Kate Middleton was back on royal duty and mixing High Street with vintage jewels

How a confident Kate, Duchess of Cambridge won over her critics - Kate Middleton was back on royal duty and mixing High Street with vintage jewels - I'm pleased to see Kate, Duchess of Cambridge back in action after a few weeks away from royal duties. Apart from the fashion fix, the duchess' latest appearance saw her filled with confidence and looking really happy which considering how much criticism she's come in for over the last few weeks can only be a good thing.

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge has made her first public appearance since the row over her holiday without Prince George

The Duchess of Cambridge is one of the most popular celebs around

The Duchess of Cambridge first came under attack for going on holiday without Prince George and then for wanting to do more expensive work on her redesigned Kensington Palace apartment. But I reckon her latest, super confident appearance is the best answer she could give her critics. By just doing things her way she's shown them she's secure in her royal role and she's not going to crack under any pressure.

Major celebrity

And she needs to show that resilience. Whether or not you agree with Kate's holiday decisions, the fact is that the duchess is going to be very famous for a very long time. At the moment, she's everyone's favourite celeb and as she gets older, she will only get more well known.

While other stars will be lucky to have a career that lasts a decade, Kate has to make her royal role work for the rest of her life. I'm glad she's proving that she's got a thick skin when it comes to criticism - anyone facing fifty plus years of being a mega celeb is going to need one.

Fashion fix

So while plenty of people were still talking about her Maldives trip, Kate did what Kate does best. She turned up to a major royal event, looking great, and just got on with things. There was no looking sheepish or trying to hide the (very slight) tan she'd picked up on her hols. She smiled, chatted and went home again.

Plus, we got a new Kate fashion fix to fixate on and that always works when it comes to winning round fans. This is the third year that the Duchess of Cambridge has presented shamrocks to the Irish Guards for St Patrick's Day but the first when she hasn't worn her Emilia Wickstead green coat to do it. Instead, we got another High Street hit with a new Hobbs coat matched with the Gina Foster hat we last saw on Christmas Day all finished off with a gold shamrock brooch first worn by Queen Alexandra in 1901. That's what I call doing vintage.

Royal baby talk

And just to show that Kate really is ready to take on her critics, the duchess didn't shy away from talking about Prince George in case anyone asked why he hadn't been on her sunshine break. Instead, the royal yummy mummy talked proudly about how her little boy is now crawling and really enjoying his food.

Meanwhile, Prince William was tackling the topic that all royal watchers are obsessing over - when they're not obsessing over whether Prince Harry is getting married. The Duke of Cambridge said there would be no more royal babies for a while as 'one is more than enough for now'. I can't be the only one slightly disappointed that we've got to wait for our next wave of mini prince mania.

Back in business

The royal couple are now getting ready for their huge tour of Australia and New Zealand which starts next month. Prince George will be with them as they undertake three or four engagements a day for three weeks.

And I wouldn't be at all surprised if some people start criticising Kate then for being too visible - after weeks of attacks for not being visible enough. But after today, I've no doubt that the duchess will just ignore them. Kate has shown that being super confident and just carrying on is enough to win your critics over.

This article originally appeared in : How a confident Kate, Duchess of Cambridge won over her critics | By Lydia Starbuck | Yahoo Contributor Network – Mon, Mar 17, 2014 20:37 GMT