Pregnant Kate Glad To 'Get Out Of The House'

The Duchess of Cambridge has appeared officially in public for the first time in the six weeks since her second pregnancy was announced.

Kate joined William to welcome Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam and his wife, Mary, on an official visit to Britain.

She told Mrs Tan she had been "looking forward to getting out of the house" when the president's wife expressed her pleasure at seeing her two years after they last met.

The Duchess, who is just over 12 weeks pregnant, has been forced to miss a number of public engagements because she is suffering from a rare and debilitating form of morning sickness.

The royal couple visited Singapore in September 2012 as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Kate referred to that trip when she told the president: "It's a bit colder than our last meeting." He replied: "The weather is lovely."

The royal couple made the short trip from their Kensington Palace apartment to the Royal Garden Hotel, which is next door to the palace.

Watched by a large group of photographers, they took the lift up to the presidential suite where Mr and Mrs Tan were waiting.

William appeared on good form as he looked out of the hotel window onto Kensington Palace and said: "You can probably see into our bedroom window which is a bit worrying - I wouldn't look too closely."

Mr Tan is the first Singaporean president to make a state visit to the UK and his four-day visit will include a meeting with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, as well as having talks with the Prime Minister.

The 74-year-old was a successful banker before he entered politics in 1979 and held various positions before becoming deputy prime minister.

He left government in 2005 and later ran for president - he was elected Singapore's seventh head of state in August 2011.

The visit takes place ahead of Singapore's golden jubilee - the 50th anniversary of its independence.