SCANDINAVIAN TRIP
William and Kate visit Sweden and Norway.
After landing in Stockholm on Jan. 30, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge energetically started their official tour of Sweden and Norway with a bandy hockey event, facing off in a playful shoot-out (Kate lost to William 2–1). The royal mum, who is expecting her third child in April, kept warm in a black Burberry coat and a jumper by Swedish designer Fjällräven as she took to the ice.
After a meet and greet with Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, the British royals changed into their finest for a black-tie dinner with the Swedish royal family and local A-listers including Alicia Vikander and Stellan Skarsgård. Before stepping into a floor-length, floral-patterned silk Erdem gown, Kate, 36, and William, 35, had a short meeting with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven, and his wife, Ulla. William told them all about their hockey exploits when Kate patted him affectionately
on the arm and quipped, “I let him win.”
On the rest of their four-day jaunt, their first official visit to Scandinavia, the couple continued to score goals. On Jan. 31, they visited a Stockholm school where students take part in innovative mental-health programs. Wearing a bespoke red-and-white houndstooth Catherine Walker coat (paired with a mini Chanel bag and Tod’s pumps) Kate was quizzed about her musical preferences by Lucas Tinseau, 15. “I asked her if she knew J Hus,” he told reporters. “She said, ‘I will look out for him.’ ” Added Tinseau, “I asked her how her grandmother was, Queen Elizabeth. She said, ‘I will say hello from you.’ ”
At the tail end of their tour, which included a visit to the Nobel Museum and chats with tech entrepreneurs at Stockholm’s architecture and design centre, the soon-to-be parents of three (Prince George is 4 and Princess Charlotte 2) flew to Oslo to join Norway’s Prince Haakon, Princess MetteMarit, King Harald and Queen Sonja for a lavish dinner at the royal palace. Kate wore a blush, empirewaisted gown by Alexander Mcqueen and accessorised with diamond drop earrings and the diamond bracelet Queen Elizabeth
wore on her wedding day.
They wrapped up their final day with a visit to Hartvig Nissen School in Oslo and a ski school in Holmenkollen. “Kate said their children would love to be here,” said Line Hansen, manager of the kindergarten. “And that it was a nice place.”