Today, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had their first official away-day of the new decade. The couple visited the diverse Yorkshire city of Bradford to undertake a series of engagements. The Royal couple visited several projects which support the community while bringing a spotlight to the vibrant culture and community of Bradford.
It was The Duchess’ first official engagement of the year 2020. The family spend Christmas and winter break at their country residence, Anmer Hall, where they celebrated Catherine’s 38th birthday with a pre-bash before joining Her Majesty at the Sunday Church Service.
William and Catherine arrived began the day from the City Hall in Bradford’s Centenary Square where the Lord Mayor of the city welcomed the couple while the church bells were chiming to announce the arrival of the Royal Couple in the beautiful city.
Bradford was named the “most improved city” to live and work in the UK in November last year. A video of the arrival.
Catherine received a beautiful posy from kids who were wearing pink hoodies saying, “Welcome to Yorkshire”.
At the City Hall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met a group of young people from across the community to hear about life in Bradford. William and Catherine met representatives from local employers and businesses who are helping young people into employment.
From Daily Mail’s report,
They chatted at length with Caitlund Roberts, 19, who talked to them about STEM subjects and being a woman in engineering.
‘STEM is something we have been going around asking about a lot,’ said William, ‘getting girls into engineering. ‘ He asked: ‘How did you find the journey getting into it. Easy? Difficult? What more can be done?’
Caitlund told them eloquently about the ‘stigma’ she sometimes felt the profession came with for women. There was, she said, a misnomer that women wouldn’t be good with their hands and said there was an urgent need for more apprenticeships.
Kate also chatted to Rosena Nawaz about mental health issues and asked her: ‘Do you think a lot of your friends are talking about mental health as topic of conversation? Is this something people your age are talking about? Is there a big conversation around anxiety and depression?
‘What are the services like in Bradford for mental health?’ asked William. He talked about the need for better ‘mental fitness’.
‘We all look after our bodies, go to the gym, keep fit. But we need to think about our mental fitness each day too. There’s a clinical side to mental health but we need to keep our minds health and positive every day. It’s about mental fitness too,’ he said.
Liaba Kazmi, 15, told the couple how she lived in an area of Bradford called Carlton Bolling and how it was renowned as one of the most deprived and ‘roughest’ areas of the city and wanted to become a politician or a police officer to facilitate change.
The Duchess’s longstanding work on the early years has highlighted the importance of supporting children and families during this seminal period of their lives, and the importance of all members of society in raising children. Continuing their conversation with Caitlund,
William smiled and said: ‘I can see why you want to be a politician or a police officer. I know just the right lady! The fact that this bothers you is good, you want to make a difference. You see that and you think ‘that’s not right’, this is my home town and why is this happening. ‘ ‘You want to break those generational roles,,’ added Kate, ‘otherwise those five and six-year-olds won’t know any different.
‘Well done, it’s a big mission.’
Before departing the City Hall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge greeted the members of the public who had gathered outside City Hall to greet them. The couple received a really warm and happy welcome from the locals who cheered them up when they step out of the 19th Century building.
Continuing from Daily Mail’s report,
At one point the screaming crowd was so loud the Duke beamed and said to a group: ‘Hello! You’re the noisy corner – You’re in fine voice’, sparking squeals of excitement from some women waving Union flags and clutching bouquets for him and his wife.
Next, William and Catherine visited MyLahore’s flagship restaurant where they met students from Bradford College who are on a kitchen apprenticeship scheme.
The couple learnt about some of the charitable work that the restaurant does to support the community. At the restaurant, they were joined by the Boxer Amir Khan, who is a friend of the family who owns MyLahore.
Founded in 2002, MyLahore is a British Asian restaurant chain which has taken inspiration from Lahore, known as the Food Capital of Pakistan. The visit reminds us of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Lahore during their tour to Pakistan in October 2019. I believe it was the same for the royal couple as Kensington Palace said it “evoked memories” of the successful tour.
