Watch the video of Kate and Queen arriving at King’s College London.
Video credit: Daily Mail
The Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge carried out their first joint engagement at King’s College London.
The Duchess looked elegant as she donned a grey Catherine Walker coat, which she teamed with her new favorite Gianvito Rossi block heels and a black Mulberry clutch.
She completed her outfit with a hat, which is likely to be a sign of respect to the monarch. It is the same hat she wore when out with the Queen in Leicester in 2012.
Meanwhile, the Queen, 92, opted for a rose pink cashmere coat by Stewart Parvin and matching Rachel Trevor-Morgan hat with beautiful floral detailing at the brim.
The Queen and Kate have carried out a handful of public visits with other members of the Royal Family, it was the first time that they have been on one together in public, outside of Buckingham Palace.
Today the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge appeared in good spirits as they arrived at Bush House, which previously served as the headquarters for BBC World Service but is being leased by King’s College London.
Kate and the Queen could be seen sitting with a blue blanket over their laps as they arrived in the back of a car.
Following royal protocol, Kate waited for the Queen to leave the car before exiting the vehicle herself. She continued to walk behind the monarch as they made their way into the building.
The most senior adviser Lord Christopher Geidt, chairman of King’s and former private secretary to the Queen greeted the Royals.
Meeting a group of builders, Kate said: ‘Do you all still get on? What a mammoth project this was.’
But it was meeting staff and students from the university’s robotic section that really captivated the royals. Matthew Howard, head of King’s robot learning lab, said: ‘’It’s a sawyer robot and it’s designed to learn skills by copying the behavior of people.’’
‘’The sensors can be built into clothing and can pick up muscle activity as they can be made with metallic thread. It picks up the EMG muscle activity and transmits it to the robot and tries to copy what the person is doing.’’
‘’Sam was moving his hands so the robot moved its hand. The Duchess grabbed the hand and then Sam tensed his hand so it felt like a handshake.’’
As she shook the robotic hand, Kate giggled and said: ‘Very nice to meet you!’. When it gripped her hand back, she laughed and said: ‘So strange’.
The Royals then went downstairs to meet students in the university’s special trading floor and entrepreneurship section. Kate met entrepreneur Aysha Ingar who has set up an app for Muslim women and Tobi Oredein who has set up a media platform for black women in the UK.
Kate told Aysha and Tobi: ‘’I come from an entrepreneurial background and my parents started their own business so I’m all for it. Congratulations and keep going.’’
Kate also met medical student Qasim Munye, 22, who has set up an app called Shortly for people who want to read short stories on the go, allowing people to choose a story that suits how much time they have to read.
Kate said: ‘’Oh that would be fantastic for the kiddies when it’s bedtime. Particularly for tired parents who want the children to go to sleep.’’
Later, Kate visited the Foundling Museum to understand how it uses art to make a positive contribution to society by engaging with vulnerable and marginalized young people.
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