Royal in Blue

One of my goals while living in London is to see Kate Middleton. Mission accomplished! A friend of mine tipped me off that she had some events scheduled in Kensington yesterday. She officially opened the Kensington Aldridge Academy and the Kensington Leisure Centre. The Leisure Centre is a new building but the former building is where Princes William and Harry took swimming lessons when they were in school. 

I didn't know when Kate was scheduled to arrive at the Academy but I knew she had a coffee meeting beforehand so I arrived a little after 9:30am. I found out from one of the other people waiting to see her that she was scheduled to arrive at 10:30am. She was running a bit behind schedule because she didn't actually get there until 11:15 or so. But it was worth the wait!

I'm not sure what position he holds but the gentleman pictured with her below introduced her to each person waiting in the line to greet her. He had quite the uniform, sword and all!

The Duchess first met the mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The mayor was wearing this amazing chain of office which is standard for mayors in the UK. You can see a bit of the back part in the photos below. 

Even though the sun wasn't kind in my photos, I still love the look on Kate's face in this next photo. Overall she seemed really genuine as she spoke with each person. 

I also noticed how animated Kate is when she speaks with people. 

After meeting each person in the line she went inside the Academy and I went home. 

Below is a video I took while she was speaking with the mayor of Kensington and Chelsea. Even though you can't hear what she is saying over the clicking of the cameras, I think it really shows how animated and genuine she is.

By the time I got home, I saw the Daily Mail had already posted an article about the brand of coat she was wearing to the event. All day I saw photos of her on the front page of newspapers. In the evening I was scrolling through photos in another article on Yahoo's UK Lifestyle page and came across one with me in the background! I can't believe that I am forever in a photo with Kate Middleton (even if you can't see her face and I'm blurry in the background). 

Seeing Kate Middleton is person was so great! It was a really memorable way to spend a cold London morning.