Kate Middleton puts aside Omid Scobie race row to do what she does best as she admires young girl’s ‘fantastic’ artwork at opening of new surgery unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital

The Princess of Wales opted for another suit today as she headed to open a new Children’s Day Surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

Ignoring the rumblings of any royal drama, Kate, 41, in a fitted navy suit by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and towering navy heels, officially opened the Evelina London Children’s Day Surgery Unit.

She paired the look with Sapphire & Diamond Oval Drop Earrings, which she has owned since 2011. 

Keeping her hair in bouncy curls, the mother-of-three opted for a glamorous make-up look as she headed into the new centre being greeted by the hospital’s chief executive Gubby Ayida.

Inside, she met with a nine-year-old  called Hannah, who showed her a pictured she had drawn.

In a sweet gesture, Kate said: ‘It’s very nice to meet you,’ before asking ‘can I shake your hand?’

Kate then asked, ‘What’s this, is this your picture?’ as the nine-year-old explained it was a picture of her school, with the gym and language room showing.

The Princess then said how important languages were to learn. 

It’s the latest in a long line of pant suits Kate has worn on official engagements.

The Princess of Wales has dialled up her fashion credentials as she gains more ‘confidence’ in her role and swapped her trademark dresses in favour of power suits for her recent engagements around the UK.

And today was no exception as she opened the new facility which transform care for children and young people who need surgery by providing everything they need in one place, delivering a family-focused experience which will enable the organisation to treat up to an additional 2,300 children a year.

Housed in the state of-the-art Children’s Day Treatment Centre, the unit has two brand new operating theatres. 

Families will benefit from a one-day service, with pre-surgery checks, the operation, and recovery all taking place seamlessly in one purposely designed space, on the same day. 

During the visit, The Princess, who has been patron of the charity since 2018, will tour the new unit following the journey a child takes on the day of their surgery.

She will hear direct from families and staff about the huge impact it is already having and will meet some of the young people who have already had surgery there.

Her Royal Highness will also see the space-themed artwork throughout the building, which was chosen and designed in collaboration with staff and patients to match the natural world theme of Evelina London’s main children’s hospital building.

Evelina London cares for around 104,000 children and young people each year across its dedicated children’s services, in hospital and in the community.

Ms Ayida said: ‘We put children, young people and families at the heart of everything we do, and you especially feel that when coming into our new unit.

‘It was lovely to have this recognised with the Princess of Wales today, who values the importance of having a supported and nurturing environment for children through her work with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.’

It’s the latest of many suited looks the royal has worn in recent months.

Along with her newly cut ‘curtain bangs’ haircut, the 41-year-old’s recent looks project a purposeful, business-like image and could not be further from the primary-hued dresses she has favoured until now.

It has led many to ask whether there is a new face on the Princess’ team, or whether there is a style advisor in the wings.

 

Sources close to the future Queen insist that is not the case, saying the spring in Kate’s step is simply down to her being a woman who has finally hit her stride.

It comes as Kate has  kept a brave face as Scobie’s new book has reignited a race row within the royal family.

The Dutch version of his book named The Princess of Wales and her father-in-law King Charles as the ‘racists’ who allegedly discussed concern over the colour of Prince Archie’s skin before he was born.

Scobie, who has been seen as the unofficial spokesman Meghan and Harry, is still struggling to deal with the fallout from his new book.

An initial draft of the book, given to Dutch translators, named the two senior members of the royal family – King Charles and The Princess of Wales- who Meghan said told of their ‘concerns’ about the colour of her son Archie’s skin, while she was pregnant.

Meghan first made her allegations about the conversation in her televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, in March 2021.

Harry and Meghan issued a statement saying it was not the late Queen or her husband Prince Philip, but have refused to name the members of the royal family who made the comments.

The Sussexes have declined to publicly defend their relatives, and the publisher of Scobie’s book has not provided any explanation for how the names ended up in print.

