On Tuesday afternoon, Kate Middleton returned from maternity leave after taking a six-month break from public engagements. For her first event, the Duchess of Cambridge visited the Sayers Croft Forest School and Wildlife Garden at Paddington Recreation Ground. As expected, she dressed down in an army green jacket by Fjallraven, a Joseph blouse layered under a green sweater, and Zara moto jeans. She wore her go-to Penelope Chilvers brown boots.
Kate's maternity leave time has varied with each child she had. After giving birth to Prince George on July 22, 2013, she was back to work in six weeks at a Ring O’ Fire Anglesey event. She took a longer break after the birth of Princess Charlotte on May 2, returning to work officially on September 17 when she visited the Anna Freud Centre in central London. The outfits she wore to each of these formal engagements semi-differed, too.
For the marathon event in 2013, Kate went for a more laidback look with an olive blazer, printed shirt, and jeans. She also wore a pair of wedge espadrilles, which Queen Elizabeth might have had opinions on. For the Anna Freud Centre visit, Kate wore a houndstooth print Ralph Lauren shirt dress and black pumps. It appeared Kate wanted to channel her more casual self, since this time she opted for jeans and a sweater—the perfect fall-friendly outfit.
Check out what Kate wore to each of her first, back-to-work public events after giving birth to her children.
The looks compared:
Now that she's officially back in the spotlight, expect her to debut a mix of old and new pieces from her royal wardrobe. It'll be back to fancy skirt suits and coat dresses for this mum of three.
