline and expensive earrings. I’d say a 4 out of 5 on this outfit. And while her posture was no where near Leti’s it wasn’t quite as bad as usual, so maybe someone has noticed and is trying to correct it.

    I was struck at how distanced she was from the kids in the group shot. God forbid she puts an arm around one of the kids or a hand on their shoulder. I kept thinking that if it was Harry everyone would have been closer together and he would have been touching at least one person, the difference between Harry and the Duchess, at least in this one instance, was jarring. I thought she was supposed to be the “children’s princess”? or am I wrong about that?

    Thanks so much for such a great post KMR!!

    1. Oh yes, Laurie from Ca, you read that wrong, must have been a typo. I believe they meant to say she is the “princess WITH children”…or something like that ?

       1. Hahaha!! you are quite witty Ray!

    2. Oh, Lauri, you’re not wrong. At the beginning of her princess hood, the PR line flogged was that she was “the children’s princess” but it never took, possibly because she is so awkward with kids and even worse with ill children.

    3. Her posture seems to look better when she’s around things that she likes. Notice her pics with Ben Ainsley and sailing; her posture looks alright there. It’s when she doesn’t want to be working or be seen with certain people, is when she gets anxiety and it shows in her posture. She is so lazy, that she has turned it into a chronic illness, it seems.

       the only thing she’s ever been good at is gold digging. And unfortunately for her, gold digging is not exactly a profession and she’s starting to see that. Hence the awkwardness, the dead behind the eyes look. I have little sympathy for this woman who is lazy and greedy and just takes takes takes, giving little back.

       1. Good one Red Tulip! You made me laugh with the, “She is so lazy, that she has turned it into a chronic illness, it seems…the only thing shes’s ever been good at is gold digging.” Isn’t there a saying along the lines of, “Marry for money and you will work to earn every penny.”

          I do have to say this is one of Kate’s better looks for 2016. Goodness, almost 50K for earrings! I bet she can’t wait to get her hands on the big stuff in the royal collection.

          1. Lol my toddler woke me up at 5am and I was feeling particularly moody and snarky when I wrote that?

             1. Lol, I’ve noticed if I’m feeling a bit off, I too get a bit more snarky-ier than usual! Sorry you were awoken so rudely 🙁

             2. Red Tulip, Hang in there.
                Hope your little one sleeps to a more suitable hour tomorrow.
                Sometimes, I feel like I sleepwalk through my days.
                Maddie was sleeping so well for months and now, she is raring to go every morning at 6am. She’s usually up crying for a bit around 1am, too.

                If I could ask for anything it would be One Complete Night of Uninterrupted Sleep. That, and a champagne cocktail right about now!

14. I like the blue dress but hate the cheap silver zipper up the back. It looks so tacky. A dress of that type should have an invisible zipper that is the same color as the dress. I don’t love the black accessories. I think silver or a matching blue would have been a better choice. Maybe blue evening shoes in a matching fabric and a silver evening clutch?

    I think the price of those earrings is obscene. Cartier or not they look cheap. Of course we can barely see them for the floor mop attached to her head. Every time I see pictures of her with her hair down, I want to go at her with a pair of scissors. When I first saw the earrings, before they were identified, I thought the lapis earrings from India would have been a good choice with the dress. I still think it would be an interesting look.

    1. I would have paired a wide, silver cuff bracelet with this dress. And definitely would have added some color on her toe nails.

       1. Were I in that dress I’d have done my hair up, maybe some diamond dangling or chandelier earrings, and a bracelet. Maybe one of the ones HM has loaned out. And silver heels – not sandals but proper heels I think would look better?

          1. Hi Ellie,
             I thought about silver heels at first (not the hideous Jimmy Choo sandals she has worn before) but figured everyone would say silver heels and and silver clutch was too matchy matchy. I am of an age that I like shoes and handbag to match. I like your idea of diamond earrings and bracelet. My idea with the lapis was based on her hair down – need something big to show through the mop.

