Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, were the guests of honour at the National Arboretum in Canberra on Thursday morning.William and Kate were on the penultimate day of their three-week royal tour of Australia and neighbouring New Zealand when they paid a visit to the expansive forest area, just six kilometres out of the city centre.
As they arrived at the arboretum perched high on the hills, all eyes were on the beautiful Kate. The Duchess, 32, looked picture perfect in an emerald green Catherine Walker coat dress — making it the second time Kate has worn the British label during the tour. She previously wore a red military coat by the designer when she arrived at the start of her trip at Wellington, New Zealand. In typical fashion, Kate wore her brunette locks loose over her shoulders and completed her elegant look with her favourite L.K. Bennett nude sledge pumps. William looked equally handsome in a dark suit and cream and grey speckled tie.
As the royal couple were nearing the end of their trip overseas, they no doubt wanted to leave their mark on the Australian capital by planting an English Oak Tree at the arboretum. William and Kate were pictured taking it in turns to shovel earth onto the ground, after which two young boys poured water over the base using bright red watering cans.
William and Kate echo his parents' visit to Ayers Rock 31 years ago
With the natural site being open for only about a year — and home to 94 forests of rare, endangered and symbolic trees from Australia and around the world — William and Kate looked delighted to have helped the arboretum on its way.
After this, the couple signed the guestbook and met with groups of local children and their parents. The Duke and Duchess had left nine-month-old Prince George at home in the safe care of his Spanish nanny Maria, but the first-time parents didn't hesitate in showing their natural parenting skills.
The young community members looked thrilled to have met their guests of honour as they took to Twitter to proudly announce that they had spoken to William and Kate, about the arboretum, the stunning local area and the importance of the environment among other things.
Kate gladly accepted cuddly toys for Prince George from some of the children, telling them that his cot would be "full of little teddy bears". After their brief stop, the second engagement of the day saw the royal couple head back to Parliament House in Canberra where they were given a warm reception by prime minister Tony Abbott. William was scheduled to give a short speech in the Great Hall.