Repli-Kate Essentials for Summer...

If you want to emulate the Duchess of Cambridge's style this Summer then there are some repli-Kate essentials that you are going to need.

Earrings

Let's be honest, Kate has an earring collection to be envious of, and I am! But let's look at some of the earrings that started off her collection as a newly announced Royal. Back in 2010, Kate wore the Links of London Hope Egg White Topaz Earrings. Since then she has worn them for many occasions and have become a firm favourite. You can still buy these earrings online from Wakefield's Jewellers for £275.

Another of Kate's favourite earrings are the Links of London Effervescence Bubble Stiletto Earrings which are still available at Links of London for £130. She first wore them back in 2011 for the couple's first black-tie event and has worn them for day and evening events ever since.

An earring essential is the pearl earring. Kate has several pairs but the ones that made the most appearance in the Summer was her pearl stud earrings that became an essential part of her Olympic uniform in 2012. Since then she has tended to have chosen drop earrings, but I still love a stud for Summer because it can be worn day or night! My favourites are the Tiffany & Co. Ziegfeld Pearl Stud Earrings which are available for £185.

Shoes

Now, everyone knows that a repli-Kate wardrobe would not be complete without a pair of nude pumps. Kate's nude pumps of choice are the LK Bennett Sledge Patent Leather Platform Court Shoes which are still available for £195. However, a very good, but slightly cheaper, pair would be Aldo's Kohlmann High Heel Shoes in Bone which are available for £60.

Another of Kate's popular Summer footwear choice is her wedges. Kate often wears the Pied a Terre (now Dune Black) Imperia Espadrille Wedges in Neutral for a very similar pair which is slightly cheaper try the Dune Karley Espadrille Wedges in Cream.

Bags

To match her nude shoes, Kate would choose a nude clutch and one of her favourite's, since her wedding and beyond, is the LK Bennett Natalie Raffia Box Clutch which is back at £185. This clutch has been seen since 2011 and many, many times since. A good alternative for the Natalie clutch is the Oroton Odeion Clutch. Kate has the clutch in blue and carried it in Australia (with Oroton being an Australian brand) however it is also available in neutral and I think that it is a lovely alternative for Summer. It is currently on sale for £122.

Dresses

Last year Kate wore two LK Bennett dresses which were some of my favourite dresses from the year. The Detroit Notch Collar Fitted Dress, which she wore twice, and the Lasa Poppy Print Dress. 

Two good alternatives for the Detroit dress is the Ross Notch Collar Fitted Dress and the Delta Hemmers Dress both of which are available for £250 at John Lewis. 

A good alternative for the Lasa dress is the Lara Printed Dress which is also available at John Lewis for £195.

Another of Kate's favourite dresses is the Hobbs Wessex Dress. She bought it on sale back in 2012 and has worn again last year on their tour of Australia. 

Hobbs have now reissued the Wessex Dress is blue which is available for £129, alongside a matching Wessex Top which is available for £69.

So, I hope these repli-Kate essentials help you start to build up your Summer wardrobe!

The Cambridge's Leave London for Norfolk

Today the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and of course Prince George and Princess Charlotte, all left Kensington Palace for their country residence, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk.

photo via The Daily Mail

The family of four spent 3days at their London residence where they were visited by the Middleton's, Prince Charles, Duchess of Cornwall and, of course, The Queen.

They are expected to stay at Anmer Hall for the majority of Kate's maternity leave. Prince William will start his new job as a helicopter pilot for East Anglian Air Ambulance on June 1st, following 6 weeks of paternity leave. He will work with East Anglian Air Ambulance for at least 2 years.

Prince William drove the family to Norfolk in their Range Rover.

photo via The Daily Mail

Kate kept it casual in a white/cream jacket/coat, patterned scarf and pearl drop earrings.

photo via The Daily Mail

It is though that Kate could be wearing her JoJo Maman Bebe Princess Line Maternity Coat which she wore to visit Downton Abbey in March.

Kate appears to wearing the Beulah London Brisa Shawl which is available for £195.

She wore a similar scarf by Beulah London, in grey, at a rugby match during their tour of Australia last year.

She also wore her favourite Annoushka Pearl Drop Earrings.

I love Kate's casual style and she has a scarf collection that I am very envious of! A Copy-Kate version of the scarf is the very lovely LK Bennett Posy Screen-Printed Scarf which is available for £65 - a much more affordable price!

Which do you prefer, Beulah's or LK Bennett's?

The Queen Visits the New Princess..

Today, The Queen travelled from her Sandringham estate in Norfolk to Kensington Palace in London to meet her newest great-grandchild.

photo via The Daily Mail

The Queen arrived at around 2:35pm and looked thrilled to be finally getting to meet Princess Charlotte.

photo via The Daily Mail

Prince Charles also visited his new grand-daughter and, of course, Prince George at Kensington Palace again today.

photo via The Daily Mail

Also today, Prince William registered the birth of the little Princess.

As with Prince George's birth in 2013, The Duke of Cambridge signed the birth register at Kensington Palace witnessed by a Registrar from Westminster Register Office. 

photo via Kensington Palace Twitter Feed

As I had mentioned in a previous post, we don't expect to see the Duke or Duchess in an official capacity for a while now. Prince William is on paternity leave until June 1st and although Kate's maternity leave hasn't been officially announced it is thought that it could be several months.

However, I think it could be possible that the Duchess will attend Trooping the Colour on 13th June. Kate has attended every year since their wedding in 2011.

It also popular that she will attend the Order of the Garter. She attended this back in 2008 when Prince William first became a member and also in 2011, 2012 and 2014 after their wedding. She did not attend in 2013 as she was on maternity leave with Prince George.