          2. I am with you 100% Ellie. That would have been fabulous. I do love the colour of the dress. It is my favourite colour.

          3. Violet or pink shoes would be something cool with that gorgeous blue jewel tone. Unexpected and it would really pop without looking tacky or silly. 🙂

             I like matchy-matchy with my shoes and clutch. I speak as if I ever have events to go to with clutches, but I digress…

             I’m going to a wedding this September and I so wish it was very formal so I could wear a long gown instead of a cocktail dress!

    2. Agree with you about the zipper up the back : the price of the dress is high too. I didn’t see the price of the earrings, wouah!!

       I don’t think that the lapis earrings from India will make their come back. I read on DM (so maybe no true) that they are a link with the Talibans…

    3. Good post…. ITA!

    4. There is a recent report from Global Witness detailing the link between lapis mining and the funding of terrorism, calling lapis a conflict material.

       If even one of her advisors has *any* global awareness, she won’t be showing up in those giant lapis earrings again soon.

       1. Oh, expecting her advisors – just one step removed from Kate’s own cluelessness – to know anything much beyond what’s in the latest edition of ‘Hello’ is a stretch. So another 50K down the drain…

    5. I think if she had worn the lapis earrings I would have thought the same thing the last time she wore them: too much blue.

15. Lovely gown, flattering color. The earrings, what a departure from her norm, she doesn’t own many pieces in that price range! I’m not keen 😉 on her Cartier necklace, these earrings are much nicer.

16. The dress was beautiful on her. But a necklace would have been nice. Her speech was really bad. She can’t say one word without looking at her paper. No excuse after 5 years.

    1. Don’t you think a necklace would have cluttered up the interesting neckline?

       1. I thought about a necklace but I do think it would have been too distracting with the neckline and cutouts on the shoulders. A bracelet would have been great, though.

17. I think she looked lovely. One of her best looks ever. 😀

    I’m glad she delivered a speech. Sad that she did not mention a paralympic athlete but due to her post olympics 2012 behaviour I’m not really surprised… I heard some extracts of her speech and it did not seemed like she improved, she still made pauses at awkward moments and the way she moved her head away from the microphone made it very hard, for me, to understand.
    She hinted she is going to Brasil, hopefully we’ll have other official confirmation soon! 🙂

    On another note, imo, it seemed this event was planned especially for Kate to attend. The dinner was hosted in what looks like a very small room, stunning but small to host one of the biggest supporting athletes organizations of UK, [ https://twitter.com/byEmilyAndrews/status/740970055178063873 ] She did not go to the official gala celebration on 8th of April (isn’t it odd to have two 40year celebrations? they are not the Queen…) [BTW KMR has covered Kate’s absence here: http://katemiddletonreview.com/2016/04/08/kate-middleton-writes-birthday-message-for-a-patronage-she-hasnt-visited-in-17-months/ ]

    1. Snowsie, I think you might be onto something there.
       KMR, do you know if the purpose of both events, other than to celebrate this milestone, was to raise funds? If so, what was their target, how much were tickets and how much was raised on each occasion? I sure hope so otherwise throwing two formal events in as many months does seem rather excessive and wasteful especially for a charity. Surely the costs involved with throwing the second dinner could have been put to better use, perhaps something that would make a lasting impact instead of lasting for just one evening.

       1. So did she host the event? Did she invite the SportsAid people or she visited them? Is it possible that she held this dinner because she was called out for not joining them at their anniversary and sending just the letter? Maybe KMR knows what’s going on here.

          1. That’s entirely possible. But I, personally, have a hard time believing that we wouldn’t have heard her praises sung by now if she did host the event. After all, she and William are quick to take credit/toot their own horns, announcing that she hosted the event would have given her some positive PR and the royal reporters to gush over.

    2. That’s interesting Snowsie. I wonder why two events were needed so close together? Must have used up financial resources better spent elsewhere unless it was a ticketed event.

