The royals are out in full force today. From Princess Beatrice's engagement news to Meghan, Harry and Archie in Africa, we can hardly keep up.
Add to the list: Kate Middleton and Prince William's first official joint appearance since they dropped George and Charlotte off at school nearly three weeks ago. The Cambridges were in Birkenhead today and looked dapper as they visited the English seaside town.
Prince William wore a navy suit and tie, while Kate Middleton re-wore an ultimate fave: her cornflower-blue Alexander McQueen coatdress that she's worn on three (!!!) previous occasions. (What with Meghan recently recycling all her outfits from the royal tour of Australia, we think we've reached peak royal re-wear season.)
The coat, by Alexander McQueen (aka the same fashion house as her wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton for McQueen), features a metal-buckle belt, back pleats and two big front pockets. The duchess wore it with navy block-heel pumps and a black Asprey clutch for the visit today.
Middleton previously wore the coat for at least three separate appearances: twice in 2014 (in New Zealand and in France) and once in 2016 for the RAF Air Cadet's 75th Anniversary.
William and Kate were in Birkenhead (near Liverpool) for the naming ceremony of the polar research ship RSS Sir David Attenborough. The public voted to name the ship "Boaty McBoatface" (ahhh, who doesn't love the Brits' humor?), but the British government vetoed this in place of Attenborough, the English broadcaster and historian.
The tradition for boat naming ceremonies is to break a bottle of Champagne against the boat's hull. Middleton was in charge of this "honor," though she didn't have to hold the bottle as she smashed it. Instead, it was tied to a rope in front of the hull that was cut when she pressed this big yellow button (which was at a safe distance away from the Champagne rope).
Thank god. We couldn't bear to see anything get on this coat.
