Kate was in casual styles for a day of engagements with William in the Lake district of Northwest England. 

The couple was in the area to “celebrate the resilience and spirit of rural and farming communities in the region” per a Kensington Palace news release. They started the day with a walkabout in Keswick, where there were large crowds eager to meet them.

Richard Palmer of The express shared a video of the pair arriving.

Kate during the walkabout. 

William greeting well-wishers. 

The couple saw people they had met before. 

That is Angela and Kerry Irving on the left, with award-winning springer spaniels Max, Paddy, and Harry. If Mr. and Mrs. Irving and Max look familiar, it is because Kate and William first met them at the Buckingham Palace garden party in May.

Max is a registered therapy pet dog that Mr. Irving credits with saving his life after he suffered severe spinal injuries in a automobile accident. More from this ITV story: “In an interview…he revealed that his wellbeing deteriorated after his automobile was hit by a truck in 2006. He said: “I was taking around 27 tablets a day, and it’s hard to describe the pain, it’s not seen, no one can see it.”  

A video from the BBC’s Mark McAlindon.

Back to the ITV story: “He found it tough to even walk and would suffer panic attacks. ‘I didn’t really know but I was suffering from depression and that’s something that men don’t get – they don’t talk about it, people just shrug it off, but it’s like being in a tunnel that you can’t get out of. then he started walking to see a neighbour’s pet dog and eventually plucked up the courage to ask if he could take Max out for a walk, the neighbour said yes and from that day life improved greatly.’”

Mr. Irving and the three spaniels. 

Max is a registered therapy pet dog now and helps raise funds for charity, along with Paddy and Harry. The ITV story notes  “So far the dogs have raised over £73,000 for charities, through hosting charity walks and guest appearances.”

The dogs are official ambassadors to Keswick as well as social media sensations. There is a Facebook page about the threesome called Max Out In The Lake District, along with an Instagram page and website.

During the walkabout, Kate and William tried some local food specialties they discovered at Keswick’s Market Square. 

The Duke and Duchess were also to meet with first responders from Keswick mountain Rescue Team and other organizations that are beneficiaries of the Cumbria community Foundation. I have not seen anything specifically referencing this, but wonder if that might have been prior to the walkabout, at a reception inside the tent shown below. 

Kate playing with a young lady in the crowd.

While meeting people the Duchess was asked a question she may hear frequently; a lot more from Simon Perry’s people story.

Although the girls were a bit shy as Kate asked them questions, their daddy shared that they were absolutely excited about their brush with royalty. “It’s a princess. You love princesses!” he told the little girl as she shook hands with Kate.

He then turned to the royal and said, “She wanted to know if you’d be wearing your Princess Elsa dress,” referring to the character from Disney’s Frozen.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Kate right away responded. “I came in my trousers and my coat because I’m going to see some sheep.”

The Duchess clearly enjoyed herself despite the damp, chilly weather.  

Kate met some other four-legged friends.

For those unfamiliar with the area (as I was), it looks simply stunning. The region is a UNESCO world Heritage site:

Located in northwest England, the English Lake district is a mountainous area, whose valleys have been modelled by glaciers in the Ice Age and subsequently shaped by an agro-pastoral land-use system characterized by fields enclosed by walls. The combined work of nature and human activity has produced a harmonious landscape in which the mountains are mirrored in the lakes.

Below, Bowness and Lake Windemere.

More about the area from this July 2017 BBC story:

The Lake district has joined the likes of the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu by being awarded Unesco world Heritage status.

The committee praised the area’s beauty, farming and the inspiration it had provided to artists and writers.

It is home to England’s largest natural lake – Windermere – and highest mountain – Scafell Pike.

Harriet Fraser, a writer and patron of Friends of the Lake District, said: “It’s the most stunning district but it has a very deep culture which is mainly hill farming but also conservation.”

Another view, this one of Ullswater.

The Duke and Duchess then visited the Deepdale Hall farm in Patterdale, near Ullswater, a standard fell sheep farm. 

Per the world Atlas, a fell is a “high altitude landscape feature, normally barren masses of land such as mountain ranges and moor-covered hills”.  

The couple met the brown family.

The family has been farming in the valley near Lake Ullswater considering that the 1950s.

Kensington Palace reports the Duke and Duchess “met local farmers, and members of the Farmer Network to go over some of the crucial challenges farmers are facing — including rural isolation, Brexit and support payments.” 

More from The evening Standard:

The couple were told that a no-deal Brexit could be a “perfect storm” which could force lots of farmers out of business.

Adam Day, who runs the Cumbria Farmer Network, a non-profit organisation supporting farmers, said: “The reality is that there is not enough income to make a living from old-fashioned standard sheep farming or cattle farming. They have got to do other things to survive.”

From an ITV story: “Added to the loss of post offices and pubs and primary schools, the farmers told William and Kate that rural life can be challenging at the moment.”

They learned a lot more about the farm, which has flocks of Herdwick and Swaledale sheep. 

The couple helped repair some of the dry stone walling at the farm. 

And tried their hand at sheep-shearing. 

According to Kensington Palace, the family is “keen to carry on farming in a standard way.” 

They also enjoyed a nature walk with guides from the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. 

And learned about conservation measures being undertaken with the Lake district national Park.

Students from Patterdale school took part in the walk with the Royals.

Another view. 

Now for our look at what Kate wore for the day’s engagements. 

She was in a new, lightweight jacket, the Troy London Tracker style, described as “the utmost summer throw-on jacket.” 

Made in England of 100% cotton twill the jacket has a fitted silhouette with four exterior button flap pockets, a classic point collar, and an internal drawstring waist.  It is available at Troy London ($365) and also at available at country Attire ($297). Our thanks to Middleton Maven for her identification of the jacket. Thoughts on the look from The Telegraph’s column by Tamara Abraham.