       1. I hope that it is KP which pays for the night : even if at the end of the day it is the taxpayer who pays.

18. Wow. This is an improvement. She looks like her age range, I love the earrings, and dig the whole thing. I still think she plays it safe with the deliberate choice of blue and lack of color via pedicure or big signature jewelry, but this is a step forward.

    1. I agree. I like the look in general, I don’t think there is a wow factor there, she just plays safe as you said. We know she can pull the sleek silhouette off, however it accentuates her thinness.

       My biggest problem here again, is the hair. It seems it’s back to its older length and the safety blanket use.

       Well done Kate for the speech, you did well and you can do better, and thank you KMR for the prompt coverage of the event.

    2. Kate will never get out of her safe zone, and I actually don’t see any problem with that. What bothers me is 1) the obscene amount of money she spends buying clothes that look the same and 2) people calling her a style icon. I consider Bea and Eugenie to be much more stylish than her. Even with their terrible choices, at least they try to be different and have fun when dressing up.

19. Not had my coffee yet this morning so I apologise for being grumpy.

    It’s June in Britain…we are celebrating the 90th birthday, the Euros and we have Brexit in two weeks. So she wears a FRENCH designer. The woman has no class. Vic Beckham does very similar dresses AND her husband is en ex Captain of the English team. That would have been a better message. The Cartier earrings? Why bother with all that hair, and why not wear some of the beautiful Royal jewels available to her?
    And underwear… She seems to be shrinking since having babies, but small women need good support for different reasons than larger, and the top of the dress looks ill fitting because of poor support.

    I do actually love the dress and the colour, just don’t think it what a British princess should be wearing.

    And Dame Tanni – one of our greatest sports women – Kate needs to learn how to speak to people in wheelchairs in a respectful way. Towering over them is terrible. Dame Tanni would be a much better Patron.

    Personally I can’t see Kate or William going to Rio because I think they want a third child pretty soon. This virus is a terrible thing, I am too old for the effects to worry me thankfully.

    Go Kimothy, hope you fly safe and have a wonderful few days.

    1. I’m off to work too and grabbing a coffee:-)

    2. I’m with you Birdy.
       Kate’s been doing this for 5 years, she does get a pass mark but also gets a “must try harder” from me.

       The dress is great but considering what is going on in the UK at the moment and considering Kate is married to the heir to the heir then she should be supporting British designers.

       IMO she is still making herself the main topic and not the charity. In the first photo she looks like she is pretending she’s the only one there, no connection with anyone else in the photo. As for the photo of her towering over the lady in the wheelchair? It made me feel very uncomfortable!

       1. So far this year, she spends 109,888.1 £ (Source : Royal Dish) but I think the jewels are counted too.

          I really want to know how many money by year royals spend on clothes.

          1. I don’t sure the jewels are counted finally….

    3. Victoria Beckham’s designs look so much like Roland Mouret’s designs because Beckham steals Mouret designs.

       1. Roland Mouret’s Moon dress is probably one of the few designer pieces I’d love to have in my wardrobe, I do have a quite good copy by Cue though. I hadn’t realised Victoria Beckham was copied his designs too.

          Kate does look good in this dress but would have looked better it she had styled it differently, hair up or half up, half down to show off the neckline and the earrings would have worked better. And some polish on her toes, like a bright red, would have been a cheeky splash of colour. As per normal I feel that floppy hairdo lets her down, I have hair the same length as Kate so know it is easy to use products and to style your hair so when down it doesn’t fall forward on to your face – can Amanda Tucker not manage that?

20. The Video of the speech annoyed the crap out of me. She looked like she was suffering from Tourette’s the way she kept on jerking her head around.

    No offence to anyone who actually may suffer from this though, Kate just annoys me. Much better on the clothes front but not the speech. It as if someone as told her to look up when she is speaking and now she does it continuously. She looked to the left a lot and then to the right and then to the middle. It was like she had “The Hokey Pokey” running through her head while she was giving the speech and her head was doing the actions

    1. I agree with you, Tanya. That head twitching was really distracting and odd.

21. I like her whole look. I think she looks very nice. I do think she looks tense in the group photo; however, some people arent touchy feely.

