© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Duchess of Cambridge has been a royal for nine years and in that time, she's been made patron of some incredible charities. Kate's first patronages were announced in January 2012 – Action on Addiction, East Anglia's Children's Hospices, the Art Room and the National Portrait Gallery. Now the Duchess is patron of 19 charities and is the founding member of the Royal Foundation, alongside the Duke of Cambridge.
Kate carries out a number of engagements relating to her charities every year and we've seen some of the sweetest, funniest and moving moments from those royal visits. Some of the royal mum's biggest focuses are early years support, mental health, art and sport.
HELLO! takes a look at some of Kate's best moments from her engagements with her patronages.
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Action for Children
Kate was given the honour of a high five from a little one as she visited a children's centre in Smethwick in 2015. The children's charity runs over 400 projects for some of the UK's most vulnerable young people and the Duchess took over the patronage from the Queen.
© Photo: Getty ImagesAction on Addiction
The Duchess looked delighted to meet a real life furry movie star at the A Street Cat Named Bob premiere in 2016! Author James Bowen wrote a book about how a stray ginger cat saved him from a lifetime of homelessness and addiction and his memoirs were adapted into a film. The premiere was held in aid of Action on Addiction, a charity which provides support for those affected by drug and alcohol addiction.
© Photo: Getty ImagesAll England Lawn Tennis and Croquet
Kate, who has been an avid tennis fan from a young age and has reportedly been taking lessons of her own, became patron of the AELTC in 2016, taking over from the Queen. The royal has attended Wimbledon tournament every year since her royal wedding in 2011 and she is known to get very animated courtside!
© Photo: Getty ImagesAnna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
The Duchess was in her element as she played drums at a Christmas party held by the Anna Freud Centre in December 2015. She became patron of the children's charity in 2016, which is dedicated to providing training and support for child mental health services.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesEast Anglia's Children's Hospices
Kate made one of her first public speeches as a royal in 2012 when she opened EACH's Treehouse hospice in Ipswich. At a recent engagement with the organisation in November 2019, the Duchess said: "EACH was one of the very first charities that I decided to become patron of after my marriage. Whilst a lot has changed since then, my commitment and support for this wonderful organisation and the work that you do has not."
© Photo: Getty ImagesEvelina London Children's Hospital
The Duchess became the hospital's patron ahead of its 150th birthday in December 2018 and during her last visit in January 2020, she showed off her creative side with patients during an arts and crafts workshop. One little boy captured this amazing candid shot with his polaroid camera of Kate holding up a homemade rag wreath.
© Photo: Getty ImagesFamily Action
We all know that Kate is a hands-on mum and she got really involved in helping a group of children pick out the perfect Christmas tree in December 2019. The Queen passed down her patronage to her granddaughter-in-law last year.
MORE: Royal teens! 11 best photos of princes and princesses in their younger years
© Photo: Getty ImagesNational Portrait Gallery
Remember when British Vogue surprised us all with Kate as its cover star on its centenary issue in 2016? The Duchess got her own personal viewing of the photoshoot at the National Portrait Gallery alongside the magazine's then-editor Alexandra Shulman.
© Photo: Getty ImagesNatural History Museum
Kate helped the museum bid bon voyage to one of its most famous attractions in Hintze Hall as it went off on a tour of the UK – Dippy the Diplodocus. There was only one way to send off the iconic skeleton and that was with a dinosaur-themed cake, of course!
© Photo: Getty ImagesNursing Now campaign
The Duchess helped to launch the campaign in 2018, which aims to raise the status and profile of nursing around the world. Kate was pregnant with Prince Louis at the time when she visited St Thomas' Hospital and appeared to pay tribute to the nursing staff uniform in her sapphire blue coat and dress.
© Photo: Getty ImagesRoyal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
On that same visit, Kate was given a huge surprise when she bumped into Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, who delivered Princess Charlotte in 2015. The two women embraced each other warmly and Jacqueline said: "It was a surprise and an absolute pleasure to be reunited with Kate again today. Supporting families at the birth of their baby - including future kings and queens - is hugely rewarding and we're very grateful to have the Duchess of Cambridge's support for the nursing profession."
© Photo: Getty ImagesPlace2Be
In a moving moment at the Place2Be awards in 2016, Kate comforted one mother, Ceri Knapton, who was overcome with emotion as she spoke about her son's struggle with autism. After embracing her, the Duchess sweetly said: “I just had to do that as a mum." Kate became the charity's patron in 2013, which works to improve children's mental health.
© Photo: PASportsAid
Kate is renowned for her love of sport and we've seen the Duke and Duchess get very competitive with one another over the years. The royal mum donned her trainers to show off her sprinting skills during an engagement with Olympic champion, Jessica Ennis-Hill, at the London Stadium in February 2020. SportsAid is a UK charity that helps the next generation of British sport stars at the start of their careers when their parents are their only other means of support.
© Photo: Getty Images
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Air Cadet Organisation
Kate was called a "natural" as she put her flying skills to the test by using a flight simulator during a visit to a RAF airfield in her capacity as royal patron and honorary air commandant of the Air Cadet Organisation in 2017.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Foundling Museum
The Duchess, who studied history of art at university, got crafty with participants during a workshop at the museum, which works with contemporary artists, writers and musicians to develop learning programmes for young people.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Lawn Tennis Association
We got to see Kate's serve in action as she visited the Lawn Tennis Association in 2017.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Royal Photographic Society
The Duchess took over as patron from the Queen for the RPS last year and it's a rather apt organisation for amateur photographer Kate. The mum-of-three has been taking the official portraits of her children, George, Charlotte and Louis, since 2015 and has been known to take her trusty camera on royal tours with her.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Victoria and Albert Museum
Kate became the V&A's first royal patron in October 2018 and she debuted one of her most memorable evening dresses in recent years to a gala dinner at the historical building in February 2018 – a tonal pink Gucci gown.
