Duchess Catherine channels springtime in beautiful blue

It was all about springtime colours when the Royal Family held one of their famous garden parties at Buckingham Palace, with the Duchess of Cambridge looking beautifully ladylike in pale blue.

About 8,000 lucky guests were at the first garden party of the season, which was also attended by the Queen and Prince Phillip, Prince William, Princess Anne and Princess Beatrice.

Duchess Catherine wore a jaunty hat that came over her forehead, with a matching sleek blue coat-dress, and even managed to look poised while navigating the turf in a pair of nude stilettoes. Her coat was custom-made by British designer Christopher Kane and is clearly a favourite, since she also wore it at the opening ceremony for the London Olympics in 2012.

The Duchess reportedly told guests that she was looking forward to sister Pippa’s wedding at the weekend, but was a little nervous about whether Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who will both have roles in their aunt’s ceremony, would behave themselves.

“She said she was hopeful they’d be good but you never know at that age,” Andrew Bates, who was a guest at the garden party, told The Daily Mail.

Queen Elizabeth kept up the pretty spring theme in powder pink, with a broad-brimmed, matching coat and an umbrella in brighter pink, while Princes Anne donned an elaborate dark cream suit and feathered hat. Only Princess Beatrice was more sombrely dressed, in a sailor-style navy dress. 

The Queen hosts about four garden parties every British summer, inviting thousands of people who’d done good works to eat sandwiches and cake and drink tea with her and her family.

Pictures from Tuesday’s party show what a crowd it is, with a display by the Yeoman Warders adding even more colour to the event.

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