Monday Memory: October 11, 2016
Today is the last Monday Memory of 2024. I launched Monday Memories in January 2024—before we knew Kate would be absent for almost all of this year. It has proved to be a popular series, and I am continuing it in 2025. In the final look-back of this year, though, we are reviewing October 11, 2016.
Kate was on a day-visit to the Netherlands. This was her first foreign solo-trip as a member of the royal family. The milestone would have been accomplished two years earlier when Kate was booked to visit Malta, but she got very sick while pregnant with Princess Charlotte.
Kate started her day with a visit with King Willem-Alexander at the family's private residence, Villa Eikenhorst. Unfortunately, Queen Maxima was out of town, but Kate posed with the King and the two had lunch together. The home is on a woodland estate outside The Hague. Most of the European royals are a little more relaxed than the British royals, and, apparently, King Willem and Queen Maxima do occasionally host foreign dignitaries and fellow royals at their home.
After lunch, Kate's first stop was the Mauritshuis art museum. The original collection housed at the museum was the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, collected by William V. As such, the focus of the museum is almost exclusively on Dutch Golden Age works.
At the time of Kate’s visit, the museum was running an exhibition with a number pieces on loan from Britain titled: “At Home in Holland: Vermeer and his Contemporaries from the British Royal Collection.” One of the museum’s permanent residents is The Girl with a Pearl Earring painting by Vermeer. Kate told a fan that this painting was her favorite. I think it is a more evocative and mysterious painting than the Mona Lisa.
After dropping in on an art program for kids at the museum, Kate was off to the British Ambassador’s residence where two of the charities of which Kate is patron (Action on Addiction and the Anna Freud Centre) met with a mental health program based in the Netherlands. It was a long day; Kate travelled from the Hague to Rotterdam in the evening for a final engagement before jetting home.
For this significant visit, Kate chose a lilac suit from Catherine Walker. This ensemble divided fans at the time. I loved the look, which included such flattering design features for Kate, like the peplum jacket and pencil skirt. It was unfortunate that the fabric wrinkled so badly. Kate doesn’t make this error often, but it does happen. Despite the wrinkles, I still loved the look.
Kate completed her ensemble with peal earrings on loan from the Queen. She wore Gianvito Rossi heels and carried LK Bennett’s Nina clutch.
I'm so glad you will continue the Monday Memory series - it's always such a pleasure when "you" land in my inbox. :)
I loved this visit ... the focus on art, her in front of one of my favorite paintings, that she was confident to lunch with a king. ❤️ Still I wished Maxima had been there - imagine the fashions ops!
I love this outfit, the color, her jewlery, and the hair. En toto it was almost sexy, but still completely appropriate for the visit. I can't upload it here, but there are photos of Catherine boarding a commercial flight home after the visit. Imagine the surprise that a seatmate is the future Queen!
Thanks for another lovely memory. Catherine wears everything so well. Despite the wrinkles, it was a lovely suit. That is such a good color for her. And it showed off her gorgeous legs. I have so enjoyed these "looking back" posts. And may she have good health and strength in the new year to be with her family and to attend to duties as she is able.