The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had a busy year: their family grew with the birth of Prince Louis in April; there were family weddings when Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie each tied the knot; and plenty of engagements and visits around the UK and the globe.
Let’s take a look back at William and Kate’s year:
January
William visited the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust’s facilities in Chelsea to watch two robotic surgeries, and later in the month was given an honorary fellowship with the Royal Society of Medicine. He also visited the Evelina Children’s Hospital for the roll-out of a national mental health programme, Step into Health, for veterans to find work with the NHS.
Kate attended the HeadStart Conference for her patronage, the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families); visited the Great Ormond Street Hospital visited Reach Academy Fulton; Bond Primary School for Wimbledon’s Junior Tennis Initiative; and Roe Green Junior School to launch a mental health initiative.
William and Kate visited Coventry for a series of engagements at its cathedral and university in the days before they left to carry out an official visit to Sweden at the end of the month. The itinerary saw the couple carry out engagements with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel on the 30th and 31st.
February
William and Kate marked the beginning of February in Norway, continuing their official visit to Scandinavia.
Back in the UK, it was another busy month for the Cambridges. The couple attended the BAFTA Awards, visited Sunderland, and attended the first Royal Foundation Forum with Harry and Meghan to talk about the work of the Royal Foundation.
Kate opened a new Action Addiction centre in Essex; attended a Commonwealth Fashion Reception with Sophie; launched the Nursing Now 2020 initiative at St. Thomas’s Hospital; visited the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (she became patron of the College) to learn more about their programmes; and visited the National Portrait Gallery to officially open the ‘Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography’ exhibition.
William attended the UK Chamber of Shipping’s Annual Dinner at the Park Lane Hilton; marked School Assembly for Children’s Mental Health Week and Safer Internet Day; attended the Centrepoint Awards at Kensington Palace; attended the United Kingdom Search and Rescue Conference at the National Exhibition Centre; and visited Warwickshire, visiting the MIRA Technology Park and Triumph Motorcycles.
March
William and Kate attended a service for Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey and later attended the Irish Guards Parade on St. Patrick’s Day, where Kate presented shamrocks to the soldiers.
William attended the Workplace Wellbeing Conference and attended a dinner for the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre. William attended a dinner in honour of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who was visiting London and attended several events for mental health and United for Wildlife.
Kate opened the new London headquarters of her patronage Place2Be, held meetings for the Lawn Tennis Association and the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, and attended a symposium for early intervention. Kate’s last engagements before taking maternity leave were on the 23rd. She attended a SportsAid event in Olympic Park and helped make lunches for the Commonwealth Big Lunch at St. Luke’s Community Centre.
April
William was active in April with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (April 16-20) in London. He attended every day of the Commonwealth Forums – giving a speech at the UK Reception on the first day – and received the heads of government of Tanzania, Kenya, Tuvalu, Namibia, Antigua and Barbuda, Ghana and Uganda. When CHOGM officially opened at the end of the week, William attended the formal opening at Buckingham Palace, the banquet at Buckingham Palace, and a roundtable discussion on conservation and illegal wildlife trading.
William attended the ANZAC Day Memorial Service at Westminster Abbey with Harry and Meghan and opened the Greenhouse Centre with Harry at the end of the month.
On the 23rd of April, Will and Kate welcomed their third child and second son: Prince Louis Arthur Charles.
May
The biggest event on the royal calendar in May was the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. William and Kate attended the ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, and Prince George and Princess Charlotte were in the bridal party as a pageboy and bridesmaid.
William was busy throughout the month. He opened London Bridge Station following a renovation, filmed a segment with the DIYSOS crew to help rebuild in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, set up a taskforce with financial companies to combat the illegal wildlife trade, and attended a service of commemoration for the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing. William also attended garden parties at Buckingham Palace – one for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and one of The Queen’s annual parties. He also received the salute at the Beating Retreat by the Massed Bands of the Royal Marines on Horse Guards Parade.
June
June was an important and historic month for William: he became the first member of the Royal Family to visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. From 24-28 June, William undertook a tour of the Middle East, which also included a visit to Jordan, where he watched the World Cup with Jordan’s Crown Prince and visited sites that Kate would have seen when she lived in Jordan as a child.
