The Princess of Wales opted for a different suit today as she made her way to the opening of a new children’s day surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
Ignoring rumblings of royal drama, Kate, 41, officially opened the Evelina London Children’s Day Surgery Unit in a fitted Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen navy suit and high navy heels.
She paired the look with oval sapphire and diamond earrings, which she has owned since 2011.
The mother of three kept her hair in bouncy curls and opted for glamorous make-up as she entered the new center and was greeted by the hospital’s chief executive, Gubby Ayida.
Inside, she met a nine-year-old named Hannah, who showed her a picture she had drawn.
During the visit, the Princess, who has been patron of the charity since 2018, will tour the new unit and follow the journey a child takes on the day of their operation
The Princess of Wales opted for a different suit today as she made her way to the opening of a new children’s day surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Kate, 41, in a fitted navy suit and high black heels, officially opened the Evelina London Children’s Day Surgery Unit today (she is pictured arriving).
In a sweet gesture, Kate said: “It’s very nice to meet you,” before asking: “May I shake your hand?”
Then Kate asked: “What is that, is that your picture?” As the nine-year-old explained, it was a picture of her school, which showed the gym and the language room.
The princess then said how important it was to learn languages.
It’s the latest in a long line of pantsuits Kate has worn to official engagements.
The Princess of Wales has shown off her fashion prowess as she gains more “confidence” in her role, swapping her signature dresses for power suits in her recent engagements across the UK.
And today was no exception as she opened the new facility that is revolutionizing the care of children and teens in need of surgery by providing everything they need in one place and providing a family-focused experience that is the will enable the organization to treat up to 2,300 additional children a year.
The department is housed in the state-of-the-art children’s day care center and has two brand new operating rooms.
Families benefit from a one-day service where pre-operative assessments, surgery and recovery take place seamlessly in a specially designed room on the same day.
Her Royal Highness will also see the space-themed artwork throughout the building, which has been selected and designed in collaboration with staff and patients to match the nature theme of the main building at Evelina London Children’s Hospital
Kate spoke to the workers outside the hospital before going inside
During the visit, the Princess, who has been patron of the charity since 2018, will tour the new unit and follow the journey a child takes on the day of their operation.
She will hear directly from families and staff about the huge impact it is already having, and will meet some of the young people who have already had surgery there.
Her Royal Highness will also see the space-themed artwork throughout the building, which has been selected and designed in collaboration with staff and patients to match the nature theme of the main building at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Evelina London cares for around 104,000 children and young people each year in its specialist children’s services, hospital and community.
Ms Ayida said: “We put children, young people and families at the heart of everything we do and this is particularly felt when you come to our new unit.”
“It was lovely to have this recognized today by the Princess of Wales, who, through her work with the Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood, values the importance of a supported and nurturing environment for children.”
It’s the latest of many suit looks the royal has worn in recent months.
Paired with her freshly cropped curtain bangs hairstyle, the 41-year-old’s latest looks convey a purposeful, no-nonsense image and couldn’t be further from the primary-colored dresses she’s previously favored.
Many have wondered whether there is a new face on the princess’ team or whether a style consultant is waiting in the wings.
Sources close to the future queen insist this is not the case, saying Kate’s momentum is simply because she is a woman who has finally found the right path.
It comes as Kate has kept a brave face as Scobie’s new book has reignited a racial feud within the royal family.
The Dutch version of his book labeled the Princess of Wales and her father-in-law King Charles as the “racists” who allegedly discussed concerns about Prince Archie’s skin color before his birth.
Scobie, who is considered an unofficial spokesman for Meghan and Harry, is still struggling with the fallout from his new book.
A first draft of the book, given to Dutch translators, named the two senior members of the royal family – King Charles and the Princess of Wales – who Meghan said had “concerns” about the color of her son Archie’s skin voiced while she was pregnant.
Meghan first expressed her allegations about the conversation in March 2021 in her television interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Harry and Meghan issued a statement saying it was not the late queen or her husband Prince Philip, but refused to name the members of the royal family who made the comments.
