Kate Middleton spent two days working on a a top-secret project—and now, we finally know what she’s been up to.
According to People, the Duchess of Cambridge quietly got some work experience at a maternity ward in one of London’s major hospitals this week, where she reportedly shadowed midwives and other professionals to better educate herself about children’s early years of development.
Sources also told Hello! Magazine that the royal mom of three “divided her time on the unit, visiting the antenatal, postnatal and labour wards.”
The work was subtly mentioned by Kensington Palace as it was included in the Court Circular on November 28, which reveals the activities the royals have completed each week:
“The Duchess of Cambridge, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, today completed two days with Kingston Hospital Maternity Unit in London.”
No other details have been released, but it comes as no surprise that the duchess wanted to lend a helping hand at the hospital’s maternity ward since early childhood care is something Middleton has devoted a lot of her royal work to over the years. In May, she organized a group to learn about child welfare so that she could be more aware of the challenges both parents and caregivers deal with every day. She also later thanked them for their work, support, and advice.
“Through our work, you have reaffirmed my belief of just how timely it is to focus on what happens in the early years of life, and how pivotal a stage of life this is for a child’s future,” Middleton said at the time.
“I hope my long-term commitment to working in the early years will help make a difference over a generational timescale,” she added. “Your thoughts and advice will continue to be hugely valuable as I shape my thinking for the years ahead.”
Then, in November, Middleton opened a new children’s hospice, as part of her Early Years project. She also spent time with the young patients who have life-threatening conditions.
As Americans, we can have fun obsessing over the British royal family—especially now that California’s own Meghan Markle has joined. We shop the fashions of Markle and her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, ogle their adorable children, and lament that we don’t have more opportunities to wear fascinators and tiaras. Or is that last one just me?
Of course, royal watching is even more intense in the U.K., but it also has real financial implications for Brits as the royal family is supported by, in part, their tax dollars. Because of that fact, they release an annual report called the Sovereign Grant that details spending for the year, from April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019. That’s how we learned that the renovations to Markle and Prince Harry’s new home, Frogmore Cottage, cost over $3 million (2.4 million pounds). Members of the family also have massive amounts of private wealth, the spending of which they do not have to report.
According to the report, Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family received $104 million dollars (82.2 million pounds) from British taxpayers.
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Let’s break down some of the most interesting details we learned about House Windsor’s spending from the report.
They spent $42 million on renovations to royal palaces and properties.
Along with the upgrades to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Master Archie‘s home, a number of other home design projects took up a big chunk of the budget, including Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and Windsor Castle.
Travel does cost a thing.
The royal family serve as ambassadors for the U.K. across the country, commonwealth, and the world. Hence, they’re out and about a lot. According to the report, members of the family undertook over 3200 engagements during the year, with the 93-year-old queen doing 140, and the total travel costs were around $5.8 million (4.6 million pounds.)
Following Meghan Markle’s maternity wardrobe has been one of the best parts of her first royal pregnancy (for us, anyway), but all the looks she’s serving up don’t exactly come cheap. And hey, we’re not judging; it’s not like royalty is going to swing by H&M for their essentials. Now, the numbers are in: One blog has totaled up how much they estimate she’s spent on her maternity clothing since she became pregnant, and safe to say, it’s a lot.
According to Love the Sales‘ research, Markle has spent more than $500,000 on her maternity outfits so far, which is no insignificant figure. But as the site’s fashion editor told MarieClaire.com, Markle—given her Hollywood background, is pretty used to designer clothing that she bought with the money she earned from Suits. (Kate, she explains, comes from a little more low-key background, which meant she was wearing more pieces from “understated brands”.) Of course, keep in mind that royals don’t accept free clothes from brands, so all of this is reportedly coming from Prince Charles’ income, believed to be around $28 million.
Love the Sales also shared more interesting tidbits, including that her most-“liked” dress was the black Givenchy gown she wore when she had that two-handed cradle-the-bump moment that weirdly freaked the Internet out.
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And you can bet that the “Meghan Markle Effect,” as the spike in searches and sales for a brand or piece after she wears it has come to be called, is real. According to the site, there was a 5,800 percent and 3,900 percent surge in searches for Karen Gee and Outland Denim after she wore them. (And she’s reportedly her own stylist, too.)
Markle’s wardrobe has reportedly been comparatively expensive compared to the rest of the royal women, and to be honest, it makes sense: She’s a newcomer to that royal life, so she’s basically building a wardrobe the way some of us had to outfit ourselves for our first job, just on a much larger (and more designer-filled) scale. In 2018, the blog UFO No More totaled up how much they thought the royal women had spent on their wardrobes, and Markle took the grand prize with purchases thought to total around $508,000 (Middleton, by contrast, was thought to have spent around $85,000). That means that, yep, she’s spent as much on maternity clothes she’ll wear until the baby comes—and now we see why Middleton breaks out so many great re-wears when she’s getting ready to have another mini-royal.
Neil Mockford/GC Images
It’s not long until we get to meet Baby Sussex, who’s expected around late April or early May—until then, we’ll enjoy the last days of following Markle’s fantastic maternity wardrobe.
