Kate Middleton's lonely Valentine's Day

Kate Middleton is facing a lonely Valentine’s Day 12,000km away from Prince William.

The Duke of Cambridge flew to the Falklands on Wednesday for a six-week deployment with his RAF Search and Rescue Unit.

Kate is planning to keep busy while her new husband is away, undertaking her first solo public engagements since she joined the royal family last April.

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Kate will visit London’s National Portrait Gallery on Wednesday, February 8 to view the Lucien Freud exhibition.

The Duchess of Cambridge studied history of art at St Andrew’s University — where she met William — and became patron of the portrait gallery last month.

She will then travel to Liverpool on Valentine’s Day, February 14, for an ‘away day’.

Kate is expected to visit Liverpool’s alcohol-free bar The Brink during her visit. The bar is run by Action on Addiction, the charity the duchess became a patron of last month.

She will also tour Ronald McDonald House at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Meanwhile, William will be completing his first overseas deployment in the troubled Falklands region.

The second-in-line to the throne’s arrival earlier this week sparked protests in Argentina, which has long-contested Britain’s claim to the islands.

Hundreds of masked protestors gathered in front of HSBC bank in Buenos Aires, brandishing clubs and hurling paint bombs.

Kate, who reportedly sees herself as “very much the military wife”, is said to be extremely supportive of William’s career.

This will be the longest time William and Kate have spent apart since their brief split in 2007. Kate will not be completely alone however — she will have the company of the couple’s recently adopted black cocker spaniel puppy.