On the 19th of July 2017, day three of the Royal Visit began with the Cambridge family bidding farewell to Poland and travelling over to neighbouring Germany.
According to the Telegraph, Kate made Charlotte curtsy as they were saying thank you and goodbye at the airport in Warsaw. You can watch a short video of the moment below:
Adorable Princess Charlotte pic.twitter.com/QL5I01HhxC
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 19, 2017
The family’s plane landed in Berlin, Germany’s capital city, shortly before midday local time.
The day’s engagements began with a private meeting and lunch with the country’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Next, William and Kate visited the Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin’s most iconic sights.
The 18th-century neoclassical monument is the city’s only surviving historical city gate. A little bit of insight into the gate’s significance to the city, courtesy of VisitBerlin.de:
[T]his site came to symbolise Berlin’s Cold War division into East and West – and, since the fall of the Wall, a reunified Germany.… When the [Berlin] Wall fell, 100,000 people gathered here for the Brandenburg Gate’s official opening on 22 December 1989 – and soon afterwards, crowds thronged the area to celebrate their first joint New Year’s Eve in this once-divided city. Today, more than almost any other of the city’s landmark sights, the Brandenburg Gate symbolises a reunited Berlin.
William and Kate also said hello to the crowds gathered on Pariser Platz square in front of the gate.
Next, the Duke and Duchess visited Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial. The memorial site is covered with 2,711 concrete slabs that hold the names of approximately 3 million Jewish Holocaust victims. William and Kate toured the museum and walked through the memorial.
Inside the museum, the Royal couple met with Holocaust survivor Leon Henry Schwarzbaum, who shared his story with them.
Later in the afternoon, William and Kate travelled the eastern district of Marzahn to visit Strassenkinder, a charity that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The charity works with 200 children daily, providing welfare assistance, education and sports activities.
The couple received a very warm welcome:
Lots of hugs were given!
The couple spent time with those who’ve received help from the organisation.
The couple also met with people from the Robert Enke Foundation. Set up in memory of the footballer, this organisation raises awareness of mental health issues, particularly in sport.
Then, William and Kate travelled back to the west of the city to Bellevue Palace, where they met with President Steinmeier and his wife.
The Royals enjoyed afternoon tea in the gardens of the Palace before retiring for the afternoon.
Kate’s outfit:
Kate wore a cornflower blue coat by one of her go-to designer labels, Catherine Walker & Co.
Kate’s coat features an oversized collar, three-quarter length sleeves, a full skirt with pleats and three covered buttons above the waist. It looks like the coat is bespoke. Our friend Michelle, who is a stylist from Australia, noticed that it shares elements with the designer’s Simone and Clematis Star styles.
On Catherine Walker’s website, it states that the Clematis Star coat (the pink one shown above) also comes in cornflower blue.
You may recall that Kate wore a similar coat to the Order of the Garter ceremony in 2016?
Kate first debuted the red coat during a visit to Canada in 2011.
Kate purposefully chose cornflower blue for today’s visit. The cornflower is Germany’s national flower.
Cornflower image © Kiran Jonnalagadda via Wikipedia
A note about the significance of the flower via Wikipedia:
The blue cornflower was one of the national symbols of Germany. This is partly due to the story that when Queen Louise of Prussia was fleeing Berlin and pursued by Napoleon’s forces, she hid her children in a field of cornflowers and kept them quiet by weaving wreaths for them from the flowers. The flower thus became identified with Prussia, not least because it was the same colour as the Prussian military uniform. After the unification of Germany in 1871, it went on to become a symbol of the country as a whole.
It also looks like Kate’s wearing a tonal lace blue dress underneath the coat. Elizabeth from Kate’s Closet noticed that the dress has a scalloped hem:
Under the coat, Kate is wearing a tonal blue lace dress with scalloped hem > https://t.co/hh1QTDH24c #RoyalVisitPoland #royalvisitgermany pic.twitter.com/IyKaDJAMoK
— Kate's Closet (@katesclosetau) July 19, 2017
I have no information about the dress at present, but I’ll update the post with more information later should I learn anything new.
Kate’s wearing her Gianvito Rossi 105 pumps in Praline. The bisque-coloured pumps are made in Italy using taupe suede leather. The shoes feature a pointed toe and a stiletto heel. Net-A-Porter sells the colour Kate’s wearing for £470 GBP.
Kate carried a new clutch bag today. It’s by Jimmy Choo and it’s the Vivien style. (Thanks to Michelle from @PerthsFashion who quickly found the bag). The clam-shaped snap-hinge framed bag is crafted in Italy and features Swarovski-studded hardware.
There was a darker blue version of the clutch available at MatchesFashion.com for £650 GBP (around $847 USD), but it looks like Kate’s carrying a bespoke version made from a lighter cornflower blue fabric to match her coat.
The bag comes in a number of colours, including anthracite at FarFetch.com, vintage rose at Selfridges.com, black satin at Selfridges.com, black suede at FarFetch.com and rose pink satin at MatchesFashion.com.
Kate debuted a new necklace today. It’s by Kiki McDonough. It’s the designer’s Eden flower necklace in blue topaz and 18ct white gold. On the designer’s website, the necklace is described as a “stunning … pretty but bold necklace”. The necklace retails for £1,400 GBP (around $1,824 USD).
She also wore coordinating earrings by the same designer, also made from blue topaz, diamonds and 18ct white gold. The £3,500 ($4,536) earrings are available to order by phone or email (details on the designer’s website). You may recall that Kate first debuted the earrings during a visit to Luxembourg earlier this year.
Finally, Kate wore her sapphire and white gold engagement ring and her watch by Cartier. Kate wears the Ballon Bleu syle in the 33mm size. The stainless steel watch has blue sword-shaped hands.
