We can't imagine what the Duchess of Cambridge has been going through as she's suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, but we're happy to report that she looked happy and healthy at her first public appearance since it was announced she and Prince William are expecting their third child.
On Tuesday, Middleton, 35, attended a reception at Buckingham Palace for World Mental Health Day, marking the first time she's been seen in public since August 30.
Although still reportedly dealing with severe morning sickness, Kate worked the event like a pro, greeting dignitaries while wearing a long dress by Temperley that showed a hint of a baby bump.
Previously on HuffPost:
We already knew that the duchess would appear at Buckingham Palace, as it was announced by Kensington Palace back in September, but it's no coincidence that she chose this event to mark her return to the spotlight.
Mental health has been an important issue for the duchess for the past couple years, and, together with Prince William and Prince Harry, she has worked tirelessly to end the stigma surrounding mental health and to encourage young people to speak out when they're dealing with mental health issues.
One of their initiatives that's close to the duchess' heart is Heads Together, a mental health campaign whose aim is to challenge mental health stigma and change how it is perceived.
Just hours before his wife made her appearance, Prince William told guests at a St James's Palace reception that it was Kate who was the brainchild behind the campaign.
"When Catherine, Harry and I launched Heads Together, it is fair to say that we were ambitious about what it could achieve," William said.
"It was Catherine who first realized that all three of us were working on mental health in our individual areas of focus. She had seen that at the core of adult issues like addiction and family breakdown, unresolved childhood mental health issues were often part of the problem."
In a video released a few weeks ago, the duchess encouraged children to open up about their mental health.
"It helps us all talk about our mental health," Kate says in the video "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. Sometimes it's just a simple conversation that can make things better."
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