Princess of Wales visits a children’s centre – hours after the release of The Crown 

The Princess of Wales was the picture of elegance today as she visited a children’s centre in Hillingdon hours after the release of the explosive new series of The Crown.

Kate Middleton, 40, appeared in good spirits as she arrived at Colham Manor Children’s Centre this morning, where she is set to learn more about maternal mental health and speak with staff who have helped vulnerable mothers in the community. 

The royal donned a smart £369 dark olive coat from Hobbs for the occasion, which she paired with a khaki dress, her £625 Jimmy Choo bag and her favourite set of £550 pearl drop earrings from designer Kiki McDonough. 

The mother-of-three, who has focused on early years support and mental health in her royal career, was beaming as she greeted staff and appeared to chat with members of the team as she entered the centre. 

Her visit comes hours after the release of the new series of The Crown, which is likely to have sent shockwaves through the palace. The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English has suggested that the programme may be so controversial that it could prompt the Palace to break its ‘never complain, never explain’ tradition. 

Kate’s character doesn’t appear in the newest series of The Crown – however she will be portrayed in the next, and final, season of the explosive drama. 

Today, The Princess swept her hair into her usual bouncy blow dry style, and opted for a neutral makeup look, with a touch of blusher and a little eyeliner for the occasion

Kate Middleton appeared in good spirits as she arrived at Colham Manor Children’s Centre this morning, where she is set to learn more about maternal mental health and speak with staff who have helped vulnerable mothers in the community

Today, The Princess swept her hair into her usual bouncy blow dry style, and opted for a neutral makeup look, with a touch of blusher and a little eyeliner for the occasion.

The coat, the Lori Wool Cashmere Blend Belted Long Coat in olive from the high street retailer Hobbs, is described online as ‘inspired by military design’ and is a ‘timeless’ piece. 

Meanwhile she accessorised with her £625 Jimmy Choo croc-embellished handbag and a matching pair of heels. 

During today’s visit, Kate will hear how the care provided in the borough of Hillingdon exemplifies the benefits of adapting a system to better suit the needs of women and families.

During today’s visit, Kate will hear how the care provided in the borough of Hillingdon exemplifies the benefits of adapting a system to better suit the needs of women and families

The royal donned a smart dark green coat for the occasion, which she paired with a khaki dress and matching accessories (pictured left and right) 

The mother-of-three, who has focused on early years support and mental health in her royal career, was beaming as she greeted staff and appeared to chat with members of the team as she entered the centre

Kate has made the early years development of children one of the main pillars of her public role and the work complements the work she is trying to do through her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood

Meanwhile she is also set to join  a mother and baby group taking place at the Centre and speak with mothers who have received support for their mental health to hear about their experiences. 

The session will include mothers who have been supported by two of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s member organisations – Home-Start and Birth Companions.

The royal is then set to meet representatives from agencies working across perinatal services including specialist psychiatry staff, midwives, health visitors and social workers for a roundtable discussion.

There, they are set to discuss how the service has developed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable mothers in their community,

Earlier this year, the royal said no mother is ‘immune to experiencing anxiety and depression’ in a video to mark becoming patron of the MMHA. 

Kate has made the early years development of children one of the main pillars of her public role and the work complements the work she is trying to do through her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. 

The MMHA is a UK-wide charity and network of more than 100 organisations, working to ensure women and families affected by perinatal mental problems have access to high-quality comprehensive care and support.

Her visit today comes as the latest series of The Crown was released on Netflix – with royal experts warning it is likely to leave the palace reeling with it’s controversial scenes. Pictured: Elizabeth Debicki plays Princess Diana during the interview with Martin Bashir

Prince William is portrayed as watching his mother given the Panorama interview from his school, before she speculates on the impact it will have on him 

Her visit today comes as the latest series of The Crown was released on Netflix – with royal experts warning it is likely to leave the palace reeling with it’s controversial scenes. 

So who will play Kate in The Crown’s sixth season?  

Star turn: Meg (left) will begin shooting her scenes as the new Princess of Wales for the show’s sixth and final season this year

Meg Bellamy who will soon star as Kate Middleton in The Crown once took to the stage as the gruesome Miss Trunchbull in Matilda. 

