Kate Middleton Makes a Surprise Appearance in a Stunning Emilia Wickstead Dress

From Town & Country

After a summer filled with family trips to Mustique and Balmoral Castle, the Duchess of Cambridge is back at work just a few days after her two older children, George and Charlotte, started school.

This morning, Kate is attending a festival in Wisley, to mark the official opening of a Back to Nature garden, which was inspired by her designs. Perhaps in a nod to the theme of today's event, the Duchess of Cambridge chose to wear a beautiful floral dress by Emilia Wickstead, which she paired with nude wedges.

For those eagle-eyed royals fans who might think this garden looks a little familiar, Kate first debuted the design back in May at the Chelsea Flower Show and it later traveled to Hampton Court Palace.

The Duchess teamed up with landscape architects Andrée Davies and Adam White of Davies White on the project to "highlight how being active in nature can positively impact our physical and mental health," especially for children.

And Kate was heavily involved in the planning process.

"[The Duchess] is very hands on, model making, emailing images, coming up with all the ideas that we want to capture," Davies told the Telegraph. "She would often bring a folder of cuttings with her full of ideas."

All that work paid off. Kate's three children came to visit the initial space, and Prince George even rated it a 20 out of 10.

While the garden at Wisley contains many of the same elements which appeared in the Chelsea Flower Show, there are several new additions to the design, including two connected tree houses and slides "which encourage families and friends to have fun together in a natural environment," according to Kensington Palace.

The design also features swings, and unlike the two previous iterations of the garden, this one will become a permanent structure in Wisley.

In honor of the occasion (and the culmination of the garden project), the Duchess is expected to give a speech. For more information on how you can visit RHS Wisley, visit rhs.org.uk.

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