Duchess of Cambridge wraps up in Swedish label for start of royal tour with Prince William

The Duchess of Cambridge may be pregnant with her third child, but there’s no sign of her slowing down just yet.

While many mums-to-be might be taking things easy in their third trimester, the Duchess is abroad kick-starting a four-day tour of Sweden and Norway with Prince William.

The couple has commenced their jam-packed itinerary in Stockholm with a visit to Vasaparken, an outdoor ice skating rink, where they learned about an unusual form of hockey called Bandy.

The duo watched a match, before taking to the ice to have a go themselves. Sensibly, pregnant Kate stuck to standing on a carpet on the ice rather than risking skating herself.

But she didn’t let her pregnancy get in the way of her taking on husband William in a penalty shoot-out.

Famous for their sporting rivalry, the couple competed to see who could score the most goals, with the Duchess eventually losing out.

The Duchess, who used to play field hockey, ultimately came off second best losing 2-1 to William in a best of three shootout.

William and Kate both missed their first penalties and scored their second, but William was crowned the winner when he scored his final shot and Kate unfortunately missed hers.

Dressed in a snug bobble hat, a shearling coat from Burberry and Sorel snow boots the Duchess was well wrapped up against the sub-zero temperatures.

Sticking with her diplomatic sartorial choices, the Duchess wore a burgundy jumper by popular Swedish brand Fjällräven.

After the game, William and Kate will be dining at the Royal Palace in Stockholm with King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as other royal guests including Crown Princess Victoria and husband Prince Daniel.

Hopefully the Duchess will have swapped her trademark heels for some flat shoes because after their luncheon, the couple will walk through the city’s picturesque cobbled streets and visit Stortorget, the oldest square in Stockholm. From there, they will visit the Nobel Museum.

Later that eventing, Prince William and Kate will attend a black tie dinner at the Residence of the British Ambassador. The star-studded bash will see guests including the Swedish Royal Family, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, and actors Stellan Skarsgård and Alicia Vikander.

On day two of their tour, their Royal Highnesses will kick off the day joined by Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, heading to the world-famous Karolinska Institute where they will learn about Sweden’s work in the field of mental health and children’s wellbeing, a subject very close to their hearts.

The Duke and Duchess also plan on visiting a couple of other popular Swedish landmarks during their whistle-stop tour of the country.

Also on day two they will head to the NK department store, which receives around 12 million visitors each year. While there they will open an interactive exhibition of UK design, fashion and brands that operate in Sweden.

The royal couple will also join Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel for a private tea at Haga Palace, which is located within the picturesque setting of Haga Park.

On their final evening in Stockholm, the Duke and Duchess will attend an event at the Fotografiska Gallery, which has beautiful views over the city. If the weather is good the royal couple will travel there by boat.

On Thursday Prince William and Kate will travel on to Oslo, Norway, where they will visit the Norwegian royal family for a private luncheon hosted by the King and Queen of Norway at the royal palace.

Later that day the royal duo will visit Princess Ingrid Alexandra Sculpture park, then accompanied by Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, they will move on to attend an event held at MESH, a co-working space for entrepreneurs and start-up companies.

The evening will see Kate and William head to the Royal Palace where the Norwegian royals are hosting an official dinner in their honour.

The final day of their tour will begin at the Hartvig Nissen School, which was the location for the hugely popular Norwegian television programme ‘Skam’. The duo will meet the stars and producers of the show.

Later their Royal Highnesses will head to Skaugum, the official residence of The Crown Prince and Princess of Norway, for a swanky private lunch.

For their final engagements, the royal couple will head to Holmenkollen, where they will visit an impressive ski jump before making their way to the Holmenkollen ski museum, and a a demonstration from some of Norway’s top under-18 ski jumpers.

After a busy four days the Duke and Duchess will leave Holmenkollen for the airport, where they will head back to London and some well-deserved feet up time for the Duchess.

It is thought the four-day tour may have originally been planned for late last year, but was moved after Kate became pregnant and again suffered extreme morning sickness.

The Duchess, who is carrying her third child, is thought to be around six months pregnant but is expected to take full part in the trip.

Speaking about the royal tour Jason Knauf, the Cambridges’ communications secretary, told BBC: “The duke and duchess have asked, as with previous overseas visits, that this tour allow them opportunities to meet as many Swedes and Norwegians as possible.

“Their royal highnesses will meet a wide variety of people, including children and young people, those working in the mental health sector, and leaders in business, academia and scientific research, government, civil society and the creative industries.”

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