Kate Middleton wears green dress to view nature exhibition

THE Duchess of Cambridge flew solo last night when she attended a reception at the Natural History Museum and visited its new Treasures Gallery.

Sporting a new hairstyle and wearing a green Mulberry dress adorned with CND peace signs, the Duchess was given a tour of the gallery by Michael Dixon, the director of the museum.

The Duchess’s hair, which Royal watchers noticed had been cut shorter at the weekend, was styled with new, face-­framing layers, a heavy parted fringe and appeared to be a darker shade than usual.

It is the second time that the Duchess, who has become known for getting good use out of her clothes, has worn the £1,400 dress – its previous outing was at a private reception hosted by the Queen nearly a year ago at Buckingham Palace.

Among the highlights she saw in the new gallery, which opens to the public on Friday, was an Archaeopteryx fossil, which has helped scientists decipher how birds evolved from dinosaurs, plus a first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and a series of glass models of marine life known as the Blaschka models.

Mr Dixon, who stepped in on behalf of Sir David Attenborough, who was originally scheduled to escort the Duchess, said: “We are thrilled Her Royal Highness is joining us to celebrate the opening of Treasures. We hope that she will be the first of many visitors to discover everything the museum represents in this special gallery.”