…keen observers will have noticed a gradual shift in the way Kate now dresses for public engagements in rural settings. Yes, she’s wearing a Barbour jacket and jeans, that much is a constant – and true to form, she’s re-wearing wardrobe favourites – but thanks to a few fashion-influenced updates, the Duchess’s look is anything but dated.

For a start, the £275 green Troy London Tracker jacket is a lot more fitted than the Barbour versions we’ve seen her wear in the past. and instead of wearing it open, it is buttoned nearly to the top, styled rather like the ‘shackets’ (shirt-jacket hybrids) that appeared on the spring/summer 2019 runways. This was also an opportunity to support an independent British brand.

Kate has long been a fan of skinny jeans, but blue denim has been traded for jet black, which looks a little smarter than blue, yet still feels occasion-appropriate.

When arriving at the farm Kate had changed into her Barbour Defence Jacket. 

The Duchess wore her Fjällräven Övik Re-Wool Sweater, so called because it is a blend of recycled wool and polyamide.

It is still available in limited sizes at Backpacking United ($135).

Beneath the sweater, Kate wore a white tee shirt with a ‘pie-crust’ or ruffled collar, a piece that is not yet identified. It is a style favored by Diana, Princess of Wales in her younger years. Below, Diana at a 1981 polo match in a ruffled collar underneath the well-known sheep sweater, a piece made by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne for their warm and terrific shop.

Embed from Getty Images

A pattern for the sweater is still available on Pattern Hop, made available by the two designers. 

On the FB page, Emma wondered if the Duchess might be wearing the Cordings White Bow Pie Crust Shirt. I thought it might be a good possibility until seeing the style shown with the bow, and it looks like there is just too much fabric for it to be what Kate wore. (But what a good find!)  

Other terrific suggestions have been the Ted Baker Saiidi Blouse (that does not have a front button like Kate’s); a ME + EM style (the ones I have found all have smaller frills that are nearly pleats), and the Sézane Audrey (with a much stiffer collar).

UPDATE Wednesday, June 12: PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO JULY 18 UPDATE. We continue to receive terrific suggestions for Kate’s tee shirt yesterday. One comes from Marianne, who commented on the postthat she has “…a couple of old J crew blouses that have his exact ruffled collar, with a button.” So there’s one possibility, and a good one. another comes from Kat M in a comment, the See by Chloé Floral Lace Blouse shown below left. It’s hard to tell because the photos are so light, but this one looks like it has two buttons and the portion of the collar that becomes vertical as it descends down the front of the blouse is ruffled, which doesn’t seem to be the case with Kate’s. but it’s a good suggestion!

Another possibility comes from Maria’s comment; she offers the Claudie Pierlot Colombine Ter Cotton Shirt. We show it at Selfridges above right. This one looks quite similar, but it is done in a dotted cotton fabric, and I don’t think that is the case with Kate’s. another option was suggested by Emma, the Dubarry Chamomile Shirt, also a good thought and another brand Kate has worn. Below, you can see that there appears to be a lot more fabric in the Dubarry collar than we see in Kate’s shirt, and it looked to me like the actual ruffle portion was shorter than what was worn yesterday.  PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO JULY 18 UPDATE.

UPDATE JULY 18 2019: With thanks to the incredible CopyKate on eBay, it looks like the Duchess was wearing the Marguerite Blouse by Sezane. 

Sezane is a brand lots of thought the Duchess might be wearing, but this certain piece was not suggested as one of the possibilities. The tee shirt is cotton and one of the most distinctive design elements is the ladder-stitch detailing at the front placket, cuffs and shoulders.  The piece can be seen in this eBay listing from CopyKate, along with a in-depth graphic showing why it appears to match the piece worn by Kate. I think the ID is spot-on.

Kate initially had on her See by Chloé Ankle Boots. The combat-style boots are suede with leather trim and a chunky sole.

For the check out to the sheep farm and nature walk, the Duchess changed into her Berghaus Supalite II GTX Walking Boots. We show the style at Amazon (price varies by size, a 7 is $176); it is also offered at Berghaus (€220, about $245 at today’s exchange rates).

Kate’s hair was in a ponytail.

And she wore her Kiki McDonough Lauren earrings.

NOTE: There are a few photos of Kate & William stopping by The Inn on the Lake in Ullswater. 

They are on the Inn’s Facebook page. I haven’t heard back on an inquiry I made asking authorization to use the photos, so I am not comfortable including them here.

UPDATE Wednesday, June 12: I heard back from the Inn on the Lake and they have graciously said I can share the photos from yesterday. In terms of the check out timing, the Duke and Duchess made their check out after the Keswick walkabout before they headed to Deepdale Farm. here you see them being welcomed by the Lake district Hotel’s Director, Dani Hope, and her two children, 4-year-old Harry, and Ellie, who is 1-½.

Harry gave the couple a very warm welcome! 

Kate and William took a break for afternoon tea in one of the private Luxury Lake view Rooms. There is a full blog post here about yesterday’s visit, and the Inn at the Lake website is here.

In the pictures, the Duchess is still wearing the Troy London jacket and her See by Chloé boots. She is carrying her Smythson Panama East West Tote.   

Thank you to Inn on the Lake for their help with this part of the post.

VIDEOS:

This is just a quick :15 of the walkabout.

This one is roughly 1:50 of the Keswick walkabout and Market Square.

This one is about 1:05 of the conversation around the table about issues facing farmers, followed by another 3:30 of the sheep farm visit.

LINKAGE:

The Cumbria mountain Rescue team site is here; its Facebook page is here and Instagram page here

The Cumbria community foundation site is here; the organization’s Facebook page is here; its Twitter feed is here

The UNESCO world Heritage site is here; t

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