On Saturday, the Duchess of Cambridge carried out a flawless solo military engagement, with one soldier declaring: "She did brilliantly, she was perfect". These glowing reviews came from her visit to the Irish Guard's St Patrick's Day parade in Aldershot – where she handed out Shamrocks to 40 members of the 1st Battalion and their Irish Wolfhound mascot, Conmael.
The endorsement will now propel Kate on to her most important royal milestone – her first official public address.
The royal brunette will speak before an attentive audience of staff, patients and their families at the inauguration of The Treehouse, a hospice service in the regions of Suffolk and North Essex. Monday's speech, which HELLO! Online will be streaming live, will be one of her duties as patron of East Anglia Children's Hospices – the charity which runs the new facility.
Once the nerve-wracking part is over, Kate will then move on to duties in which she already excels; touring the facilities, chatting with staff and planting a tree in the grounds. Her visit is generating much excitement, and EACH's chief executive, Graham Butland, said that families were "delighted" and his staff were "walking about six feet off the ground".
Particularly eager is little Bethany Woods, who will present the Duchess with some flowers as she arrives. The ten-year-old suffers from congenital muscular dystrophy, a condition that has left her wheelchair bound. She will meet Kate – who is a strong believer in art therapy – in the hospice's music room where she spends time getting creative. "I’m excited – she's a Princess and she’s very pretty," said the youngster.
