DOUBLE DUCHESSES!
Sisters-in-law step out in remarkably similar outfits ... while Meghan spells out her love with a £54 ring
IF there was a dress code for duchesses, both Kate and Meghan were sticking to it yesterday as they carried out separate public visits.
They wore similar burgundy outfits – Meghan in a £560 Club Monaco dress and matching coat with Givenchy boots, and Kate in a Paule Ka suit and heels.
Both had their hair in ponytails, while Meghan showed off a previously unseen ring spelling out the word ‘love’, costing £54 from LA jeweller Meredith Hahn.
The pair were making unannounced visits to projects in London, with Kate launching the latest phase of her work championing early intervention with vulnerable children to prevent problems in later life.
She revealed that she had studied psychology while at St Andrews University, where she met husband Prince William. It is thought to be the first time she has spoken of studying the subject.
‘I started off doing psychology at St Andrews, with history of art,’ she said during her visit to the psychology and language sciences division at University College London.
Laughing, she added: ‘It was a bit full on, but it was really interesting.’
Kate was speaking at UCL’s developmental risk and resilience unit, where she met researchers led by co- director Professor Eamon McCrory to hear about the university’s ground-breaking research on how early experiences can shape brain function and social and emotional development.
The professor said afterwards: ‘The duchess is fantastic. Her level of interest is extraordinary and she has a genuine interest and hunger to understand the science.’
Earlier, her sister-in-law the Duchess of Sussex had met her friends in the Grenfell Tower community with whom she collaborated on a fund-raising cookbook following last year’s devastating fire.
Meghan rolled up her sleeves and got cooking at the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London, her first visit there since her pregnancy was announced last month.
The women at the centre, whom she now counts as friends, couldn’t wait to congratulate 37-year-old Meghan, whose first child with Prince Harry is due in the spring.
Intlak Alsaiegh 62, an Iraqi- born grandmother of two, said: ‘We all said congratulations. She said, “Yes, I am so happy”. And I think she loves Harry and Harry loves her so much.’ In the seven weeks since Together: Our Community Cookbook was published it has sold more than 40,000 copies in Britain, raising £210,000 for the charity, Kensington Palace said. Tens of thousands of copies have also been sold abroad, meaning that by Christmas Meghan and the women are expected to easily surpass their target of raising £250,000 to fund their expanding work.
In the weeks after the Grenfell tragedy, which claimed 72 lives, the women of the area gathered at the Al Manaar community centre to cook meals for those affected.
Now, thanks to the money raised from their book, which features more than 50 recipes from the women involved, they have a newly refurbished kitchen serving nourishing meals seven days a week.
Yesterday Meghan put on an apron to help prepare food to be sent out to 200 people in the local community.