22. Kate finally visited a charity and even gave a speech… I just don’t understand that if she is so passionate about sports (don’t even doubt that), that she wouldn’t visited them more often, take more patronages on this topic, just something!
    Sure there was the comment on what’s the point of Harry being at the boxclub and telling is again why sports is important also for mental health but it would be something! For all charities those visits are important and even though we heard about topic before, it might be important to keep it in people’s minds… there is a long way to go.

    1. Kate didn’t visit the charity … the charity visited her LOL!! Maybe that the new plan – get them to come to her that way she she doesn’t have to leave her gilded cage.

       I actually liked the dress but god God it really highlights how painfully thin she is. I didn’t like the earrings and nearly chocked on my morning tea when I saw how much they cost.

       KM & PW have been a little busier than usual so I’m assuming a summer holiday has already been arranged (Discretely of course so as not to anger the unwashed masses!)

       1. If the mountain won’t come… actually one way of her work could be to invite people to Kensington, but that’s nothing she does.

          I try not to put too much focus on clothes of Royals as we all have a different taste and important should be that they dress according protocol but the price of earrings is indeed shocking!

          Same old, same old before Wimbledon and holidays they tend to show up for some events so that it looks like they have been busy.
          But says all that since CFS we have seen Beatrice more often then these two and she isn’t even a working Royal!

23. I just dont find her physically attractive, I mean when shes dressed down gosh, she looks terrible, the last pics with george and char, she just doesnt look royal material sorry!!!

    1. No, she doesn’t look Royal.

       Who can ever forget the photos of Diana in the khakis and white sleeveless blouse as she held little babies while visiting Africa? Even when she dressed down, the woman had CLASS!

       I agree that the photos of Kate in those long, ugly dresses, as she strolled with her kids around the grounds of her estate loo ked ghastly. I just don’t see a happy or regal woman in the pix we mostly see of Kate.

       1. Forgot to add: the way you look, for example your hair, the colour of your eyes, the condition of your skin, your figure(whether you are slim or rather curvy,…), is (almost) all because of your genes, so this should NOT determine whether someone is “royal material”.
          The character, the education, the temper, the inner values can determine whether one is royal material or not.

          1. I agree. “royal material” is about how one acts and carries oneself, not about looks.

             1. Conversely, how a royal presents themselves does matter. Choose to dress in appropriate business clothing vs. inappropriate flyaway skirts. Focus on your work vs. focusing on your makeup and spray tan. In that way “looks” do matter.

    2. I respect your opinion, but I don’t think anyone should write that someone is not attractive at all on the internet. It is okay to say that she should do more for her charities, visit them more often (especially EACH, I think their work is so so important!!!), but not about whether or not someone finds her attractive. Everyone has different tastes, for example William seems to think she is very attractive 😉

       1. If people are allowed to express the opinion that they think she is stunning, beautiful, and attractive why would people NOT be allowed to express the opposite opinion?

          So much of the obsessive fandom around Kate Middleton focuses solely on her looks and her clothing. Why should that side be heard, but those who find her looks false and unattractive (or completely beside the point) be required to be silent?

    3. Physical attractiveness is all about personal taste, though. I think “looking like royal material” is about how one acts and carries oneself rather than physical attractiveness.

24. Another site had posted a picture from the last time she appeared at the Sports Ball in 2013 and the difference in her appearance was startling to me. She appeared so much younger (and happier) in the previous photos.

25. Finally, our duchess wore a really beautiful dress. It’s simple and elegant. I liked her speech, too. Thank you KMR.

26. I read a comment on the net (don’t remember the reference, sorry) about her capacity to say different things (like I love the sport, happy to be here…. or speak about sad things) with the same tone. It is a shame that we don’t have a speech in video, Emily Andrews gave some extract of the speech, but it is difficult to say if she improved. Anyway, she speaks, it is good. I love her dress here.