When I first caught the travel bug, I was a college sophomore with only about a half dozen Caribbean family vacations under my belt. Then, within a matter of 18 months, I took my first trip across the globe (to Dubai), which was followed by five more international excursions (through China, across European cities, and then a brief stint in South Africa.) During that time, I not only discovered my love for travel, but I also realized my $200 3-piece luggage set—the one with the cute red elephants that I had purchased my freshman year—simply wouldn’t cover my frequent-economy-flyer aspirations. What I didn’t know is that this would lead me on a journey through the vast, expensive world of premium suitcases.
I was looking for a bag that was durable enough to weather aggressive baggage handlers, simple enough to keep for years without it feeling dated, and compact enough that I could lug it around with no issue. Plus, I had to feel comfortable investing significant money into. I was familiar with the big-name, super-popular dedicated luggage brands, and also open to discovering new names stocked at department stores. I exhaustively browsed through reviews from travel bloggers, magazines, and e-commerce sites; I even censused my friends about their experience with different brands.
Eventually, I settled on Briggs and Riley’s Large Upright Duffle bag, which retails for $599. It’s an all-black, 29-inch piece of luggage that alone weighs 11 pounds. Out of all of the bags I looked at—hard shell, soft, traditional—it was, by, far the biggest, something that was extremely attractive to me, as I planned to spend extended periods of time living out of my suitcase.
The simplistic, but functional design was another major plus: It has a large main top compartment that I can put my clothes in, and another spacious section right below that can hold toiletries, shoes, and other things.
This was the most money I had ever spent on any single item. (It was also the first time I spent an entire paycheck.) I remember begrudgingly handing the store attendant my money and hoping on the subway back to Brooklyn with a bag that cost the same as my monthly rent. As soon as the transaction was over, I was overcome with fear: My parents and siblings had discouraged me from making such a large purchase while still in college; now, my bank account’s balance felt even more unsettling.
I tried to cure my early-manifesting buyer’s remorse by going through the usual arguments—it was an investment, I wouldn’t have to replace it for years, I had a warranty, and so forth. All my doubts and nerves started wane as soon as I started traveling with my new bag.
The inaugural trip was also my first time in Europe—and while on it, I started to realize how big of a difference good luggage makes. Yes, the basic functions (it holds things, it zips shut) are pretty much the same, but the fabrication is where you can tell how much you’ve spent. I no longer worried about the chaotic struggle most bags go through at the airport because of the bag’s abrasion and water resistance. The lifetime repair warranty was even more reassuring.
It’s been three years now since I purchased my big, black $600 duffle bag, and I’m still reaping the benefits of my version of an “investment piece”: For my corporate friends, that might mean a designer handbag—but for me, someone who’s turned travel into a habit, this feels like something worth putting my money into. When I think back about all the places I’ve traveled and the ease for which I was able to do it, I understand the value of spending on something that will not only compliment but also enhance my chosen lifestyle.
It’s official: Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth are best friends.
OK, so we don’t know that for sure, but the two did look like they were having fun on their first trip today—just the two of them—to Cheshire, England. Markle and the queen were in Cheshire for a variety of engagements, including stops at the Town Hall and the Storyhouse Theater. They also attended the opening of the Mersey Gateway bridge, where they watched a performance from local school children.
What’s most notable about Markle and the queen’s trip—besides the photos, which we’ll get to—is their mode of transportation. The two zipped over to Cheshire in what’s commonly referred to as the “royal train”. It’s a big deal, considering Prince Harry hasn’t even received an invitation to ride. In fact, the only other non-senior royal who’s gone on the train is Prince William—once, on his birthday.
The pics of Markle and the queen outside the royal train are nothing short of delightful. They look like Hogwarts students, if Hogwarts students wore lime green custom suits and Givenchy dresses. Bougie Hogwarts students! (Markle wore Givenchy for her day out.)
Kensington Palace shared a photo of Markle and the queen enjoying a laugh at the bridge opening. Wouldn’t it be amazing if one of the kids performing did a monologue from Suits?
“The Queen and The Duchess of Sussex observed the national silence in memory of the people who died in the Grenfell Tower fire, a year ago today,” Kensington Palace captioned the photo, below:
True story: I spent pretty much my entire first “big” paycheck on a pair of Marc Jacobs sunglasses. It was 2012. I’d just scored a part-time job as a customer service representative at Blockbuster (R.I.P.), and my first paycheck was substantial, especially for a 19-year-old: $300. Instead of saving that cash, I went straight to a mall (also R.I.P.) and impulse-bought a pair of $250 Marc Jacobs sunglasses. That wasn’t the best decision I could’ve made—especially since I went on to lose those glasses at the beach that summer—but it’s a memory I now look back on and laugh.
And these 13 celebrities, below, also have similar stories about what they did with their first big paychecks. From blowing it all at the Gap to splurging on fancy conditioner to buying cars—or, even funnier, weed—their stories are so relatable. And hilarious. Read on.
