Kate Gets Flowers (and a Card) for Valentine's Day

Her husband may have been 7,500 miles away but the Duchess of Cambridge still received plenty of love on Valentine's Day.
William sent her a card and some flowers – and the people of Liverpool, England, added their bouquets and hugs on Tuesday.
During her 20-minute visit to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Kate, in a chocolate brown overcoat by Hobbs and earrings by Niki McDonough, received flowers from onlookers and greeted (and hugged) some young admirers.
"She was brilliant," says Lyndsey Maclean, 36, whose daughter Katie, 9, also met the duchess. "You wouldn't think she hadn't been doing this for such a short time. She was friendly to everyone."

Earlier in the day, Kate visited the Brink, an alcohol-free bar supported by one of her chosen charities Action on Addiction, where she got some roses from 8-year-old admirer Jaqson Johnston-Lynch, who told her, "I am sorry Prince William cannot be here."

William & Kate Opening a Children's Cancer Center

Prince William is introducing his wife to a charity close to his heart.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will open a children's cancer center at the Royal Marsden Hospital later this month. William, 29, has followed in his mother, Princess Diana's footsteps by taking on the role of president of the London hospital.

The royal couple's office announced on Monday that they will visit the center on Sept. 29, where they will be given a tour of the unit, meet the staff and patients, and William will unveil a plaque to officially open the center.

The opening is part of Kate's ongoing immersion in royal charity work. "The Duchess is using the next few months to get to get to know a number of charitable and other causes better, so she can make well informed decisions about her future role," says a spokesman.

Palace sources have also confirmed to PEOPLE that Kate, 29, is currently undergoing quiet, private visits to charities to figure out what sorts of causes she will pursue. "The Duchess has a broad range of interests," adds the spokesman. And the causes she chooses to work with, "will be different to but complement her husband’s existing interests."

William and Kate have been spending most of their time in North Wales where he is hoping to reach the rank of captain in his Royal Air Force Search and Rescue squadron. The newlyweds also visited the Balmoral estate, spending time with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip over the weekend of September 11.

Prince William & Kate Middleton's College Homecoming

Prince William and Kate Middleton are heading back to school. 

On Feb. 25, William, 28, will be undertaking an official engagement at St. Andrew's University – the couple's alma mater – and he's taking his fiancée Kate, 29, as part of her immersion into royal life.
Kate will also be with him the day before on another royal duty as he launches a lifeboat close to their Welsh home on Anglesey. 

Princess Diana's Brother to Wed

Prince William isn't the only one in the family getting married this year. 

William's uncle, Charles Spencer, 46, is engaged to Karen Gordon, according to an announcement from Spencer's rep. 

"Charles, the ninth Earl Spencer, is delighted to announce his engagement to Karen Gordon, a Canadian philanthropist who is the Founder and CEO of Whole Child International," said the official statement. 

The private wedding will take place on June 18 at Althorp in England, the ancestral home of the Spencer Family, the statement also said. 

Spencer, the brother of the late Princess Diana, is remembered for his controversial – given how it addressed his sister's treatment by the royal family – eulogy he delivered at her funeral service in 1997. 

It will be Spencer's third marriage. He has four children from his first marriage and two children from his second.