Candid photos of the Cambridges are something of a rarity these days, and unless an onlooker manages to pull out their phone quite quickly to snap the royals it has become far less usual to see the couple "off duty". On Sunday afternoon, this is exactly what happened when solicitor Stephen Foote was walking to his car and spotted William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Maria Teresa at Chester Railway Station.
'The family were seen next to Range Rovers in the Carriage Shed, alongside the station about 2.30pm yesterday (November 5), where it is possible to gain direct access to the platforms without going through the main entrance. The Chronicle understands the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, accompanied by royal protection officers, missed their original train at 2.33pm so had to get on an ‘empty’ train to Crewe about 10 minutes later.
Stephen Foote, a solicitor with Allington Hughes Law, stumbled across the royal party at the railway station by chance. He thought they were about to get into the nearby Range Rovers but it now appears they had just alighted before catching their train home. He said: “There was one plain clothes officer who asked me to walk a different route to get to my car parked in City Place . No outriders. Looked like two Range Rovers. Think the children were with them. William looked very ordinarily dressed with a green sweater and Nike trainers.”
The front of Chester Railway Station.
It isn't known where the family were, but it has been suggested they may have spent the weekend at Eaton Hall where the Grosvenors held their annual bonfire and fireworks display on Saturday evening. The event would have been delightful for George and Charlotte, and Eaton Hall the ideal place for a relaxing weekend.
You'll recall last November, William and Kate joined several members of the Royal family to pay tribute to the 6th Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, at Chester Cathedral. His wife Natalia is Prince William's godmother and the late Duke had served as something of a mentor to the future king. At just 25, his son Hugh has now become the 7th Duke of Westminster. The Cambridges used the Duke's jet several times, most recently for their summer holiday with George and Charlotte in France.
When it came to choosing Prince George's godparents, William and Kate chose his son Hugh Grosvenor. Both families are obviously very close. You can see him at the christening standing behind James Middleton.
Eaton Hall is set within a large estate 1 mile (2 km) south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers an area of about ten thousand acres. It has a long and interesting history. The first substantial house was built in the 17th century. In the early 19th century it was replaced by a much larger house designed by William Porden. This in turn was replaced by an even larger house, with outbuildings and a chapel, designed by Alfred Waterhouse. Building started in 1870 and concluded about 12 years later. By 1960, the fabric of the house had deteriorated and, like many other mansions during this period, it was demolished, although the chapel and many of the outbuildings were retained. A new house was built but its design was not considered to be sympathetic to the local landscape, and in the late 1980s it was re-cased and given the appearance of a French château. Below, the Eaton Chapel from the South.
The house has been surrounded by formal gardens since the 17th century, the design of which has changed over the centuries in accordance with current ideas and fashions, as has the surrounding parkland. A variety of buildings are included in the estate, some decorative, others built for the business of the estate; many of these are listed buildings. The house and estate are not normally open to the public, but the gardens are open on three days a year to raise money for charity, and some of the estate's buildings can be hired for charitable purposes.
If this is where the Cambridges visited, I'm sure they had a wonderful time. The Duchess looked casual in a quilted jacket (possibly Barbour) jeans and brown ankle boots with her hair worn up. There's an additional image of Maria Teresa carrying Charlotte available at The Chester Chronicle here and The Mirror here.
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| The Mirror |
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Also tonight, several of you have kindly messaged me about a story in the Mail regarding William and Kate receiving the Tuvalu Order of Merit:
'The Duchess received her gong from the island nation of Tuvalu last week for raising awareness of climate change and to mark a joyous visit she and Prince William made to the isolated South Pacific atoll in 2012. But as she is expecting her third child, the Duchess did not travel the 10,000 miles to be made a Member of the Tuvalu Order of Merit in person. Instead, she was given the medal by Tuvalu’s honorary consul in Britain, Sir Iftikhar Ayaz, during a private ceremony at Kensington Palace. The Duke of Cambridge also received the Polynesian nation’s highest order alongside his wife. William and Kate visited Tuvalu – the world’s fourth-smallest country – in 2012 during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Her Majesty is head of state there.'
Whilst the investiture took place last week (oddly the Court Circular only notes William's attendance in contrary to the story above) they were actually given the Order in March. We chatted about it in March when a friend kindly sent me information. It was created in 2016 and awarded to the royal couple following their 2012 visit.
Tomorrow evening kicks off the start of a busy week for Kate with a gala dinner at the Orangery for her patronage the Anna Freud Centre. See you then :)
