Kate Middleton has just gotten back from a sunny beach reprieve on the Caribbean island of Mustique. Today, Tuesday Feb. 19 she participated in her first public speaking engagement with her visible baby bump.
The Duchess went to meet young mothers who are at a rehab addiction center in London, reported USA Today. Middleton went to Hope House, which is a 23 bed treatment clinic for women, part of the Action of Addiction charity.
The Princess is more than four months pregnant. She hasn't gone on many speaking engagements since her pregnancy and run in the hospital for acute morning sickness.
Her visit at Hope House was just one of a few since Christmas, reports USA Today. Middleton showed up glowing in a Max mara studio wrap dress that had a black and white pattern on it and a tie belt.
Also in the media today is an attack by writer, Hilary Mantel on the Princess. She called the princess "bland" and a "plastic princess," "painfully thin" who has "dead eyes" at a British Museum lecture. Mantel has been a winner of the Booker Prize twice.
The attack has been under media scrutiny and Prime Minister David Cameron defended Middleton saying that Mantel's attack on her was "completely misguided and completely wrong," reported USA Today.
Kate is a patron for the addiction charity and spent the morning meeting with women there. Nick Barton who is chief executive for Action on Addiction said according to The Huffington Post that Middleton was an "intelligent" woman who was genuinely interested in the charity.
Barton also remarked on Barton's criticisms. The Huffington Post reported he said, "I don't think it's for me to comment on that kind of stuff - I speak of what I know, somebody who wants to help, is helpful and genuinely interested and is intelligent."
He added: "I've met her several times and I found her to be engaging, I found her very natural, I found her actually genuinely interested in the subject. You can tell a lot from people's questions and she asks really good questions. They're not routine stuff, they're questions of someone who wants to learn. I find her very easy to deal with."
Middleton's visit today was the second to Hope House since she got married in April 2011. USA Today reported that on her charity agenda, addiction is a top issue on her list.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
