Kate debuts new fuss-free hairstyle during visit to Wakefield,
The Princess of Wales pulled off a quick outfit change between engagements today, swapping effortlessly from a business-like ensemble to country casuals.
Kate, 44, is visiting organisations in the North of England today to highlight the power of creativity, community and nature for those who have experienced trauma, isolation and poor mental health.
First, she travelled to Bradford, where she spoke to children at a trauma therapy centre run by Family Action.
For the occasion, the Princess opted to rewear her Holland Cooper tweed jacket that she paired with tan trousers from British high-street label Jigsaw.
She styled her bronde hair in cascading waves before debuting a new look for her second engagement in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Kate, who met members of Wakefield’s Trinity Rugby League Club, was seen leaving the stadium with her hair tied into a fuss-free plait.
The future Queen – at least partially responsible for the skinny jeans renaissance – had also changed her outfit, as she wore a khaki ensemble.
Kate cut a sporty figure as she swapped her tweed blazer for a waterproof, olive-coloured utility jacket from Dubarry, as Storm Chandra brought thunder and lightning to the UK.
She completed the look with a pair of brown skinny jeans and waterproof leather boots from Berghaus.
Despite the rainy weather, Kate was pictured warmly greeting crowds of well-wishers that had gathered at Wakefield, while accepting bouquets and posing for selfies.
Kate, who has been patron of the Rugby Football League since 2022, was still wearing her herringbone Holland Cooper jacket when she headed onto the rugby pitch for a skills session with girls competing in the Champion Schools programme.
The last time she wore the blazer was during a visit to the Isle of Mull with her husband, the Prince of Wales, last April.
Meanwhile, Kate previously wore the Dubarry utility jacket in a sweet video released in April 2021 to mark her and William’s 10th wedding anniversary.
It appeared Kate decided to opt for a more practical look so she could carry out her final outing of the day: a walk through the Peak District.
The princess joined members of the Mind Over Mountains charity – which promotes mental well-being through outdoor experiences – for a very muddy walk after a day of heavy rainfall across the UK.
She completed her look with an olive green baker boy hat and brown scarf, as Kate participated in the charity’s wellbeing walk.
Earlier in the day, Kate spoke to therapists at Family Action in Bradford, a charity which helps children and their families recover from complex trauma.
She also joined creative therapy sessions – talking to children about collage trees and wish boxes – to understand how the use of play can be a vehicle for healing.
She has long championed mental health causes and emphasised how nature had helped her ‘heal’ from cancer treatment in a video series most recently released on her 44th birthday.
Family Action, of which Kate is a patron, provides practical, emotional, and financial support to families who are facing poverty, disadvantage and isolation nationwide.
Their children’s trauma therapy service in Bradford works with children who have experienced abuse, neglect or a traumatic bereavement.
She said to staff at the centre: ‘It’s probably been a lifeline for them in so many ways and being able to extend that umbilical cord support – the fact that you’re able to continue that relationship with them.’
Kate joined a therapy session for a mother and her 12-year-old son who had been colouring in leaves to put on a collage tree, designed to help children illustrate their feelings and discuss their therapy journey.
The boy explained how music had helped him process difficult emotions and that he now played drums in a band.
Kate said: ‘That’s a fantastic way to sort of express yourself and also manage really difficult and hard feelings that are sometimes harder to express with words than in any other way.’
She asked if he had ever thought he would play in a band.
He replied: ‘No. If you said it to me three years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you because I wouldn’t have thought I had the attention span for it.’
Kate then met a mother and her five-year-old daughter who were decorating a box of wishes, in which they had added items to help them express their feelings.
The princess greeted the girl by crouching down and holding her hand, before complimenting her leopard print dress.
‘I like your dress. That’s a pretty dress and your shoes, I have boots like that but they don’t have glitter on sadly. Are they your favourite boots?’ she asked.
The girl had put a small pot of glitter and water into the box, which she called her ‘potion’.
Asked what the potion did, she said ‘it keeps away the bad dreams’. Kate told the girl’s mother that ‘lots of people need more of these’.
The girl had also put in a feather – which, her therapist said was to keep her ‘busy head’ ‘nice and calm’ – as well as two shells in the box.
Kate said to her: ‘Sometimes when you put it to your ear, you can hear waves. That’s what I like doing with shells.’
She then asked: ‘Have you enjoyed coming here to do these things with mummy? What have you enjoyed about it?
‘Is it being able to play together? And talk about some of the things that you find difficult?’
Later, the girl’s mother joked: ‘I think she was more excited about seeing Esther [her therapist].’
Stuart Murray-Borbjerg, senior therapist, said of Princess Kate: ‘She seemed genuinely interested to hear about the family’s experience of the service and the impact of it.’
He explained the importance of ‘non-verbal approaches to therapy’ using tools like art, music and movement to express feelings when language fails.
‘Something that’s lost through traumatic experiences is that sense of playfulness and joy which just comes back when you’re making music or you’re drawing together,’ he said.
‘[It’s] something the princess said too – that kind of gets lost as adults but George keeps her playful. I think she said one [of her children] plays the guitar and and one plays the drums.’