Royal experts and politicians have rallied round Kate Middleton as she and Prince William, with the pair recently greeted by raucous applause at the Royal Variety Performance. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales, who were joined by Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, got a standing ovation as they headed into the Royal Albert Hall last week. 

Even Meghan appears to be offering an olive branch to the royals, as she was today pictured wearing a bracelet her father-in-law King Charles gave her.  

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, stepped out in Montecito on Monday wearing an array of casual luxury including Princess Diana’s Cartier bracelet and watch,  and a Bentley & Skinner diamond tennis bracelet – a gift from the King and worth at least £4,900.

The piece, which was first worn on the eve of her royal wedding, was first created by royal warrant holders Bentley & Skinner, features ninety-two round brilliant-cut diamonds.

It may be a sign of peace between the warring Windsors.

Harry and Meghan are said to be ‘desperate to get back into the royal fold’ and recently reached out to Charles for his 75th birthday. 

It comes as Scobie claims he ‘never submitted a book that had those names in it’, which his Dutch translator denies.

A source told The Times that United Talent Agency had earlier sent a draft version of the book to publisher Xander Uitgevers, which contained the names.

However, a final proof of the 400-page tome was later sent, but it’s understood the translator had been working from an earlier draft.

It comes after as the book has already dropped out of Amazon’s top 100 current bestsellers list despite a blitz of publicity in the first week of its release.

The title currently sits 139th in the UK bestseller book charts based on Amazon sales, which are updated hourly to reflect recent and historical sales of every item.

Endgame has fallen more than 100 places in three days having been at 14th as recently as last Friday. On the day of its release last Tuesday it was ranked 77th. 

The book is now in the table behind children’s titles such as the Beano annual, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Stick Man; biographies from Britney Spears, Matthew Perry and Chris Kamara; and cookbooks from Mary Berry, Rick Stein and Tom Kerridge.

In the same Amazon list in the US, Endgame was at 235th today – below The Very Hungry Caterpillar; the Jeopardy! 2024 calendar; and a Paw Patrol sound book.

Amazon says its lists are a ‘good indicator of how well a product is selling overall’ but ‘doesn’t always indicate how well an item is selling in relation to similar items’.

The book’s falling performance comes despite a huge amount of media coverage as well as TV interviews conducted by Scobie for the BBC and ITV in the UK and ABC in the US.

The author has also given interviews to publications including The Times, Evening Standard, Independent, Tatler, People, Elle.com and Paris March.

Meanwhile the book was not on prominent display at London’s oldest bookshop, Hatchards on Piccadilly – with only one copy put aside on order, reported The Guardian. 

The newspaper added that about 14 copies were stacked on a table near the entrance of the nearby Waterstones, but there was ‘limited interest there too’. 

The Sussexes have not commented publicly on the race row but a source close to Meghan said ‘it was not leaked to Scobie by anyone in her camp’.

It also emerged yesterday that the Dutch edition of Endgame quoted a source close to the Sussexes who branded William ‘heartless’ – another inflammatory passage that is not in the UK version.

Referring to claims that the Prince of Wales secured a flight to Balmoral without Harry when the Queen was dying, the translation cited the source as saying: ‘It was heartless to deny him the chance to go to Scotland to say goodbye to his grandmother. This was not the time to be petty.’

A ‘family source’ also claims that William ‘purposely ignored’ Harry when the Queen died and ‘didn’t want to help’ him, according to the Dutch edition.

It said: ‘He was, and is, still angry because Harry revealed private issues… He thinks that is unforgivable.’

The Dutch version also refers to the King’s ‘cash for honours’ scandal last year, with a ‘source’ saying ‘people inside the institution are concerned that ‘more stories will follow’.’

None of these claims appeared in the English version, The Sun on Sunday reported.

It comes after Meghan admitted under oath that she authorised a senior aide to brief Scobie for his earlier book about the Sussexes, called Finding Freedom