It was time to put their cookery skills to test. The Duke and Duchess joined students making mango lassis before sitting down to meet representatives from the UK Women’s Muslim Council and those who have benefitted from the Council’s Curry Circle. The Curry Circle, which is sponsored by MyLahore, is an initiative that provides a hot two-course meal for people who are homeless or struggling to feed themselves.
William and Catherine met with the Chefs and Staff of the restaurant. The Duchess told well-wishers the trip to Pakistan was “such a special visit, we really enjoyed it”. In a very rare glimpse of their private life, Duchess of Cambridge remarked about the possibility of the 4th Cambridge kid. From Mirror’s report,
During a chat with Josh Macpalce, who told her he had sent her and William cards congratulating them on the births of all three of their children, she replied: “I don’t think William wants any more”.
Another video of the visit.
Next stop was one of Bradford’s Khidmat Centres, whose main focus is to help the most vulnerable members of the community from minority ethnic backgrounds. On arrival, William and Catherine heard about the activities and workshops offered at the centre, and the organisations that they support.
At the Khidmat Centre, the couple was surprised by a very creative and beautiful ‘William and Kate’ cake.
Khidmat Centre
The cake was made by a resident Siama Ali. Siama depicted the journey of the royal couple from childhood to their kid’s birth on the cake and mini cupcakes. Simon Perry reported that after looking at his childhood picture on the cake William said, “Is that me? Because that looks just like Charlotte. That is incredible”.
William and Catherine also received some cute gifts for their three kids.
Khidmat Centre
The Duke and Duchess then joined a session involving groups supported by Better Start Bradford, which delivers over 20 projects to pregnant women and families with children under the age of 4.
The couple met families from the ‘Older Yet Wiser’ project, a unique and innovative workshop series for grandparents who have child-caring responsibilities for their grandchildren. Participants in the workshop are given tools to enhance their relationship with their grandchildren whilst receiving up-to-date information on raising children in the 21st century.
A mother of three kids, The Duchess is always quick to notice little kiddies in the room.
They met with local businessmen and members of the Chamber of Commerce in the city. Local business helps in keeping the economy strong given the economic flux of the country. From Rebecca English’s report,
They also met local board member Adeeba Malik CBE who told them: ‘Your trip to Pakistan, please don’t underestimate the importance of it. It was phenomenal. It was so powerful.’ ‘We loved it,’ William grinned.
Finally, The Duke and Duchess joined a workshop run by Near Neighbours, an organisation which brings people together in communities across the UK that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust, and collaborate on initiatives that improve the local community that they live in. From the BBC,
Before they left, the couple were asked by social entrepreneur Kamran Rashid their opinion of the city.
William replied: “You can see that communities are trying to come together, trying to help each other, get to know each other and that is really crucial. If we can replicate that more across the country then it can only be for good.”
Now to What Duchess Wore- Catherine chose to debut a new stunningly elegant winter look. She was wearing a new Alexander McQueen olive coat.
The long coat features a structured Miliary silhouette with high neckline. It looks like a bespoke piece of the label.
Underneath the coat, the Duchess of Cambridge wore a ZARA Printed Dress. The dress is another new addition to her wardrobe. Described as, “Flowing long sleeve dress featuring a high neck with ties and a V-shaped opening, an elastic inner waist, a detachable belt in matching fabric with a covered buckle, and a front button fastening” dress was on sale for just £16 before selling out.
The Duchess paired the outfit with her Gianvito Rossi Piper 85 suede pumps that we first saw in March 2019 for the first time when she visited Henry Fawcett Children’s Centre.
Catherine was carrying her Aspinal of London Midi Mayfair Bag in deep shine black croc that she first carried in November 2018 when she visited Leicester city to pay tribute to the victims of the helicopter crash.
The Duchess of Cambridge finished her look with Zeen Dazzling Ceramic Drops that she debuted in October 2019 during Aga Khan Center visit in London before Pakistan visit.
Next, we will see Catherine on January 20 when she and William will host a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.
Dress Like Duchess