People.com Celebrity Kate Middleton: A Princess On Her Own See how the Duchess of Cambridge is stepping out solo into the royal spotlight By Janet Mock Published on March 19, 2012 06:00 AM Share Tweet Pin Email 01 of 10 DIGGING DEEP Andrew Winning/Reuters/Landov With Prince William away on a six-week military mission, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, does some heavy digging at a ceremonial tree planting for the opening of the East Anglia Children's Hospice at the Treehouse center in Ipswich, outside London, on March 19. "What you have all achieved is extraordinary," the new royal said during her first public speech as a duchess. 02 of 10 GREEN SCENE Michael Dunlea/Startraks In a fittingly festive Emilia Wickstead frock, Kate pays a special St. Patrick's Day visit to the Irish Guards, passing out shamrocks to officers of the guard's 1st Battalion – a tradition started by her husband's great-grandmother, the Queen Mother. 03 of 10 SHE'S STICKING AROUND Allpix/Splash News Online Kate plays the good sport (she served as her high school's hockey team captain) during a friendly hockey match with players from Team GB at the Riverside Arena in London's Olympic Park on March 15. The athletic duchess is an ambassador to the British squads. 04 of 10 ROYAL CUT-UPS Allpix/Splash News Online Later that day, Kate continues to embrace her royal independence, syncing up with father-in-law Prince Charles for some arts and crafts at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. 05 of 10 JUST US GIRLS Michael Dunlea/Startraks Joining royal bestie Queen Elizabeth II, Kate shares a knowing glance with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a March 1 appearance at a tea party marking the regeneration of London's Piccadilly neighborhood. 06 of 10 A SWEET DEAL Allpix/Splash News Online Inside the Fortnum amp Mason food store, Camilla and Kate take in many of the posh products, even tasting some chocolates. "Gosh, it is very sweet," the younger duchess said while biting into a crystallized rose petal. "I will definitely try that." 07 of 10 FLAG BEARER Allpix/Splash News Online A perpetual crowd pleaser, Kate is greeted by giddy schoolchildren waving British union flags during a Feb. 21 visit to the Art Room facility at Rose Hill Primary School, located in an economically disadvantaged section of Oxford. "She is an independent, highly-intelligent young woman who wants to make a difference," says Art Room's founder-director Juli Beattie. 08 of 10 DRINKING BUDDIES Michael Dunlea/Startraks With her prince away on Valentine's Day (he did send a card and flowers!), Kate has a drink at the Brink, an alcohol-free bar supported by one of her chosen charities Action on Addiction. During her visit, an 8-year-old admirer, Jaqson Johnston-Lynch, gives her some roses and a message, "I am sorry Prince William cannot be here." 09 of 10 WITHIN REACH Chris Jackson/Getty Later that day, Kate visits the Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, where she realizes there's no shortage of love when a young girl excitedly embraces her outside the hospital. 10 of 10 WHERE 'ART' THOU PA/Landov While her husband is 7,500 miles away in the Falkland Islands for work, Kate embarks on her first solo public engagement with a Feb. 8 visit to one of her chosen charities, London's National Portrait Gallery, where she took a tour with the museum's director Sandy Nairne and curator Sarah Howgate.