Kate Middleton ditches her suits for an elegant knitted two-piece as she visits Nottingham Trent University as part of her mental health crusade

• Kate, 41, visited Nottingham Trent University in the East Midlands
• READ MORE: Kate Middleton wears earrings given to her by grieving mother whose daughter tragically took her own life aged 17 – as she hosts youth mental health forum with William 

The Princess of Wales looked elegant in a nude knitted two-piece as she stepped out in the East Midlands today. 

Kate, 41, arrived at Nottingham Trent University where she is chatting to students about how they manage their wellbeing, as part of her continued work in the week of World Mental Health Day.

The mother-of-three opted for a cream £110 knitted top from one of her favourite brands, Sezane, with a matching skirt costing £135 – in a break from the stream of suits she has chosen on her recent public engagements. as she visited the university’s campus.

She paired her outfit with camel pumps and chose elegant teardrop pearl earrings, and wore her thick brunette locks tucked behind one ear.

Kate’s solo visit to the university follows her joint engagement with Prince William in Birmingham yesterday, where the couple hosted a youth mental health forum with BBC Radio 1.

The Princess of Wales broke from her suited streak as she arrived at Nottingham Trent University this morning 

As the Princess hears from students this morning about how the university supports them in maintaining sound mental health, her husband William will be touring an emergency response hub in Milton Keynes to hear about how blue-light workers look after their mental health, given the difficult and traumatic events they witness.

Nottingham Trent University works with its counterpart, the University of Nottingham, to support its students by taking a community-based approach to caring for their wellbeing.

As part of her visit, Kate is dropping into a Freshers Fair-style exhibition which has been set up to showcase how mental health of students is cared for.

She is also learning about the universities’ peer-to-peer support system and is chatting to three students about how the mentoring programme words.

It wasn’t long before the Princess got chatting to students on the campus, smiling as she joked around 

The Princess’s all-cream knitted ensemble marked a change in the weather as the unseasonably warm October temperatures begin to drop

Princess Kate took part in a discussion with students, mentors and university workers, discussing how they look after their mental health

The mother-of-three, who has a passion for working to improve mental health, listened intently as the students spoke to her about support they receive

The royal mother-of-three beamed as she met with students at the university who take part in peer-to-peer mentoring

Students lined up to chat to the Princess about their mental health initiatives and the support they receive from their institutions

As part of her visit the Princess of Wales visited a Freshers Fair-style exhibition on mental health

The Princess of Wales, 41, chose a knitted two-piece in a nude shade, paired with nude pumps and a clutch

The Princess looked a touch windswept as her thick brunette locks were moved by the gusts as she arrived

As she walked into a campus building at the East Midlands university, students lined up to take snaps of the royal

The Princess smiled as she arrived on the university’s campus where she will speak to students about their mental health

The Princess of Wales broke from her suit streak to don the cream knitted two piece as she arrived on the campus 

Her ribbed jumper featured button detailing on the sleeves, on show as Princess Kate waved to fans

Princess Kate wore her thick brunette locks tucked behind one ear and styled in loose, cascading curls

 Princess Kate’s knitted two-piece was a break from the streak of suits she has recently worn for public engagements

Never one to shy away from taking part in group activities, Princess Kate is also getting involved with the ‘step in circle’ – a workshop part of Nottingham Trent’s induction programme for new students.

The method is used as part of the university’s Welcome Workshop for new sudents. The aim of the workshop is to improve the confidence of the new arrivals and to let them know about the support networks and tools they have available.

Finally, Her Royal Highness will learn about how Nottingham Trent University is using data derived from student behaviour to identify those who may not be thriving. 

The university has created a ‘dashboard’ which uses learning analytics to measure a student’s engagement with their course. 

When a student stops engaging, this can indicate issues with their wellbeing and prompts the University to proactively reach out to understand the student’s reason for disengagement and help navigate them to appropriate support.

The information is also given directly to the students to help them manage their own learning and is used for personalised support and tutorial discussions with staff. 

During a mental health forum for young people in Birmingham yesterday, the Princess of Wales delivered a rare, rousing speech about how young people should become in touch with their emotions in order to be able to monitor their own wellbeing.

In a touching gesture, the Princess opted to wear a pair of star earrings, which she had been gifted earlier this year by a woman who lost her 17-year-old daughter Issy Renton to suicide.

After meeting Kate earlier this year, Mrs Renton said: ‘My daughter Issy took her own life. The proceeds from the earrings are going to a charity called Brave Minds, a mental health charity that supports children using the platforms of rugby clubs. Mental health is such an important issue.

‘She was wonderful, Issy, a real breath of fresh air. She had wonderful, wonderful friends, surrounded herself with the best people.

‘She was owning life, doing so well in her A levels, she was going to do an elite rugby programme, she payed touch rugby for England and got a gold medal in the summer.

‘But she was also struggling with depression. Everything was harder than it was a supposed to be. We thought she was obviously doing better than she was.’

Mrs Renton added that Kate told her she would wear the earrings in future.

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