27. I think she looks very attractive.

    My mhh part is, this continual quest to make Kate “royal.” There’s a sickening undertone to a person who has no roots, that’s completely playing a part that is one part continual deception, one part manipulator. If Kate were a house, the real clue to who she is, is the trash heap out back where she tosses everything that can’t make her “regal.” The public liked the idea of a everyday woman, someone we’d know and relate to, as a future Queen. Instead, here’s Kate who turns herself into an edible arrangement, rather than appreciating her natural self—but I don’t think she was ever allowed to have one.
    Sorry for the musings.
    Glad she gave a speech. She’s getting comfortable with her Received Pronounciation.

    1. She chose to completely remake herself 1) to become popular at school 2) to catch William 3) to get William back several times. It isn’t the royals who are turning her into a Stepford wife. She and her mother did that 15-20 years ago.

       1. I know, Carole’s been working on her and through her since day one. At some point Kate took the dream and made it her own.

    2. I think it’s amusing how Kate was pushed as the “everywoman” who became a princess, then she promptly ditched everything that made her an “everywoman”, completely negating everything her PR claimed about her.

       1. +1

       2. Likely because it was all PR, not what she was really like. This is who she is and has been for the 15 years she’s been in the public eye. Lazy, image obsessed, uninterested in the majority of people around her.

28. I like the dress…until you get to the shoulder detail. I don’t care for it. The color is beautiful. But black shoes and black clutch? Get jazzy. I would have worn red or silver. Red just for the small peek of shoe as I walk. Her hair needs to be done up. If I had on earrings that expensive, I would wear a bare neckline and a chignon. And a French designer? So much for supporting British talent.

    Kudos to her for giving a speech. But her support remains flat. If she really loves sport, why does she not go to events that showcase Sports Aid? Special Olympics? Oh, she just wants to go to the cool ones such as Wimbledon or rugby matches. Adaptive sports matches are just as good, of not better than their counterparts. This is why I truly think she doesn’t know how to connect with people outside of her social circle.

    Thanks, KMR. She’s headed in the right direction, but still has a ways to go.

    1. So true, Rhiannon. And, your idea of red shoes! Love it!
       Hope you are feeling better!

       1. I’m getting there. I am still pretty uncomfortable. And it’s hot as Mars here. it will reach the upper 90s starting this weekend. I have an appointment on Monday so wish me luck.

          1. Hi, Rhiannon,

             I was just wondering if you have seen a doctor. I will be thinking of you and do wish you the best with your health. It sounds so hot and uncomfortable. I hope you will rest inside and take care of yourself this weekend. May the doctor have a way to help you and may your health rebound 100% xxoo

             1. I’m going on Monday. This should not be a left over from food poisoning.

                Thanks, Jenny. I am tired of the cramping. I want to lay on my tummy and feel better.

             2. Have a restful weekend Rhiannon and I’m hoping the doctor will be able to tell you what is going on at your appointment and will give you something to fix it.

                A quick cool down fix is to run cold water over the inside of your wrists, it’s the one place where the blood veins are closest to the skin – works for me (most times).

             3. Thank you, Cathy! I will do just that ?

29. Haven’t posted anything in awhile due to my negative feelings about Will and Kate and how they conduct themselves. It’s all been said over and over. However, on a scale of 1 to 10 I give this outing an 8.
    She spoke-good
    Dress-looked great on her, not buttoned up to her chin
    Hair-should have been up so earrings could be main accessory focus, although I do not love the earrings.
    Speech-spoke a bit too fast but also seemed to have long pauses
    Have a good weekend everyone!

    1. Have a great weekend!

30. I guess I am alone in my dislike of the dress. Great color, but screamed off the rack to me. I’ve seen that look tons of times. Nothing unique or special about it. Just blah! She seemed so out of place with the kids in that gown, as well as how she seemed to distance herself from them while standing among them. Why, as mentioned above, couldn’t she place her arms around those next to her? Would have been a nice touch.

