The Princess of Wales is the most senior ranked royal on the balconies of the Foreign Office today.
Princess Kate has made her second public appearance in as many days as she joined King Charles and other members of the Royal Family to commemorate the war dead on Remembrance Sunday.
Cutting a solemn figure on the centre balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office overlooking Whitehall, the Princess of Wales is the highest-ranked royal stood on high.
Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, stood next to her after Queen Camilla – the highest-ranked female royal – was forced to pull out of the event while she recovers from a chest infection.
The future Queen looked elegant in an all-black ensemble, which was a bespoke coatdress by Catherine Walker, Queen Elizabeth’s Bahrain Pearl drops earrings and three poppies pinned on the left side of her chest.
The poppies are a sweet tribute to the princess’s great-grandmother’s three brothers, who lost their lives in the First World War.
Last night Kate looked happy and healthy at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, an important fixture in the royal calendar. Prince William sat next to Kate on Saturday evening, and the poppy-wearing pair got involved in the night’s music, applauding Sir Tom Jones and singing hymns as well as the national anthem.
Today, Kate joined Sophie, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke of Kent and the Duchess of Gloucester on the balconies to watch the Remembrance Sunday service taking place below.
They participated in the two-minute silence at 11am, led by King Charles, and watched the 10,000 veterans march past the Cenotaph.
Kate sang the national anthem as Sir Keir Starmer, the eight living former prime ministers and other political figures joined in.
The King, dressed in his Royal Navy uniform of the Admiral of the Fleet, laid a wreath at the Cenotaph to honour those who have died in conflict before saluting after stepping back from the war memorial.
His wreath closely resembled one produced for King George VI, with 41 paper poppy petals mounted on an arrangement of black leaves, as is traditional for Sovereign’s wreaths and adorned with a scarlet, purple and gold ribbon and bow. The colours of the ribbon and bow are from the King’s racing silk.
Kate’s husband, the Prince of Wales, wore his Royal Air Force uniform in the rank of Wing Commander and went second to lay his own wreath followed by Prince Edward, Princess Anne and an equerry who laid a wreath on behalf of the Duke of Kent.
Senior politicians then approached the Cenotaph to lay their wreaths.
Today marks Kate’s fifth public appearance this year, as she took time off from royal duties after she underwent major abdominal surgery in January and was later diagnosed with cancer.
In a video the princess released in September, she revealed she had finished her chemotherapy treatment, and spoke of how she was “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months”.