Since her marriage to Prince William in 2011, Kate has never missed a single one of these ceremonies. On Sunday, she was among her people to watch the Remembrance Sunday parade, held each year on the Sunday closest to November 11. A significant presence for the one who said, at the beginning of September, “relieved to have finally finished [son] chemotherapy treatment.
A symbolic outfit
As usual, Kate listened to the memorial mass from the central balcony of the Foreign Office. Beside him stood the Duchess of Edinburgh, her face hidden under a wide-brimmed hat. The princess had brought out her black Catherine Walker coat with elegant shoulder pads and velvet bow. A fascinator with veils topped her sophisticated braided bun. Three poppies as well as the Queen's Dragoon Guards brooch – a British Army regiment of which she is colonel-in-chief – were pinned on her chest.
Kate had chosen the Bahrain Pearl Diamond Drop, earrings from the collection of Elizabeth II, worn after her by Princess Diana. Sophie of Edinburgh wore white pearls around her neck, these being traditionally worn by women of the royal family during commemorations.
Both joined in the two minutes of meditation, heads bowed and eyes closed, as soon as eleven o'clock struck. In the eyes of the princess, moved, a few tears shone. It was with Sophie's hand, affectionately placed on her back, that she left the balcony at the end of the ceremony.
Queen Camilla absent
The Duke of Kent, Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and husbands and wives of former Prime Ministers also overlooked Whitehall Square from their balconies. Below, columns of soldiers, war veterans, politicians and members of the royal family were gathered around the Cenotaph. Looking serious, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince William and Prince Edward took turns laying wreaths of poppies, a symbol of remembrance.
Queen Camilla was not with her husband. Having contracted a chest infection shortly after returning from Australia, his doctors prescribed rest. Already on Saturday, she was absent from the Festival of Remembrance where the royal family, including Kate, paid a first tribute to fallen British and Commonwealth soldiers. Buckingham Palace announced that the 77-year-old Briton would be back to work early next week.