    Oh, well. Her speech was classic “nothing.” If she is so into mental health, why not incorporate in her words how wonderful sports are for one’s physical and emotional well-being?

    I, too, was more fascinated by the surroundings at the Palace, than in what she wore or said.

    Kate is just a major bore. She has such an opportunity time and time again, to hit it out of the park (as we Americans say), and she either can’t or won’t! Tired of her, frankly.

    1. +1000

    2. I don’t know what “screamed off the rack” means. The dress is a ready-to-wear and not bespoke. So it is “off the rack”, so it should look like that? I don’t understand why that’s bad.

       1. I think the comment is that while this dress costs thousands of pounds you can find a very similar cheap alternative from ASOS or similar ( do you have ASOS in the States?) . If you’re paying so much you expect a design not available on every High Street .
          Am I right Jenny?

          1. You also expect a $3000 dress to fit properly. This looks like she grabbed if from the prom section an hour before she wore it.

             Mouret is a foreign designer. Her job description is promote UK.

          2. Yes, Birdy. You said it better than I did in my response. One spending so much money would not expect to see a similar design for so much less money at a discount store. Sorry, I am not sure what ASOS is. Perhaps, like T.J. Max here in the States.

       2. Ok, let me reword it, KMR.

          The dress looked like any other gown one sees at traditional dept. stores. Make more sense? I have seen that look on hangars dozens of times at Lord&Taylor, Bloomies, and even Macy’s. I just don’t think it has the wow effect that others seem to think. To each her own.

          Off the rack is not bad, but when you talk evening wear and a Duchess, I usually think of a more unusual design. Not something I would see at the local mall.

          Also, the more I look at the photos, the less I think she looks together. She just does not seem to be able to put together sharp looks with panache.

          The color is lovely. The style, as I said, too often seen. And, the fact that she had not a bracelet on, or any shoes that would allow the look to pop more, just did not capture my interest. My baby dresses better. I’m not kidding. Not that she has been to any formal affairs of late! But that kid can rock an outfit!

          1. Ah. I understand. Personally, I like the streamlined, sleek style of dress rather than something too busy, but that’s just me. So I like this dress.

             1. I liked the dress, but it did not have the Wow effect on me that it had on others.

    3. You’re not alone jenny, I thought the color was great, but the dress (at least on Kate) didn’t do anything for me.

       1. Thanks, Lisa. Hope all is well with your mom and you.

31. If you want to look at how a woman who loves sport and has a platform can really make a difference can I ask you to google Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. She is an active member of the House of Lords, and patron of numerous sporting organisations and really makes a difference – not just for disabled, super athletes, but for all. She won 16 Paralympic and 13 World Championship medals which is an astonishing record, and also regularly competed in the London Marathon, helping to make it one of THE marathons for wheelchair athletes. I find her inspirational, and I believe Kate could do with sitting down with her and finding out how she, in her even more high profile position, could make a real difference.
    It is such a shame that we all – and I very much include myself in this – discuss Kate’s clothes at a sporting event championing Olympians, so close to Rio. We do, because there is so little else to talk about.
    Sorry everyone, I have clearly had my coffee, but I just googled Dame Tanni to remind myself, and the difference between her own achievements with very challenging physical problems, and Kate’s just made me feel angry and also sad.

    1. I agree with you Birdy.

       We hear often that Kate is such a sports fan etc. But what has she really done personally which is sporty? At school she played hockey, well so did lots of us (I played hockey, soccer and cricket for school and against other schools). But did she play in a competition or social team after leaving school? Did Kate play in a university sports team? Not that I have heard off? That’s what people do when they are sporty. Kate may play a few games of tennis with her family but that seems to be the limit, she doesn’t belong to a club and play club tennis. The only sporty thing I can see Kate participating in is lots of exercises so she can get to be whippet thin, and as she has such poor posture I’m picking that she is training without a personal trainer. As far as I can she her only attempt at anything team like was the boat race team but she jumped ship as soon as she got William back, not very sportsman like was that?
       I’m thinking SportsAid need a new patron too!

