Kate's First Public Speech as a Working Royal

Yesterday, Kate opened The Treehouse children's hospice in Ipswich, Suffolk and gave her first public speech as a working member of the Royal family.

The Duchess delivered her speech carefully, sticking to the script. As she stepped down from the podium, she gave an audible sigh of relief , and told one guest: “I find doing speeches nerve-racking.”

Kate also fulfilled another traditional royal task — tree planting — for the first time in Britain, having done so last year in Canada.

Instead of buying a new dress for the landmark occasion. the Duchess wore a, cobalt blue, four-year-old dress from Reiss (originally costing £139). Kate loaned the dress to her mother, Carole Middleton, in 2010 who wore it to Royal Ascot. The Duchess and her mother regularly borrow clothes from each other.

Kate accessorized the dress with a black, Reiss, waist-cinching belt, black Episode ‘Angel’pumps and a black clutch.

Her jewelry was kept to a minimum. She wore her matching sapphire and diamond earrings (the ones we think once belonged to Princess Diana), her diamond cross pendant, her Tiffany Diamonds by the Yard bracelet, her sapphire and diamond engaement ring and a fundraising bracelet from EACH (£7 and available on the EACH website http://www.each.org.uk/how-to-help/shop_for_each/online_shop/product_pages/each_bracelet.htm)