The purpose of the tour was to allow “a spotlight to be brought to bear on the people of the region: their cultures, their young people, their aspirations, and their experiences,” per Kensington Palace’s press briefing.
June also marked The Queen’s official birthday celebration, Trooping the Colour. William and Kate attended the parade and flypast, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte joining them on the balcony.
July
William played in the Audi Challenge Charity Polo Match in support of Support The Walk, The Gurkha Welfare Trust and the Household Cavalry Foundation; and the King Power Charity Polo Match in support of The Irish Guards Appeal and the RFU Injured Players Foundation.
William spent a few days in Edinburgh with The Queen, and presented medals at the Royal Society of Edinburgh; attended a service at the Scottish National War Memorial; and a reception for the 70th anniversary of the NHS in Scotland. He also attended the Order of the Thistle Service.
William and Kate attended commemorative events for the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force, including a service at Westminster Abbey, a flypast over Buckingham Palace, and a reception (Kate did not attend the reception).
Kate attended the Women’s and Men’s Final at Wimbledon. She attended the Women’s Final with Meghan and the Men’s Final with William.
Prince Louis was christened at St James’s Palace on 9 July, with his immediate family (save The Queen and Prince Philip in attendance).
August
August was almost entirely quiet for the Cambridge Family. William only attended one official engagement: a commemorative ceremony in Amiens, France, for the centenary of the Battle of Amiens, where he gave a speech.
September
Most of William’s engagements in September centred around his work with United for Wildlife, the Tusk Trust, or mental health, and he ended the month on a working trip to Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya for his work with United For Wildlife and the Tusk Trust, though he did carry out several engagements on behalf of the government.
Kate carried out no engagements, except to accompany William as he privately received Miguel Head when he relinquished his role as William’s Private Secretary at Kensington Palace.
October
Kate officially returned from maternity leave in October. Her first engagement back was a visit to Sayers Croft Trust Forest School and Wildlife Garden, where she saw firsthand the forest school experience with a bunch of its students.
Kate visited her new patronage, the Victoria & Albert Museum, to open its Photography Centre; and the Imperial War Museum to view letters written by her great-uncles during their time serving in the First World War.
William and Kate attended a couple events together, including the Global Summit on Mental Health Culture Change, a visit to Coach Core Essex, and a reception at Kensington Palace for the BBC Radio One’s Teen Hero Awards finalists.
The Queen hosted King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands for a State Visit near the end of October, and William and Kate attended the State Banquet. Kate was pictured wearing the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II for the first time, though she’d been given the honour in 2017.
William and Kate attended the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank on 12 October at Windsor Castle, where Prince George and Princess Charlotte were part of the bridal party.
November
William and Kate attended several events to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, including the Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall, Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph, and a service at Westminster Abbey.
The couple also attended the Tusk Trust Awards, Prince Charles’s 70th birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace, visited McLaren Automotive’s new Composites Technology Centre and Centrepoint in Barnsley, visited the BBC Broadcasting House as part of the Royal Foundation Taskforce on the Prevention of Cyberbullying.
The couple flew to Leicester to visit the Leicester City Football Club at King Power Stadium following the tragic helicopter accident that claimed the life of the Club’s owner. They also visited Leicester University.
Kate visited the Developmental Risk and Resilience Unit at the Psychology and Language Sciences Division at University College.
December
As the year wound down, William and Kate started to slow down on engagements. They undertook a brief overseas visit to Cyprus to visit servicemembers stationed at RAF Akrotiri and bring them presents from family members who’d attended a Christmas party at Kensington Palace the day before.
William and Kate attended the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace; and visited Evelina Children’s Hospital – of which Kate was announced as its new patron – and The Passage. William attended the Sovereign’s Parade as Reviewing Officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on behalf of The Queen.
The couple ended the year by attending The Queen’s annual pre-Christmas luncheon at Buckingham Palace and then joining the Royal Family at Sandringham for Christmas.
