Pregnant Kate Middleton laughs off getting her heel caught on Essex visit as she shows off growing bump
GLOWING Kate Middleton flashed a delightful smile despite getting her heel stuck in a metal grate on her visit to open a new addiction centre in Essex.
The Duchess of Cambridge, 36, who is Patron of the Action on Addiction charity which runs the centre, blossomed in an elegant blue £420 Goat coat.
In a bid to stop staff fretting over the incident, the Duchess shared a joke with staff who watched her with keen eyes, to ensure she safely took her heel out of the gate.
On her fifth official outing since announcing her pregnancy, the Duchess charmed staff in her trademark pair of black heels, and a black purse.
After she officially opened the new Wickford Centre, Kate took part in a round-table discussion on Clouds in the Community, as well as meeting staff and clients at different points of their recovery.
Kate offered a "huge congratulations" to the project which is "so special" to her.
She said: "It seems like a long time like a long time ago since I first got involved with Action on Addiction, I think it’s about six years ago, but they have a very special place for me and were really the starting of my learning particularly with now the development into mental health.
“So you are very special to me, it’s great to be here and actually seeing the development of where the charity’s gone in the years gone past.
“Huge congratulations – I believe so passionately in community projects so I wish it all the best of success in the future.”
The Duchess also joined a special reception to mark the opening of the centre for Clouds in the Community, the charity's new community-based strategy.
It is the starting point for long term recovery and abstinence, and leads to improvements in participants’ physical and psychological health, self-efficacy and overall quality of life.
Although Kate may have chosen to wear the A-line styled coat to avoid drawing attention to her pregnancy, the coat slightly flared at her front, giving keen royal fans a glimpse of her growing baby bump.
The nine-week long programme is said to be an effective alternative to residential treatment.
The charity has several sites around the country, including its flagship Clouds House centre in Wiltshire which offers residential treatment, and a further community-based site in Liverpool.
Independent evaluation of the programme in Essex showed that almost 80 per cent of clients did not return to any treatment service upon completion of the scheme.
The mum of two has just returned from her trip to Sweden and Norway with Prince William.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge donned bobble hats in freezing temperatures and had a crack at local favourite bandy hockey - played on ice with a ball instead of a puck.
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