For a woman who has had two pregnancies in two years, the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, has shown a surprising amount of energy, moving deftly from engagement to engagement. She even had New Yorkers eating out of the palm of her hand, charming everyone from Hillary Clinton to Beyoncé Knowles – a feat that recalled Princess Diana's charm offensives in the city years ago. How has the Duchess managed it given how much she suffers with morning sickness?
Kate at six months pregnant in 2013 (left) and in 2015 (right)
Well obviously she knows the ropes this time around. As fertility expert Zita West tells HELLO!: The second pregnancy is often easier from a mental point of view as you have already gone through it before".
CLEVER PLANNING
Kate packed a lot in during the three-day Big Apple tour – one reporter estimated that he had seen her shake hands with 60 people in 30 minutes. However, staff built in rest periods. Kate didn't follow Prince William for his meeting with President Obama. She also sat out her husband's trip to the Empire State Building.
Then back in Britain she had three engagements in one day but they were a stone's throw away from Apartment 1A, Kensington Palace, where the royal mum lives with William and Prince George.
It's a trick she probably learned from Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, who tends to group her engagements close together, giving her time to spend with her children.
Kate at the seven month-stage in 2013 wearing a Topshop dress
BREAKS
The periods of activity have of course been interspersed with breaks – two weeks with her parents at Anmer Hall over Christmas and then two more for her mother Carole Middleton's Caribbean birthday celebrations. Passengers on a flight to St Lucia, en route to Mustique, reported that the young mother was as chirpy as ever, chatting easily and changing George's nappy herself. While no one could say she's gained excessive weight this time around, she looks bigger with this pregnancy and her face is slightly softer, curvier and fuller. Giving her added confidence, Kate has found a maternity style that really suits her.
GO-TO MATERNITY GEAR
Whereas while carrying George she wore regular clothes in slightly floatier styles right till the end, this time early on she picked out a number of coats and dresses from her favourite maternity label Seraphine all of which are chic but quite affordable. So there's been no repeat of the Topshop number that was fun but was riding perilously high in her first pregnancy.
Grayson Perry, dressed as his alter ego Claire, praised her pregnancy style
Flamboyant artist Grayson Perry who joined her for one engagement says: "She's pretty chic for six months pregnant"
He added: "Wherever she goes, the laser beam of media attention will follow and that's great.
That’s her power and she wields that power gracefully."
TEAM KATE
The most important weapon in her armoury is Team Kate. At KP that's housekeeper Antonella Fresolone, her private secretary Rebecca Deacon, George's capable Norlands-trained nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo. Then there's also her mother Carole, who is always happy to take George when she needs a rest and whose house in Bucklebury is a bolthole near London.
William and Kate arrive in New York
Finally there is kind, loyal William. When they got engaged, Kate revealed: "Over the years William has really looked after me. He's treated me very well as the great, loving boyfriend he is."
As their family grows, he is keeping his promise to cherish the wife he holds so dear.
