The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are slowly returning to direct royal duties. On Wednesday, Prince William and Kate Middleton had an audience at Buckingham Palace with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (opens in new tab) and First Lady Olena Zelenska. The Palace confirmed to PA Media (opens in new tab) that this was the first audience at Buckingham Palace since the blockade.

The Duchess wore a cornflower blue knitted midi dress by Emilia Wickstead with an accent belt at the waist for the royal meeting. She paired it with suede nude pointed-toe pumps and her signature flowing wavy hair. A spokesperson confirmed that she and Prince William had an audience on behalf of the Queen (opens in new tab). The Queen is currently refraining from visiting Buckingham Palace in person (opens in new tab) due to the pandemic.

Shades of blue have been a consistent theme at recent royal functions for the Duchess of Cambridge. Just yesterday, she paired a pale blue sweater by Massimo Dutti with high-waisted black pants and an oversized plaid coat and met with University of Derby undergraduates (opens in new tab) to discuss mental health amid the pandemic. The week before, the Duchess wore a light blue button-down shirt, black vest, matching skinny jeans, and ankle boots (opens in new tab) when she was named the new co-president of the Scout Association.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have made it a priority to speak with community members and business owners across the UK to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected and changed their daily lives. The royal couple also launched a mental health initiative called "Our Frontline" (opens in new tab) and donated $2 million (opens in new tab) through the Royal Foundation to support emergency frontline workers currently battling a global health crisis.