But I imagine we will get notification sometime later this month, along with details about Princess Charlotte's Christening.

Until then, we will just have to hope for some Kate sightings! I will be back later this week with a Repli-Kate Summer Essentials post, unless of course, we have a Kate sighting!

Introducing....Princess Charlotte of Cambridge

Kensington Palace have announced that the new little princess's name will be..

Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

She will be known as..

Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge

Kensington Palace announced the name over Twitter.

photo via Kensington Palace Twitter Feed

Charlotte - it has been the bookies favourite for both pregnancies - it is the female version to William's father Prince Charles and is also Pippa Middleton's middle name.

Elizabeth - after Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II (our current Queen) and it is also Catherine's middle name.

Diana - I'm sure we all know this one - after William's mother Princess Diana.

The couple had reportedly decided on the name shortly after Princess Charlotte was born but wanted to discuss it with The Queen in person before announcing it.

What do you think of the name?

photo via The Daily Mail

Also today, a 41-Gun Salute took place in Hyde Park in honour of the Princess.

photo via Kensington Palace Twitter Feed

I don't expect we will see the family until the official photograph, however it is possible that Kate will be spotted out and about earlier this time round because she will want to be doting on Prince George so he doesn't feel left out. So, we could hear of a couple of Kate & George sightings!

The Little Princess's First Few Days..

Yesterday the little Princess had a day of meeting her family. Kate's mother, Carole Middleton, and sister, Pippa, arrived to meet the new addition.

photo via The Daily Mail

Later on her father, Michael, also arrived to meet his new granddaughter.

photo via The Daily Mail

Prince Charles looked thrilled to be there and had said previously that he had really hoped the baby would be a little girl.

photo via The Daily Mail

The Duchess of Cornwall also looked very pleased to be meeting the Princess.

photo via The Daily Mail

Meanwhile, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh stayed at Sandringham in Norfolk and were seen attending the Sunday Service at the nearby church.

photo via The Daily Mail

It is thought that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had settled on a name but wanted to tell The Queen in person before announcing it. It is thought that they will travel down today so they can meet their newest great-grandchild. So, we are hoping for a name announcement at some point today!

***

The next time we will get to see the Princess is likely to be for her first official family portrait. With Prince George this was taken by Michael Middleton in the Middleton's Bucklebury back garden, two weeks after the birth. 

However, it is though that this time it will be taken at Anmer Hall and could be released sooner. This is because all the key dates are being moved forward so that the Christening can take place before The Queen goes to Balmoral for the Summer.

The Queen must be in attendance at the Christening and as she goes to Balmoral at the end of July/beginning of August, we are likely to see a Christening sooner rather than later.

This is because the christening gown that all royal babies wear, only fits a baby up to around 3-4months grown. Prince George's christening was the 23rd October - 3 months after he was born. 

If they were to do that again it would be the 2nd August, by which time The Queen is likely to have left for Balmoral, so it will need to be earlier. But, with Prince George's 2nd birthday being the 22nd July, it is thought it could be even earlier so they don't over shine his birthday celebration!

We will have to wait and see but it will be very exciting to see the little Princess sooner than we thought!

Duke, Duchess & Princess Leave The Lindo Wing..

Tonight, just after 6pm, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge emerged from the Lindo Wing with their new daughter.

photo via The Daily Mail

Earlier in the day, Prince George visited his new sister, before returning back to Kensington Palace for bath time.

photo via The Daily Mail

Prince George looked adorable in the Rachel Riley Cord Short & Shirt Set.  It is thought that his cardigan is the same as the red one George wore in Australia & New Zealand.

He also wore his Amaia Blue France Socks and Start Rite Jo Navy Blue Leather First Walking Shoes.

The couple smiled broadly as they presented the new addition to the media and the world.

photo via The Daily Mail

The Princess was sleeping soundly, despite all the commotion outside. Although there has been mention of a name yet, I think it is possible we will have an announcement tomorrow.

photo via The Daily Mail

She was all bundled up a lemon knitted bonnet - which matched Kate's dress - and the Soft Wool Baby Shawl by GH Hurt. Prince George also wore a shawl by this company but a slightly cooler one for July.

The couple stopped at the bottom of the steps and posed for photographs. This time round they did not answer any questions.

photo via The Daily Mail

The couple then went back inside to get the little Princess ready for her journey home.

photo via The Daily Mail

They used Prince George's car seat - the Britax Baby-Safe Infant Carrier.

The Duchess of Cambridge is wearing a bespoke Jenny Packham dress - she also chose to wear Jenny Packham when she left the Lindo Wing after Prince George. Jenny Packham had a touching message on her website..

via the Jenny Packham website

Many, including me, had thought the Duchess would wear pink because she wore blue when she emerged after Prince George, however she chose a neutral colour - no doubt because the gender was unknown!

The Duchess wore her Jimmy Choo Gilbert Pumps which are available for £375.

The Duchess wore her favourite Annoushka Pearl Drop Earrings.

Copy Kate
If you want to add a touch of colour to your wardrobe as Summer arrives them why not try the LK Bennett Hannah Printed Shift Dress. It features lovely yellow flowers, just like the Duchess's Jenny Packham dress. A nude pair of shoes is a Summer staple and I love the Head Over Heels Audrine Point Toe Court Shoes at the moment, which are available for £39. Earrings last you a lifetime, so I always think it is nice to pay a bit for them, especially ones that don't go out of style, such as pearl earrings. The Tiffany & Co. Ziegfeld Collection Pearl Studs are beautiful and available for just £185. A beautiful Spring/Summer outfit for Kate and I hope you enjoy my version!

Congratulations Duke, Duchess and of course Prince George!

photo via The Daily Mail