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Ever since Kensington Palace announced she was expecting her third child in early September, Kate Middleton has kept a low profile. And for good reason—the duchess is battling hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that causes severe morning sickness (so severe, in fact, that she had to miss Prince George’s first day of school).
But today, at a reception for World Mental Health Day at Buckingham Palace, she stepped back into the spotlight. Well, more like leapt and did a Cinderella twirl—because, whether she means to or not, Middleton makes an entrance wherever she goes.
Wearing a blue lace dress by Temperley London, the duchess sported her signature soft curls as she shook hands with guests, smiling and making small talk throughout. Twitter was on full-on bump watch, however, it was impossible—and illogical—to tell, unsurprising, considering she’s reportedly in her first trimester or early in the second.
Multiple reporters on the scene tweeted that a palace aide told them: “The duchess’s condition is improving, but she is still suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum,” but that she was happy to be there.
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Mental health is a signature cause of Middleton’s. Last year, along with Prince William and Prince Harry, she launched Heads Together, a campaign aimed at ending mental health stigma. Earlier today, her husband revealed the whole thing was Middleton’s idea: “It was Catherine who first realized that all three of us were working on mental health in our individual areas of focus. She had seen that at the core of adult issues, like addiction and family breakdown, unresolved childhood mental health issues were often part of the problem,” he said. Last week, the trio also announced they had given $2.7 million to a digital startup that aims to tackle mental problems.
So far, Middleton, Prince Harry, and Prince William’s efforts are working. The Data Observatory at Imperial College London found that, since Heads Together started, there’s been a noticeable uptick in men talking about mental health (Prince Harry spoke of his own, too, in an emotional interview with Newsweek).
The Windsor family: saving the world, and looking damn good while doing it.