--- title: Princess Kate Wears a Hard Hat to Survey Construction description: A royal's work never stops — even while pregnant. The Duchess of Cambridge accompanied Prince William to a construction site this week. canonical: https://time.com/5168720/kate-middleton-hard-hat/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-21T18:37:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:50:49.068Z og:title: Here's Princess Kate Wearing a Hard Hat to Survey Construction og:description: Nothing stops the Duchess of Cambridge from conducting her royal duties og:url: https://time.com/5168720/kate-middleton-hard-hat/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e610b7cd00b20b1/69892866db2987807b25ed92/kate-william-hard-hats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5472 og:image:height: 3078 og:image:alt: The Duke And Duchess of Cambridge Visit Sunderland og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Princess Kate Wearing a Hard Hat to Survey Construction twitter:description: Nothing stops the Duchess of Cambridge from conducting her royal duties twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e610b7cd00b20b1/69892866db2987807b25ed92/kate-william-hard-hats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Princess Kate Middleton Wore a Hard Hat to Survey Construction > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Feb 21, 2018 6:37 PM UTC  Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit the Northern Spire, an ambitious and striking new bridge over the River Wear, due to open in spring 2018 on February 21, 2018 in Sunderland, England. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit the Northern Spire, an ambitious and striking new bridge over the River Wear, due to open in spring 2018 on February 21, 2018 in Sunderland, England. Chris Jackson—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Feb 21, 2018 6:37 PM UTC It’s already a busy week for the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, who’s been taking a tour of the Sunderland area in England alongside her husband [Prince William](http://time.com/5168343/prince-william-motorcycle/). On Wednesday, the royal duo stopped by the construction of a strikingly modern bridge over the River Wear (yes, that’s its name), called the Northern Spire. William got his hands dirty tightening a bolt, while Middleton — bedecked in a hard hat appropriate for the occasion — looked on. The bridge, which is due to open later in the spring, is a 1,550-tonne pylon structure that’s even taller than Big Ben’s iconic clock tower, [according to](https://www.royal.uk/duke-and-duchess-cambridge-visit-sunderland) Kensington Palace. Middleton is currently [in her third trimester of pregnancy](http://time.com/4926496/kate-middleton-hyperemesis-gravidarum/) with her third child, who will join four-year-old [Prince George](http://time.com/4986164/prince-george-favorite-movie/) and two-year-old [Princess Charlotte](http://time.com/5086482/princess-charlotte-first-day-willcocks-nursery-school/). But her upcoming due date hasn’t slowed the Duchess down from making official appearances recently, popping by the BAFTA Awards red carpet [on Sunday](http://people.com/royals/kate-middleton-baftas-red-carpet-2018/), getting [a henna tattoo](https://twitter.com/SPerryPeoplemag/status/966309393410285568) from a local artist on Wednesday before donning that stylish hard hat to support the construction work. Knowing Middleton’s [outsize impact on fashion](http://time.com/53937/kate-middleton-fashion-photos/), perhaps that hard hat look may make its way to the masses this spring. You heard it here first. > [](https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/966361514918776832) > [](https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/966323208097030145) > [](https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/966325610917302273) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5168720/kate-middleton-hard-hat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5168720/kate-middleton-hard-hat/"},"headline":"Princess Kate Middleton Wore a Hard Hat to Survey Construction","datePublished":"2018-02-21T18:37:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:50:49.068Z","description":"A royal's work never stops — even while pregnant. 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