How Time Flies: Prince William and Kate Middleton Celebrate Second Wedding Anniversary

Two years ago, the world watched. April 29, 2013, was slightly lower key

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ANDREW COWIE / AFP / Getty Images

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge receives flowers as she arrives at Naomi House hospice from hospice patient Sally Evans,8, in Sutton Scotney, Winchester on April 29, 2013.

Two years ago today, the world watched Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey. On the shining London day, crowds flooded the streets — and billions tuned in around the world — to gaze upon the pomp and opulence. Kate stepped out dressed in a stunning Sarah Burton gown and cameras focused on the dozens of royal family members in attendance; but it was sister (and maid of honor) Pippa Middleton’s form-fitting dress, as well as a notoriously grumpy flower girl, who nearly stole the show.

The royal couple have hardly been out of the spotlight ever since, as they’re still routinely splashed across the covers of international magazines. And of course, the celebration of their second anniversary today was well covered, even though the two were off on separate missions and weren’t together on their anniversary day, during daylight hours, at least. William, 30, was on duty with his helicopter search and rescue squadron at RAF Valley in the north of Wales, while his wife (and mother-to-be) visited a children’s hospice an hour southwest of London.

(PHOTOS: Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Wedding Day)

The Duchess of Cambridge marked her second year with such a title, spending Monday in Hampshire at the Naomi House Children’s Hospice. Kate received a bunch of white posies from 8-year-old patient Sally Evans as the two talked. “She wished her happy anniversary and thanked her for choosing to come,” Sally’s mother Sarah told People, TIME’s sister publication, about her daughter’s chat with the future Queen of England. Peach was the color of the day, with Kate opting for that colored coat, as well as dress, which were paired with cream heels. Much attention has been lavished on Kate’s fashions as of late, as the 31-year-old Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant with the couple’s first child, due this summer.

(PHOTOS: Kate Middleton’s Sensational Wedding Dress)

It’s the start of National Hospice Week in the U.K., and Kate recently recorded a video in support of the movement, in which she made a heartfelt appeal for public support. Since marrying the man second in line to the British throne, Kate’s made a steady stream of appearances and public service seems to be important to her. “She’s so natural with everyone. One advantage of not being born royal is that you are natural – and she has not lost that,” Graham Butland, chief executive of Kate’s charity, East Anglia Children’s Hospice, told People. “She is able to communicate with people at all levels. She is going to be a great mum, no doubt about that.”

(TIME MAGAZINE: The Royal Wedding Edition)

And when William and Kate mark their third year of marriage next April 29, three will be the magic number, with their much anticipated baby boy or girl surely to take part in the happy occasion.

VIDEO: Sights and Sounds of the Royal Wedding