Kate Middleton attended the Remembrance Day service at The Cenotaph war memorial in London on Sunday, just two months after announcing she completed chemotherapy. Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that the Princess of Wales would participate in the ceremony, marking her first major royal event since declaring herself “cancer free.” Kate, 42, appeared on one of the three balconies next to Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, at the ceremony. She watched as her husband Prince William, 42, and father-in-law King Charles III, 75, laid wreaths in tribute to armed forces members who have died in duty.
The mother of three wore a black coat with a velvet bow, a look from Catherine Walker & Co., one of Princess Diana’s favorite designers. Other royals present at the event included Prince Edward, Princess Anne, Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, and Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent. Sunday’s Remembrance Day Service was also Charles’ first since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year. Queen Camilla, 77, did not attend due to a chest infection, but was represented by a wreath laid by her equerry, Major Ollie Plunket, The Rifles.
Kate and several other royals, including Charles and William, were also at the Remembrance Day ceremony on Saturday. The princess wore a black dress paired with pearl drop earrings and a quilted Chanel handbag. Held annually on the second Sunday of November, Remembrance Day honors those who have died in world wars and other conflicts. The service at the Cenotaph in London is described as “the focal point of the nation’s homage” on the royal family’s website, where the royals are joined by government members to pay tribute to the fallen with two minutes of silence at 11am.
After laying poppy wreaths at the base of the Cenotaph, a short religious service follows, accompanied by a bugle call, the National Anthem (“God Save the King”), and a march past of veterans, estimated at 10,000, according to the Royal British Legion. Since her marriage to Prince William in 2011, Kate has participated in the National Service of Remembrance annually, including during each of her pregnancies with her and William’s three children—Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6. Before Sunday’s service, the Princess of Wales attended the annual Festival of Remembrance at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, the first major event of remembrance weekend, which featured personal testimonies, storytelling, and music performances presented before an audience of Armed Forces families.
Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis in March after conspiracy theories spread about her absence from public events following her January abdominal surgery. She made public appearances in the following months while undergoing preventative chemotherapy, including at this year’s Trooping the Colour and the Wimbledon Men’s Final in July. The princess announced on Sept. 9 that she was “cancer-free” and began returning to public life shortly after. In October, she undertook her first public engagement post-chemo, visiting Southport, England, to meet with parents of victims in the mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July. Prince William traveled to London for the remembrance weekend events after hosting his annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa.
Speaking to reporters on the final day of his trip, William remarked on the “brutal year” he has faced following both Kate’s and his father’s cancer battles. “It’s been dreadful. It’s probably been the hardest year in my life,” the prince said. “So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.” “But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done,” he added. “But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.” When asked how Kate is doing after completing her chemotherapy, William said she’s “doing well.”
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