Duchess of Cambridge Makes First Foreign Solo Trip

The Duchess of Cambridge was in The Netherlands today, on her first solo trip abroad. She first had lunch with King Willem-Alexander at Villa Eikenhorst, before continuing on to engagements in The Hague and Rotterdam.

At the Mauritshuis, Kate was shown the museum’s permanent collection which includes many pieces from the Dutch Golden Age, who artists include Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Steen. After taking in Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Goldfinch, the Duchess then viewed the ‘At Home In Holland’ exhibition that is comprised of pieces loaned to the museum by the British Royal Collection.

It was then to the residence of the British Ambassador to the Netherlands, Sir Geoffrey Adams, for a roundtable discussion with representatives of the Trimbos Institute, Action on Addiction and the Anna Freud Centre. They discussed early intervention in mental health and addiction issues, with the aim to “protect children who are affected by parental addiction and mental health problems within the family.”

Kate – who was wearing an ice blue skirt-suit from Catherine Walker – had her last engagement in Rotterdam at the organisation Bouwkeet, a creative workspace that provides an opportunity for underprivileged children to learn practical skills.

Touring the different workspaces, the Duchess also spent time building robots out of Lego with some of the children, before being given a demonstration of a real Meganoid robot put together by 9-year-old Driss Ben Mira. “That’s amazing,” she said as she shook its hand.

A quick greeting of the crowd waiting outside was had before the Duchess headed back to the UK.

Filed under The Netherlands, The United Kingdom
Tagged Art Collections, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Mental Health, The Duchess of Cambridge, Working Visit.

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