32. I agree with the many, varied comments here. The dress is beautiful, kudos for attempting a speech, and at least she showed up.

    I just don’t believe she relishes her responsibilities toward the British people. In her mind, it’s not what she signed up for and she deeply resents being forced to work for her million dollar lifestyle. You can see it in her body language and the distance she keeps between herself and others. She’s polite, but not engaged.

    I expect to see more flashing and bizarre behavior from her in response to being forced to work. She seems to find fulfilling her duties as humiliating, and her tolerance for humiliation is very high given her many years as a booty call without any commitment from Wills. Her resentment towards being forced to work must run very deep.

    1. Indiana, a most intriguing comment!
       I agree that she does seem to resent having to work.
       Her flashing is a definite way to express her resentment.
       There is something sad about Kate and her ways. If William truly loves her, he should see that she gets help. Of course, he needs help, too. Don’t we all, though? Still, those who realize they have a problem with a certain aspect of their life, usually look for support.
       In their position, perhaps, it is too frowned upon?

       1. Mary Elizabeth, You are so right that we all have our foibles and pain. Perhaps we are simply seeing KM exhibiting one aspect of being a human being. We all have resentments. We all deny things we find unpleasant. We all dislike work at times. But some of us overcome those difficulties and become better people. I think Kate is starting very late in understanding that where there is great priviledge there is great responsibility. Her parents never taught her that and she has been reluctant to work on any of the skills she needs to fufill her new duties effectively during the past five years.

          It will be interesting to see how Kate navigates this new effort to re brand her. Perhaps she will become more serious about her responsibilities.

          1. Hi, again, Indiana:

             I so think that you are aright. Kate’s parents never taught her the responsibilities that come with adulthood. Carole just navigated her daughter through the waters of finding a prince and landing him. She never taught Kate just what her duties would entail.

             I don’t know if I believe that Kate — at this point – has what it takes to become more serious-minded and caring. I hope I am wrong.

             Next up: Tennis, anyone? That should be an all smiles, all exciting time for the Duchess. Oh, and Trooping The Color! Will she feel out of place? Will she drag Charlotte along to make an extra splash. George’s attendance guaranteed some positive press last year.

             I am such a witch, today. Had my coffee, but still feeling out of sorts.

             1. I think it would have to be a jolt of severe and epic proportion to change Kate. William too. It beggars belief that the Middleton’s did not know that duties are attached to a royal role. I think the answer is simpler: Kate is just arrogant and self-absorbed.

                I’d guess that the kids will be rolled out at the TOTC to ensure favourable press for their parents. The Cambridge’s are nothing if not manipulative and very slippery.

             2. I too seriously doubt she work at anything. Her communcation default is flirting in a “naughty” way with any man, even husband’s grandfather.

33. I finally understand why Kate always looks so disengaged from the peons. The photos here are a perfect example of the Perfect Princess stance. Kate is all about being a princess, set apart and on high from the great unwashed and others, in the pantheon of the gods. That’s why her image matters so much to her. She sets herself up as being on a higher, rarified plane than anyone else. It matters to her.

    So, her appearance is truly about gracing the peons with her princessy presence and has almost nothing to do with whatever is happening around her. She floats through these events on a princessy cloud dispensing her fragrant benevolence of just showing up looking more stunning than you (in her eyes) and richer than you. Kate is the Princess of all Princesses, and actually, Queen over all of them and you, nay… Goddess. Replace her with a marble statue and you’d get the same effect.

    1. Hahhhahaha perfect description of her. And the funniest part is, she is supposedly a commoner. That’s what added to her popularity and appeal.

34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3dWS-JYZ8&feature=youtu.be

    Here the link of the speech in this integrality

35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3dWS-JYZ8&feature=youtu.be

    Link to the speech in the integrality.

