Kate Middleton and Prince William visit Gavin & Stacey slot matching arcade in Barry Island

Royals at the amusements! Kate Middleton recycles Emilia Wickstead floral dress to visit Gavin & Stacey slot machine arcade with Prince William in Barry Island to boost UK tourism

  • Kate Middleton and Prince William, both 38, carried out two engagements in South Wales on Wednesday
  • The mother-of-three cut a stylish figure in a summery dress and wedges for the visit
  • It comes just one day after royal donned a face mask for first time and visited a baby bank in Sheffield

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Kate Middleton cut a stylish figure in a recycled floral dress as she joined Prince William to visit Gavin & Stacey’s slot machine arcade in South Wales on Wednesday.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 38, paid a secret visit to the iconic ‘Nessa’s’ arcade in Barry Island, and were spotted by daytrippers arriving on Paget Road, before heading to the rear of the Western Shelter. 

The mother-of-three looked typically elegant in the £1,635 designer dress by Emelia Wickstead, which she complemented with a pair of chic tan wedges.

Kate first donned the pastel blue belted dress, which featured a pink floral pattern, when she opened her Back to Nature garden at RHS Wisley in Surrey in September 2019.   

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, 38, paid a secret visit to Gavin & Stacey’s slot machine arcade in South Wales on Wednesday (pictured)

The couple firstly visited Barry Island where they heard from local business owners about the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector, before travelling to Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff where they spoke to staff, residents and their family members. 

The visit to Barry Island has come as businesses in Wales have started to reopen their doors to the public as lockdown measures have started to ease. 

The Duke and Duchess visited Island Leisure amusements arcade to meet the owners and staff members ahead of the arcade reopening to the public later in the day, before joining vendors from some of the other businesses based on Barry’s promenade at Marco’s Café. 

There, they heard about the impact that closing has had on the businesses during a typically busy period for the seaside resort, which attracted 424,000 visitors in 2019, and the measures they have put in place to allow them to start reopening in a safe and secure manner. 

The Duke and Duchess also visited the beach huts on the eastern end of the promenade which have been installed as part of the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s £6m regeneration project in Barry. 

The project has also seen the restoration of the promenade and shelter, and the installation of new public art and entertainment spaces, a climbing wall and water feature. 

They then visited Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff where they spoke to some of the home’s staff, residents and their family members in the home’s garden. 

In May, The Duke and Duchess joined staff and residents from Shire Hall via video call, and took their turn as guest bingo callers for a game in the home’s cinema. 

Shire Hall provides residential, nursing and dementia care and is part of Hallmark Care Homes, a family-run care provider with 20 care homes across England and Wales. 

During today’s visit, Their Royal Highnesses were able to meet some of the staff and residents from the call in person and heard how the home has continued to adapt in response to the pandemic. 

Staff spoke about the measures that have been put in place in order to allow the residents to safely receive visits from family members and friends. 

The Duke and Duchess then met a small number of residents and their family members who spoke about the challenges of being unable to visit their loved ones at Page 2 of 2 the beginning of the lockdown, how they kept in touch, and the impact of now being able to visit the home.