Kate Middleton was left in fits of giggles today as she snuggled up with a therapy dog during a series of engagements with Prince William in Lancashire.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, 40, appeared in good spirits as they arrived at Clitheroe Community Hospital where they learned about the unique challenges faced by rural health providers in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
The-mother-of three proved her love for tailored shapes during the visit as she stepped out her camel wool and cashmere coat, teaming it with a tan Iris and Ink polo neck jumper with a matching skirt.
It is not the first time that she has donned the jacket, having previously worn the piece when she met with ambulance staff and paramedics in east London in March last year, as well as to a visit to Cardiff to launch her Early Years survey in January 2020.
During the visit, the couple, who are both royal patrons of NHS Charities Together, were introduced to an adorable new ‘therapy puppy’ Alfie, an apricot cockapoo, who will be trained to support patients and colleagues at the hospital.
While cuddling up with Alfie, Kate could be heard exclaiming: ‘You are so sweet! You match my coat!’
Speaking of their own cocker spaniel, whose name has not been revealed and whom they were gifted last year by Kate’s brother, James, the Duchess added: ‘Our dog is going to be very excited. She’s going to be like, “Where have you been? Who have you been seeing?”‘
The mother-of-three, who wore her brown locks down in a loose curly blow dry, added a touch of glam to her outfit with her favorite pair of Missoma earrings.
The natural beauty kept her makeup to a minimum, with just a touch of blusher, a natural lip and light layering of mascara.
Her jumper and skirt, from sustainable brand Iris and Ink, is described online as providing ‘superior softness and warmth’, with fibers ‘sourced from farms that keep animal welfare top of mind’.
Back in 2020, Kate and William were devastated by the death of their dog, Lupo, but the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children were ‘besotted’ after they were given a new cocker spaniel.
The eight-month-old black puppy was a gift from the Duchess’s brother and arrived at Anmer Hall, the family’s home in Norfolk, before Lupo died.
In January 2021, a friend told the Mail on Sunday: ‘The new puppy is adorable and the whole family are besotted… They were devastated when Lupo passed away, as any dog owner will understand, but got the new puppy before he died. It was hoped that a younger dog would give Lupo some company and give him a little more life and energy.’
Mr Middleton, 33, originally bred a litter of puppies from his dog Ella in 2011. He kept one called Luna but gave brother Lupo to Kate in early 2012 when Prince William, then an RAF search-and-rescue pilot, was deployed to the Falklands. During the summer of 2020, Kate’s brother, who was staying with his parents at their Berkshire home, bred another litter of six puppies with Luna as their mother.
It is understood Kate and William had the pick of the litter, helped by Prince George and Charlotte. Royal aides have not yet confirmed the name the family have given to their new pet. When the litter was born, James and his wife, Alizee Thevenet, 31, posted pictures on Instagram of themselves with the six puppies, his other spaniels Ella, Inca, Luna and Zulu plus golden retriever Mabel.
Today marked one of the first occasions the royal couple have mentioned their new dog in public, with William saying she would be ‘very excited’ to see the pup when they got home.
Inside, the Duke and Duchess met with GPs, nurses and others who work across the community, both to understand their experiences and to congratulate them on continuing to deliver a high standard of care for elderly and sick patients, within the hospital and in the rural community, despite services being the busiest on record.
While many of those with Covid have been admitted to larger, urban hospitals in the UK, pressures across the system have meant that frontline staff at Clitheroe Community Hospital have felt the strain.
NHS Charities Together, of which the royal couple are Patrons, has been instrumental in providing mental wellbeing support during this challenging period.
Following their time at the hospital, the Duke and Duchess visited Church on the Street, run by Pastor Mick Fleming. Mick (pictured in sunglasses) is a former drug dealer who set up Church on the Street in 2019 to help the homeless and people living in some form of poverty in Burnley and surrounding area.
Since then, the project has grown and the Church now offers refuge and a safe space for anyone in the community that may be struggling, including those having difficulty with their mental health.
The Duchess was beaming with joy as she spoke with staff and volunteers at the organization, which provides a food bank, a clothing bank, hot showers, laundry facilities, a cafe, recovery groups, addiction and mental health support, access to a qualified counsellor, and a safe space for up to two hundred people at any one time.
The outing comes after a royal expert said the Queen will be despairing over the actions of some of her family members. Speaking to OK! magazine, Jennie said: ‘I think The Queen will be holding her hands up in despair with her children and some of her grandchildren.’
She added: ‘Everybody feels for the Queen now with the Andrew debacle, but I think there has to be some equity between Harry and Andrew now. There was the argument and it probably wasn’t correct, but if Harry has been stripped of his titles then Andrew should have been some time ago.’
And addressing Prince Harry’s battle to be allowed police security protection on his return to the UK, Jennie said he ‘couldn’t have it both ways’, but added: ‘If Harry is not going to be allowed to have security over here unless he’s staying in a royal residence then perhaps Andrew’s security should be looked at too.’
Meanwhile, a former staffer said the Royal Family is desperate for ‘conventional performers’ as it faces a difficult year and Kate is ‘what these troubled times need’.
With Prince Andrew ‘s legal battles, as well as the Firm’s concerns over the imminent publication of Prince Harry’s upcoming memoir, the Duchess has been touted as playing a key role in shaping the future of the Monarchy.
‘As the Prince Andrew scandal shows, the monarchy is in desperate need of reassuringly conventional royal performers,’ Patrick Jephson, former chief of staff for Diana, Princess of Wales, told the New York Post. ‘Catherine is just what these troubled royal times need – it’s no exaggeration that the Windsors’ future lies in her hands.’
Bethan Holt, author of The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style, told the publication that there ‘seems to be a campaign to make the Cambridges the family’s ‘global stars’, adding that Kate is ‘clever’ in her ‘calculated move to include Diana’s memory alive’.
In a recent interview, royal expert and biographer Katie Nicholls said that the Queen, 95, already ‘hugely values’ Kate’s work, and will rely on her ‘more than ever’ amid the royal scandals.
