Duchess Catherine to join Queen on 2 engagements

Britain's Duchess Catherine is set to join Queen Elizabeth on two royal engagements next month, including a trip to luxury hamper store Fortnum & Mason.

Britain's Duchess Catherine is set to join Queen Elizabeth on two royal engagements next month.

The Duchess of Cambridge - who married Prince William in April 2011 - is set to visit luxury hamper store Fortnum & Mason with the monarch and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, on March 1 where the queen will unveil a plaque to mark the renovation of London's Piccadilly.

Catherine plans to join the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, on a trip to Leicester on March 8 to launch the Royal Diamond Jubilee tour to celebrate the monarch's 60 years on the throne.

The 30-year-old duchess recently undertook a solo engagement when she attended a preview of a new Lucian Freud exhibition on display at the National Portrait Gallery in central London, while William is on a six-week posting in the Falklands Islands as part of his training as an RAF search and rescue co-pilot.

During the visit, Catherine took in paintings and was greeted by Freud's daughter, Esther, and Sir Paul McCartney's photographer daughter Mary.