    1. lol OMG cringeworthy! lol Idk what was so important “to the left, to the left” that she kept looking that way lol

       1. She looks so uncomfortable during the speech. I wonder why she doesn’t get a public speaking teacher to help her.

          1. Actually, her speech delivery comes across as someone who is irritated, if not angry. I suspect she does has a coach and was told to be more emphatic (which comes across as irritation) and to look at people (which results in the look left, look right number). The first half of the speech focuses on her: why? The second half collapses into ho-hum, all in less than 2 minutes. I honestly cannot understand why getting this woman to work and speak is like pulling teeth. Nor why she refuses to improve except at glacial levels. I cannot understand why almost everything bores her, except attractive men.

             1. Jen, I am with you. Why it’s so hard to get Kate to work and give speeches is beyond me.

                I guess she is just too childish. She has never grown up. Everyone has to face a “job” they don’t like. Not all of us can skate through life. But, Kate’s parents — mostly, her Mum, I think – – just prepared her to snag a Prince. Nothing more.

                I am not sure if I think she worked with a speech coach on this one. I just think the girls — Tash, Rebecca, etc — may have listened to her read through the speech once and offered their “humble” opinions as to what to stress in the presentation. Like, they’re experts, right?

                The problem is that nobody is really taking a lead and saying, “You need to do this. You need to do that.” She just gets off too easily on all she undertakes.

                I have heard many people on this blog say she is competitive. If so, why wouldn’t she want to give a speech that would knock their socks off? (The socks of the audience members, I mean). She’s so used to be allowed to get away with so little, that it seems impossible to me that she will ever study with a vocal coach, or learn how to effectively present a speech.

                She’s hopeless. Hopeless and clueless.

          2. Thanks for the link. Kate needs a speech coach, for sure!

             Her breathing was so shallow! A true sign of nerves. And, she barely looks out toward her audience.

             It’s obvious, she does not prepare. She’s like a child who hates something so much that she avoids it until she can’t avoid it anymore.

             News to Kate: Public Speaking is the most frightful thing to most people. But, they practice and practice and practice. Right before the actual speech, the nerves come crashing in, but you take a deep breath and move forward. Before you know it, you are in the moment. If you rehearse again and again, that is. And, the nerves really never go away. But, you can work off that fearful energy and learn to fly,

             It’s just amazing that someone in her position doesn’t hire a coach to help her overcome her fears. Sh’s really immature, if you ask me. If she would only think about those who came to hear her. If she tried to give them a moment of inspiration. Oh, well, I ask too much.

36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3dWS-JYZ8

    If anyone wants to see the speech. I don’t think she’s gotten much better. There’s still those random pauses and she swallowed her words at one point too. BUT you can tell she’s getting nervous towards the end, so I do feel for her.

    Though if she made more speeches, she’d be better and maybe less nervous

37. I like the dress, but not on her. She doesn’t do justice to it. It looks like someone just draped a royal blue fabric on her. Where’s the oomph?? The woman has no sex appeal whatsoever. She looks like a 100% Barbie doll in these pictures — flat.

    Clap clap on the speech effort. But there is no passion. She is just reciting. Like she’s there because she needs to, not because she wants to. I also wonder if she got whiplash from the constant head bobbing — along with the distracting hair which should have been styled in an updo!

    1. Yorkie, I am with you! The dress had no oomph! Just flat — and come to think of it — Barbie-like, as you said!. Recently, my sister-in-law took my niece shopping for a prom dress. Believe it or not, that style of Kate’s dress, was a common site in the teen-aged departments for prom attire. So, the dress on Kate did not dazzle me. I also thought it was not draped too nicely — especially at the hem.

       Keep imagining how amazing red shoes peeping out — as Rhiannon suggested — would have helped. Hope you are feeling better Rhianon and that you get help from your doctor!

38. Kate needs to be fed!! That’s all I’m saying.she’s so painfully thin..it hurts to look

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