The Princess of Wales has attended every Remembrance Sunday service for the past 13 years – and this year was no different despite her health battles.
Kate made a rare appearance at the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph – a sign of both her gradual return to duties following her cancer diagnosis and treatment and the importance the Royal Family places on the annual tribute to the fallen. Dressed in black as is the tradition, Kate wore a netted hat, with her hair in a twisted chignon, and a military-style coat featuring black epaulettes, and embellished at the neck with a black velvet bow.
Supported by Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, she watched on as royals including King Charles and Prince William laid wreaths at the Cenotaph. William’s floral tribute included the eye-catching Prince of Wales feathers.
But fans noticed something different about the tribute this year – the card attached to it was not signed by Kate. It read: “In memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. We will remember them. William.” In previous years both William and Kate have written a message and signed the card. Given Kate’s attendance at the event was only decided at the last minute and announced on Friday, it could have been she was unable to sign the tribute in time.
Yesterday was the first time Kate had carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements this year, with the princess attending the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening. Her high-profile appearance comes after the Prince of Wales candidly described how 2024 had been brutal and “probably been the hardest year in my life”, with both Kate and the King diagnosed with cancer.
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On the princess’s coat, yesterday were three red poppies, often rumoured to be in honour of her great-grandmother’s three brothers, who all lost their lives in the First World War. Her diamond and pearl drop earrings belonged to the late Queen, and she also wore her silver Queen’s Dragoon Guards brooch – in a nod to her role as the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief – beneath her poppies.
The princess made her first ever appearance at the service as the Duchess of Cambridge 13 years ago, seven months after she married William, joining the royal family and becoming an HRH. She was pictured in 2011 in a black double-breasted coat by Diane von Furstenberg and a small-brimmed hat with a large bow by couture milliner Jane Corbett.
Kate has attended every year since, including 2020 when she took to the balcony, standing socially distanced from Camilla, during the Covid pandemic when the increasingly frail late Elizabeth II missed the service due to a sprained back.
English