Kate Becomes V&A's First Royal Patron, A New Addition at KP & Guess Baby Cambridge's Name!
Hello-Hello, I hope your week is off to a splendid start!
We have a couple of interesting royal updates to share before asking you to guess the name William and Kate will choose for their new son or daughter. Earlier today, Kensington Palace announced the Duchess of Cambridge has become the first Royal Patron of the Victoria & Albert Museum. The Palace said "The patronage reflects Her Royal Highness�s continued personal interest in the visual arts, photography and design."
Kate visited the museum in a gorgeous Gucci dress last June. She joined V&A staff and architect Amanda Levete CBE, for the official unveiling of Exhibition Road Quarter � the V&A�s most significant development project for over 100 years.
The museum was officially opened by Queen Victoria in 1857. Over four decades later, the laying of the foundation stone of the Aston Webb building (to the left of the main entrance) on 17 May 1899 marked the last official public appearance by the monarch. It was during this ceremony that change of name from the South Kensington Museum to the Victoria and Albert Museum was made public. Queen Victoria's address during the ceremony, as recorded in the London Gazette, ended: "I trust that it will remain for ages a Monument of discerning Liberality and a Source of Refinement and Progress."
Today, the V&A is the world�s leading museum of art, design, education and performance with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. It was established to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A�s collection spans more than 5000 years of human creativity, showcasing work in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world.
Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said:
�From its foundation by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, the V&A has enjoyed a proud history of Royal support. We are delighted that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has agreed to serve as Royal Patron of the museum.
�The Duchess�s personal interest in photography, textiles and the visual arts, alongside her support for the role of art in supporting mental health and nurturing young people�s creative talent, fits naturally with the collections and civic purpose of the V&A.
�The Trustees, staff and members of the V&A look forward to working with Her Royal Highness across our museums in South Kensington, Bethnal Green and Dundee.�
The Duchess is now Patron of seventeen organisations:
Patron of Action on Addiction
Patron of Action for Children
Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Patron of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Royal Patron of East Anglia�s Children�s Hospices
Royal Patron of The Art Room
Patron of the Lawn Tennis Association
Patron of the National Portrait Gallery, London
Patron of Place2Be
Patron of SportsAid
Patron of the 1851 Trust
Patron of the Natural History Museum
Patron of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry
Honorary Air Commandant of The Air Cadets
Patron of Nursing Now
Patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)
Patron of the Victoria & Albert Museum
In the coming months, I'm planning a new series of posts taking a look at each of Kate's patronages and her work with them over the years. Several of you suggested it before and I thought it an excellent idea. My hope is to create a separate page for each patronage with plans to add events and engagements as they take place in the future.
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There's been a number of notable staff changes across Royal Households in the past year. Another significant departure was announced today; Prince William's private secretary Miguel Head is to leave his role in July after a decade of service. In a very affectionate statement a spokesman for William said "His Royal Highness feels incredibly lucky to have benefited from Miguel's support and advice over the last decade. He has been an outstanding Press Secretary and Private Secretary and has been central to the decisions that have guided the establishment of the Duke's office". Below we see Miguel and Kate's former private secretary Rebecca Deacon at the Tusk Conservation Awards in 2013.
Veteran royal correspondent Peter Hunt described the warmth of the statement as "striking".
Miguel Head will be replaced by Simon Case, the director general Northern Ireland and Ireland in the Department for Exiting the EU. As with Catherine Quinn, Mr Case brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table. Both will be central figures in the years ahead when Charles becomes King and William and Kate take on increasing responsibilities both at home and abroad.
'Simon Case, who will take up his new role in July, has held a number of senior positions within the Civil Service, including serving as Principal Private Secretary to then Prime Minister David Cameron.
His previous experience also includes roles as director of strategy at GCHQ, director of the Implementation Group at the Cabinet Office and a posting at the Northern Ireland Office.
The role of Private Secretary to The Duke of Cambridge is the most senior appointment in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge�s Household with overall responsibility for its management.
The role, the most senior in the Duke and Duchess' household, gives Mr Case responsibility for the Duke's work, which increasingly includes supporting the Queen in her public duties and taking on sensitive diplomatic overseas tours.'
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It's that time again! We're asking you to vote in our 'Royal Baby' polls. This is always a fun one.
Do you think the Duchess is expecting a boy or a girl?
Do you think the Duchess is expecting a boy or a girl?
Next, it's time to guess the name! I'm incredibly excited to see your choices for this one. When Kate was expecting Charlotte the top three names chosen by you were....'Charlotte Elizabeth Diana'. Can you possibly guess the correct first and middle names again? The Duke and Duchess have chosen quite traditional names thus far. As the third child is further from the throne there's more scope in terms of choices. Will they choose a name with royal history? A Middleton family name? Perhaps they will completely surprise us.
Indeed, the British public has already weighed in. More from Royal Central:
'If the British public has a say in naming the next royal baby, then get ready to meet Prince James, Princess Victoria, or Princess Elizabeth. Casino.org polled 4,000 Britons to compile their results and pitted the public against the bookie odds.
While Princess Victoria and Princess Elizabeth tied for the top girl names determined by the British public, the bookies are hedging their bets on a Princess Mary, a Princess Alice, or Princess Victoria. A baby prince, per the bookies, will be named Prince Arthur, Prince Henry, or Prince Albert.'
For the purposes of the poll, I've selected twenty possible names for each gender looking at the royal family's history, recurring names from the Windsor and Middleton/Goldsmith family tree and names which are particularly popular in Britain right now. You can vote for more than one name and if the name you like is not on the list simply leave a comment with your selection. The name with the most votes will be the winner with the second and third chosen as possibilities for the middle names.
Speaking of the Royal Baby, the Palace have launched a dedicated page on their website for updates, click here to view it.
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