Royal 'away days' tend to offer an interesting and varied itinerary and today was no exception. It also provides a nice opportunity for royalists in the area to see and meet members of the Royal family. Richard Palmer recently reported we would see the Duchess carrying out more engagements outside of the London area in the coming weeks; today's visit is reportedly the first of several we'll see. William and Kate first visited Birmingham months after the royal wedding in 2011 to visit riot-torn communities.
An arrival video from Victoria Murphy.
Another video of William and Kate at the @LandRover_UK manufacturing plant in Birmingham pic.twitter.com/9yQ18Ubynk— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) November 22, 2017
William and Kate viewed footage from The Patron's Lunch where the royals travelled in open-topped Land Rover's.
The Duke and Duchess were given an overview of JLR and the Solihull site before heading to the Vehicle Assembly area, to view the assembly line and hear about the manufacturing process, meeting staff and apprentices along the way.
William and Kate check out vehicles on the assembly line pic.twitter.com/kRm7yPlOjj— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) November 22, 2017
Kate was eager to get behind the wheel for a demonstration.
Kate behind the wheel of @LandRover_UK as she prepares to take on the off-road challenge! pic.twitter.com/R3KbY2WSHT— Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) November 22, 2017
And they're off.
William took a spin.
The Experience Centre offers a behind-the-scenes look at Solihull’s new state-of-the-art production facility demonstrating what it takes to bring to life some of the most technologically advanced cars in the world. A £1.5 billion investment has transformed the location into one of the most advanced car manufacturing facilities in the world. The all-new Aluminium-intensive architecture body shop and final assembly cover an area equivalent to twenty-two football pitches. It's interesting to see the design and development process from this...William took a spin.
....to a motor fit for James Bond. Fans of the franchise will recognise this beauty from Spectre.
Afterwards, the royals met some of JLR's volunteers, who support projects focusing on regeneration, education, young people, charity work and the environment, and they will meet schoolchildren from Topcliffe Primary School, Castle Vale – winners of the Jaguar Primary School Challenge which saw their wining model car race on a track.
Something tells me the itinerary for today was a dream come true for William. First, fast cars at Jaguar, then a visit to the Aston Villa Football Club. An avid fan since his teens, the Prince is a huge supporter of the club and has previously discussed taking George to a match in the future.
In 2015, William chatted to Gary Lineker recalling his memories of choosing which club to support:
"I got into football big time, and was looking around for clubs," he said. "All my school friends were either Manchester United or Chelsea fans, and I didn't want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams. I wanted to have a team that would give me more of an emotional rollercoaster, which looking back, was a bad idea! Aston Villa have always had a great history.
I’ve got friends of mine who support Aston Villa, and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton v Aston Villa, back in 2000. It was a semi-final, after which, sadly, Villa then went on to lose against Chelsea. But it was fantastic; I sat with all the fans, I had my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time. It was just the atmosphere, the camaraderie, and I really felt that there was something I could connect with."
The royals have been heavily involved in supporting and seeing the progress of the Coach Core programme this year. It was designed by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry to take young people aged 16 – 24 with limited opportunities, and train them to be sports coaches and positive role models and mentors in their communities.
The visit was planned around learning more about the progress of the programme in Birmingham.
William and Kate met with a group of employers to discuss the positive impact of Coach Core and hear about the progression of the apprentices. .
The Duke and Duchess then joined a training session underway on the pitch, with Coach Core apprentices and tutors working with local schoolchildren.
Kate was in her element chatting with a young tennis player.
William enjoying a chat with the group.
Quotes from the Mail Online:
'As William chatted to the coaches, Kate, who is expecting her third child in April, spoke to youngsters including 10-year-old pupil Sidrah Batul.The schoolgirl said: 'She was asking me if I enjoyed it and I said I was having a lot of fun. She's so kind and pretty. The Duchess also spoke to coach Jevaughni Robinson, 20, who described her as a 'pleasure to meet'. He added: 'She called me a 'harsh coach' because I was blind-folding the kids, and then getting them to throw the beanbags at the targets.' Afterwards, 10-year-old Iman Shazad presented flowers to the Duchess. The youngster told Kate she had made her and daughter Charlotte, Princess of Cambridge, a card to take away. Iman said: 'It's amazing to meet her, I feel like she's special to me. Meeting her in real life - it's like my dream has come true.'