The Sussexes have declined to publicly defend their relatives, and the publisher of Scobie’s book has provided no explanation for how the names were printed.
Royal experts and politicians have rallied around Kate Middleton and Prince William, and the couple were greeted with thunderous applause at the recent Royal Variety Performance.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, received a standing ovation as they entered the Royal Albert Hall last week.
Even Meghan appears to be offering an olive branch to the royals, as she is pictured today wearing a bracelet gifted to her by her father-in-law, King Charles.
The 42-year-old Duchess of Sussex appeared in Montecito on Monday wearing a range of casual luxury items, including Princess Diana’s Cartier bracelet and watch, as well as a Bentley & Skinner diamond tennis bracelet – a gift from the royal and worth at least 4,900 pounds.
The piece, first worn on the eve of her royal wedding, was first created by royal owners Bentley & Skinner and features ninety-two round brilliant cut diamonds.
It could be a sign of peace between the feuding Windsors.
Harry and Meghan are said to be “desperate to get back into the royal fold” and recently reached out to Charles on his 75th birthday.
Scobie claims that he “never submitted a book in which these names appeared,” which his Dutch translator disputes.
A source told the Times that United Talent Agency had previously sent a draft of the book with the names to publisher Xander Uitgevers.
However, a final proof of the 400-page tome was later sent out, but it is understood that the translator had worked from an earlier draft.
This will happen later, as the book has already been removed from Amazon’s top 100 bestseller list, despite creating a huge buzz in the first week of its release.
The title is currently ranked at number 139 on the UK bestseller book charts, based on Amazon sales, which are updated hourly to reflect current and historical sales of each item.
Endgame has fallen more than 100 places in three days, from 14th place last Friday. It ranked 77th on its release day last Tuesday.
The book is now ranked behind children’s titles such as the Beano Annual, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Stick Man; biographies of Britney Spears, Matthew Perry and Chris Kamara; and cookbooks by Mary Berry, Rick Stein and Tom Kerridge.
In the same Amazon list in the US today, Endgame was at number 235 – below The Very Hungry Caterpillar; the danger! Calendar 2024; and a Paw Patrol sound book.
Amazon says its listings are a “good indicator of how well a product is selling overall” but “do not always indicate how well an item is selling compared to similar items.”
The book’s declining performance comes despite significant media coverage as well as television interviews Scobie conducted for the BBC and ITV in the UK and ABC in the US.
The author has also given interviews to publications such as The Times, Evening Standard, Independent, Tatler, People, Elle.com and Paris March.
Meanwhile, the book was not on display at London’s oldest bookstore, Hatchards on Piccadilly – only one copy was set aside to order, The Guardian reported.
The newspaper added that about 14 copies were stacked on a table near the entrance to nearby Waterstones, but “there too interest was limited”.
The Sussexes have not publicly commented on the racial dispute, but a source close to Meghan said: “No one in their camp passed it on to Scobie.”
It was also revealed yesterday that the Dutch edition of Endgame quoted a source close to the Sussexes branding William “heartless” – another inflammatory passage that does not appear in the British version.
Regarding claims that the Prince of Wales secured a flight to Balmoral without Harry as the Queen lay dying, the translation quoted the source as saying: “It was heartless to deny him the chance to travel to Scotland to say goodbye to his grandmother. “This was not the time to be petty.”
A “family source” also claims that William “deliberately ignored” Harry when the queen died and “did not want to help him,” the Dutch edition says.
It said: “He was, and still is, angry at Harry’s revelation of private problems… He considers it unforgivable.”
The Dutch version also refers to the king’s “cash for honors” scandal last year, with a “source” saying: “People within the institution are worried that ‘more stories will follow’.”
None of these claims appeared in the English version, The Sun reported on Sunday.
This comes after Meghan admitted under oath that she hired a senior staffer to brief Scobie for his previous book about the Sussexes, titled Finding Freedom