Duchess Kate and Princess Anne make rare joint appearance at maternity units - best photos

The Duchess of Cambridge has joined Princess Anne on a visit to women’s healthcare organisations, marking their first engagement together as a duo.

Anne, who is patron of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), arrived in the same car as Kate, patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) at their joint headquarters in London to hear how they are working together to improve maternal health care.

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Princess Anne has been patron of the RCM for 20 years and has visited hundreds of midwives across the UK in that time.

Kate became patron of RCOG in 2018 and has made early childhood development, including during pregnancy, a key focus of her public work.

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The royal women are meeting representatives from Tommy's National Centre for Maternity Improvement and learned about digital tools being developed to support women with higher risk pregnancies.

They'll also meet partners of the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) collaboration to hear about the national approach to the monitoring and safety of babies during labour and how women and clinical staff are helping to develop it.

Kate, 40, looked as stunning as ever wearing a delightful outfit which consisted of a beautiful cream belted blazer, and teamed it with a matching cream pencil skirt. The brunette royal wore her hair in a super sleek and straight style and rocked subte, glowing makeup.

Anne also looked incredibly stylish in a gorgeous green coat. She also wore a matching scarf to ward off an April chill.

The Princess and the Duchess will join a roundtable discussion with experts and new mums to hear how inequalities in maternity care are being tackled.

They will also hear about pioneering work being done to improve gynaecological skills worldwide. 

Before unveiling a plaque to officially open the building, Kate and Anne will congratulate recent recipients of the annual RCM Awards, which recognise outstanding achievement and commitment.

As the royal pair left, they were presented with flowers from pupils at a neaby school.

Anne left midwives in stitches as she recalled fearing that one of her babies had become "wedged" when she tripped over in a horse lorry while heavily pregnant.

She made the remarks as royal women were shown a demonstration of a new Intrapartum Fetal Surveillance tool, which monitors the safety of babies during labour in order to move to an emergency delivery if the baby's head gets stuck in the mothers' pelvis.