Queen of style: Duchess Kate steps out ever so gracious in green
The Duchess of Cambridge has returned to her royal duties after the Easter holidays as she opened a new school for excluded children in north London.
The 37-year-old royal appeared glowing and smiling for her first public duty since the short break when she arrived at the Pears Family School, which is part of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families’ new north London headquarters.
The duchess looked simply stunning in a custom-made forest green Emilia Wickstead dress, a AUD$919 Mulberry purse and an elegant pair of Gianvito Rossi heels costing the royal a heft AUD$1000.
The flattering A-line frock paired with the nude pumps made the royal look graceful and stunning as she chatted with youngsters at the event.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the Duchess of Cambridge’s stunning look.
Duchess Kate appeared to be happy and in high spirits as she laughed along with a fellow speaker at the event – an advocate for the centre, Amy Herring.
The royal listened intently as Leo, a 13-year-old boy who was to attend the school, told her how he was overwhelmed with anger and loneliness and “was always robbing and stealing, because I didn’t care about my feelings, I wasn’t able to move on, because I was still healing.”
Leo’s mother, Sharon, died tragically at the age of 33 after she was bitten by a horsefly that had crawled up her nose and caused a severe brain infection.
“I was nine when my mum died, and I wasn't doing fine, I felt angry and alone, and felt I had nowhere to go, Now I am 13 and I'm living fine, trying to get back to school so I can live my life, I've had good and bad times at TFS [The Family School], I've put some stuff to the test,” he told the Duchess.
The royal also spent time conversing with donors, supporters, architects and young children from the charity.
In a touching speech, the Duchess honoured the organisation for their work.
“The ambition for the new Kantor Centre of Excellence is hugely inspiring. The bringing together of research, education, practice and policy, all in one place, will take Anna Freud Centre's mission to the next level,” she said.
“It is testament to what can be achieved when people work together to realise a shared vision.”
Ending the speech, the royal said: “Our pasts should not determine our futures.”
The charity was founded as a clinic in 1952 by Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund Freud, who created psychoanalysis.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the Duchess of Cambridge’s stunning look.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the Duchess of Cambridge’s stunning look.