Kate Middleton Made Her First Public Appearance Since Announcing Her Third Child For The Best Reason

Kate Middleton and Prince William excited the world when they announced in September that they were expecting their third child. For more than a month, people patiently waited for the Duchess of Cambridge to make her first appearance in public since sharing the news — mainly because her maternity fashion style is so enviable and her elegance and poise is such a relief in a world where public figures hurl nicknames at each other online — and on Tuesday, they finally got their wish.

Middleton appeared at Buckingham palace to honour World Mental Health Day to recognise "the work of people & organisations in raising awareness of mental health," according to the Kensington Palace official Twitter account.

Marie Claire notes that Middleton has a long history of advocating for mental health initiatives and actively supports Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, a mental health charity. Additionally, she's worked with her husband and brother-in-law Prince Harry on the Heads Together campaign to encourage a dialogue around mental health, even when such conversations are uncomfortable.

"Mental health is how we feel and think, things that can't really be seen but affect us everyday," Middleton said in a video. "And talking about them can feel difficult."

Middleton added that while these discussions can be trying, ultimately they can have a significant impact on our communities.

"It helps us all to talk about our mental health: what to say and who to talk to when we have feelings that are too big to manage on our own and how to listen and help if one of our friends is finding things difficult," she said in the video. "Sometimes it's just a simple conversation that can make things better."