Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kick off their Midlands tour

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kick off their Midlands tour

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tried their hand at off-road driving in Birmingham today on the first leg of their whistle-stop West Midlands tour.

Kate and William, who travelled up from their Kensington Palace home on Wednesday morning, began their day at Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull manufacturing plant, where Kate impressed onlookers by navigating some seriously tricky terrain.

The Duchess dressed her burgeoning bump in a recycled £680 coat from Goat, adding knee-high Russell & Bromley boots. She was first spotted in the stylish monochrome number during a 2014 trip to New York while she was pregnant with Princess Charlotte. 

Later, on a visit to Aston Villa Football Club, she swapped her designer coat for a casual red ski jacket, skinny jeans and trainers, sensibly tying her hair back into a ponytail. 

The couple, who are expecting their third child in April, kicked off their visit with a tour of JLR and the Solihull site before heading to the vehicle assembly area to view the assembly line and hear about the manufacturing process, meeting staff and apprentices.

They then visited the Jaguar Land Rover Experience Centre where they met with Mountain and Cave Rescue volunteers participating in a vehicle familiarisation exercise. 

Kate, who recently overcame a bout of severe morning sickness, also had the opportunity to drive a vehicle in the off-road driving area - and wowed staff with her driving skills. 

The royal couple both briefly ground to a halt at the same notoriously difficult spot half-way up a rock crawl, as they were guided around the course.

As well as meeting dozens of the assembly line workers at the neighbouring Jaguar Land Rover manufacturing site, William and Kate chatted with mountain rescue volunteers who use vehicles made at the factory.

Land Rover Experience lead instructor Ro Furby, who accompanied the Duke around the circuit, said the royal guest had done 'amazingly well' at the wheel of a Mountain Rescue liveried 4x4.

'It was an absolute privilege to take him round off-road and show him the capability of the vehicles,' she told reporters.

Observing that almost every driver new to the course stops at a 'little quirk' part-way up the rock crawl, Ro added: 'It's just a point where the vehicle actually articulates and you lose a little bit of traction.

'And you learn that a nice way to recover from a loss of traction is to change your lines subtly. It's something that we do use as learning for any guest that actually takes on that obstacle.'

After arriving at the site in a Range Rover, the Duke and Duchess were greeted by Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth, the factory's operations director Nigel Blenkinsop and the Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, John Crabtree. 

For the first leg of her West Midlands Tour, Kate donned a cosy polo neck jumper underneath the collarless coat to keep warm, and accessorised with a small box clutch, £2,200 Kiki McDonough 18ct Yellow Gold and pave Diamond leaf motif drop earrings, and a pair of suede £325 Russell & Bromley Mid Heel Riding Boots.

The Duchess is believed to have had an extra panel added to the black and white crêpe coat dress during her second pregnancy in a bid to preserve her modesty.

As reported by the Daily Mail's Rebecca English, while the hem still falls above the knee, it is significantly longer than the thigh-skimming original design.

The plant sits on a 480 acre site and creates 8,000 cars a week, while its production line is in operation 24 hours day and employs over 10,000 people.

Afterwards, they will meet some of JLR's volunteers, who support projects focusing on regeneration, education, young people, charity work and the environment.

They are also due to meet schoolchildren from Topcliffe Primary School, Castle Vale – winners of the Jaguar Primary School Challenge and will see their wining model car race on a track.

The couple, both aged 35, later travelled to Aston Villa Football Club to see the work of the Coach Core programme taking place in Birmingham. 

Kate slipped out of her coat dress and into something a little more practical, swapping the formal monochrome number for a casual red puffer jacket from Perfect Moment - another old favourite for the Duchess. 

For her third engagement, Kate tied her hair back into a loose ponytail and swapped her boots for comfy £90 New Balance trainers.

At Villa Park, the couple met with a group of employers to discuss the positive impact of Coach Core and hear about the progression of the apprentices.

 he's been very excited by it.'