A brief video from Kensington Palace.
The Duke chats to children from Prince Albert school taking part in training sessions from @wearecoachcore apprentices. pic.twitter.com/ygH4dDGtL5— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 22, 2017
Back to the Mail Online:
Keith Wyness, club chief executive, also spoke with the Duke and then turned to Kate to quip: 'Welcome back to the home of one of your husband's other passions. The Duchess, smiling, replied: 'Yes, he's been very excited by it. William, who is President of the Football Association, laughed and said: 'It'll be interesting to see if she's been listening to any of my conversations about football', causing Kate to joke 'I knew I should have.'
As yours truly knows nothing about football, I'm reliably informed by my other half the man in the photo with William is Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce.
William and Kate received a commemorative framed picture collage showing all royal visits to Villa Park down the years. We can safely assume William was delighted, take a look at his expression :)
"Brace yourselves please"
The Duke and Duchess hear about the 147 year history of Acme Whistles before touring the family-run business. pic.twitter.com/sFlM87Ur66— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 22, 2017
Established in 1870, this family-owned business has developed and patented over forty whistle designs during its 147-year history and currently exports to 119 countries worldwide. Today, their modern whistles are used in major sporting events globally and by police forces, including the Metropolitan Police.
They toured the workshop seeing the production process, including the presswork, plating, moulding, welding and polishing of the 115,000 whistles that are made and tested every week.
The Express reports talk quickly turned to Lupo:
'During the tour the Duke and Duchess, who have a cocker spaniel called Lupo, were shown dog whistles, which cannot be heard by humans. Clearly knowledgable on the subject, Kate said: “There are different pitches for different dogs, aren’t there?” Chief executive Simon Topman, who runs the business with his wife Debbie, told William: “Yes, your grandmother would use something that is great for her labradors and retrievers but wouldn’t be for your spaniel. William, 35, who knows his whistles or had been checked before the visit, told him: "No, we use a 212."
William and Kate signed the visitors book.
Afterwards, the Duke and Duchess joined members of staff and apprentices at a short reception before unveiling a plaque to mark their visit.
The Duchess has been very much relying on GOAT as a go-to label for stylish and comfortable pieces for official duties during her third pregnancy. Today, we saw the return of the brand's Washington Coat, first worn in New York in 2014 when Kate was expecting Princess Charlotte. Today, Kate teamed the piece with a black turtleneck and jeans.
The heavy-weight, black crepe coat features a classic swing coat shape and contrast nude tabs on the cuff and back and decorative contrast enamel buttons.
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| GOAT |
Last week, we saw the return of Kate's GOAT Redgrave coat for a visit to Hornsey Road Children's Centre and earlier this month she debuted the brands plum Eloise Tunic Dress for Place2Be's School Leaders Forum.
A reader from Kate Middleton Style identified Kate's new boots as the Russell & Bromley Hi Ride Mid Heel Riding Boots. The £325 pair are described as "Having drawn inspiration from equestrian heritage and contemporary design, Hi Ride is a must-have. The supple black suede has been designed on a figure-hugging riding boot last and lifted with a mid block heel."
Kate accessorised with her Kiki McDonough Lauren Leaf earrings.
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| Kiki McDonough |
Kate accessorised with her black suede Mulberry clutch.
The second stop of the day required a change of clothes.
Kate changed into her Mini Duvet Quilted Down Ski Jacket by Perfect Moment. The $450 jacket is cut from mid-weight durable Airtastic EX shell, it's padded with insulating down, has a protective high neck and is finished with soft ribbed cuffs to lock in warmth. It features distinctive navy elbow patches. It's described as "Perfect Moment's vivid red quilted ski jacket is inspired by the energy of Greenland's Northern Lights - it will also make you easy to spot in whiteout conditions."
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| Perfect Moment |
And her £90 New Balance x SB Sneakers.
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We also have news of an unannounced duty for Kate yesterday.
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| Gert's Royal Twitter Feed |
