Kate Middleton Goes Solo and Britney Spears on X Factor

The Duchess of Cambridge stepped out on a solo charity engagement at the Royal Academy of Arts as part of the British government's GREAT campaign. The Duchess was wearing a dove grey dress by Serbian-born London-based designer Roksanda Ilincic, with her hair in an elegant chignon for the occasion.

The GREAT campaign aims to use the Olympic and Paralympics games to showcase the British arts. Among the guests were singers Roger Daltrey and Lulu artists Tracey Emin and David Hockey, as well as Great Britain's Uniform designer Stella McCartney. The Duchess is fast becoming a pro at solo outing, having has her debut in March where she spoke at the East Anglia Children's Hospice in Ipswich for which she is a royal patron.

Kate has been a regular at the London Olympics and was most recently spotted cheering on Sara Phillips as the Great Britain team scooped up a silver medal in an Equestrian event.

>Britney Spears thinks 'The X Factor' has been "really good" for her and she is enjoying helping people using her pop knowledge and experience.

The 30-year-old singer has joined the judging panel of the show alongside Demi Lovato, Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid and is enjoying using her pop experience to help the aspiring contestants.

She said: "I think this show has been really good for me to do because I've been able to help this talent come in and achieve their dream.

"I can relate to them on a central level because I started out at such a young age.

"I know the foundation and the depth of what you go through into achieving your dream and doing this. So being able to do this has been, if anything, a great experience for me.

"I really feel like being able to be on a show, where you can give back and help people achieve their dream, is just really interesting to me. It's really different from anything I've ever done."

Britney - who has been described as "mean" by show chief Simon - insists her criticisms of the contestants are a result of her being a "very honest" person.

She told Britain's OK! magazine: "It's kind of just based on who I am and my personality in everyday life. I'm just a very honest person."