The actress, 19, starred as the formidable character in an amateur dramatics production and her tutor says even then she was a ‘star in the making’.

Speaking to The Sunday Mirror teacher Claire compared Meg’s qualities to that of the Princess of Wales.

‘Meg is similar and ridiculously humble, she was very popular the type of student you had to encourage to come forward’. 

She continued:  ‘What’s amazing is that she took the initiative to do a self tape for The Crown and it’s become one of the stories you rarely hear of in the industry – a huge unknown plucked for a massive production. That reflects Meg.’

Meg will begin shooting her scenes for the sixth and final season of the Netflix show later this year however Claire believed the youngsters loving family would help keep her grounded.  

‘They’re such a sweet, loving family. She will stay private, she’s a sensible person and will approach all this carefully. Her mum will be an amazing support as well.’ 

It features graphic reconstructions of the most private of conversations in lascivious detail, imagined chats between Prince William and his late mother, and Princess Diana’s infamous interview with Martin Bashir. 

Last year the then Duke of Cambridge made a deeply emotional public statement asking that the Bashir interview, which was obtained through deception, should never be seen in public again. Sources have since made clear that this applies to using it for dramatic purposes too.

However the programme dedicates two episodes to the Bashir interview – and even portrays Prince William as tearfully watching it unfold on television from Eton.

The depiction of senior royals, particularly the then-Prince of Wales, is so relentlessly negative – and the dramatic licence used to recreate relatively recent events in their lives so great – that some scenes verge on the defamatory. 

Royal insiders have also pointed out that The Crown has been released almost two months to the day after Queen Elizabeth died, making the twisting of facts even more distasteful. 

Royal editor Rebecca slammed scenes as ‘verging on defamatory’.  admitted parts of the show feel ‘pretty distasteful’ and said that while she initially felt that the reaction around the next season was ‘a bit of a storm in a teacup’, she was ‘shocked’ by its contents.

Speaking on Palace Confidential, she hinted that the Palace would wait for the release today before considering ‘fueling the flames’.

‘I think they want to see it for themselves,’ Rebecca told host Jo Elvin.

However, she added: ‘I think it might be one of those occasions where they’re pushed to say something.’

Meanwhile royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said The Crown’s desire to ‘knock’ the Monarchy ‘whenever possible’ will cause a ‘good deal of pain’.

He told MailOnline: ‘There were always dangers which The Cron had to surmount as it moved into the 1990s.

‘Apart from calls for a disclaimer before each episode, only observed so far in the marketing for the 5th series, it obviously had to show Diana’s interview on Panorama, probably the most famous television interview ever given, in some form. This interview has been totally discredited and the subsequent cover up by the BBC is notorious.

‘William has called for it never to be screened again and this depiction is bound to increase interest in it. Yet no series which purports to cover this period, as The Crown does, could possibly ignore it.

‘I am pretty certain it will be shown as a discredited and dubious enterprise and Bashir as the shockingly duplicitous character that he is.

‘I fear what is coming will cause a good deal of pain to those involved, Netflix will probably get a vast audience for it but indications from previews are that, for the royals, this is nothing short of a horror show.’

It was announced earlier this year that The Crown have cast actress Meg Bellamy in the role of the Princess for series six. 

The Netflix show initially put out a casting call in April to find a ‘stunning actress’ to portray the role of a young Kate, and now after a five month wait, they’ve finally found their Duchess.

Meg, who was head girl at St Crispin’s School where she studied drama, will star alongside Ed McVey, who has been cast as her onscreen husband Prince William.

Ed and Meg will play the couple during the period in which their romance blossomed while studying at St Andrews University.

It is not known how significant a part Kate will be in the final series – casting calls for Prince William and Prince Harry suggested they would play a large part in the programme.

It indicated there may be storylines effecting the young Prince’s lives in the late nineties and early noughties. 

The time period will likely cover William attending University of St Andrew’s in Scotland where he met Kate as well as Prince Charles’ wedding to Camilla Parker-Bowles and the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana.

It may also cover Prince Harry’s party days, including alleged experiments with cannabis and alcohol, which resulted in Prince Charles taking the then 16-year-old Prince to a rehab centre in a bid to set him straight.