Pregnant Kate Middleton Made the Time to Calypso with Paddington Bear

Since Kensington Palace announced last month that Kate Middleton is pregnant with her third child with Prince William, she has retreated from the public eye—she suffers an extreme form of morning sickness called hyperemesis gravidarum—and even missed Prince George’s first day of school. (An anonymous source told Us Weekly she was “desperately sad” to have missed the landmark occasion, but she watched from home.) On Tuesday, she made her first appearance in the month since the announcement, putting in some time at Buckingham Palace with Prince William in honor of World Mental Health Day, according to the official Kensington Palace Instagram account.

But the Duchess of Cambridge can also rally when it comes to Paddington Bear. Kate made a now-rare public appearance Monday (fittingly, at Paddington Station) for an event promoting Paddington 2, out in the U.K. Nov. 10. She stepped onto the train platform alongside the princes Harry and William, as well as children from organizations affiliated with the Charities Forum, an umbrella organization of nonprofits the three royals all work with. For the event, Middleton wore a pale pink floral Orla Kiely dress with long sleeves and a black sash waist, paired with an understated, center-parted hair style that some tabloids astutely noted was several inches shorter than it appeared just last week. (Naturally, it prompted near-immediate speculation about such tangentially related concerns as her pregnancy and the rumored engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.)

But the real star of the event was Paddington Bear himself, who appeared in all his furry splendor, complete with his trademark blue overcoat, on Monday. The plump, plush bear was clearly having the best time, and he even got in a dance with the Duchess herself, because there’s no better way to offset debilitating nausea than having a costumed bear spin you around. (Ever the gentleman, Paddington also kissed the Duchess’s hand as her husband looked on.) The calypso band D-Lime, who play on the soundtrack of both Paddington films, provided the score for their impromptu dance.

Anyways, it looks like she’s having a ball; we can only imagine Prince George is just as delighted to see his mother waltzing with a national icon.

Watch: Kate Middleton’s Hairstyles Through The Years