Sophie Wessex places supportive hand on Princess Kate’s back as they leave balcony after Remembrance Sunday service
SOPHIE Wessex placed a supportive hand on the Princess of Wales's back as they left a balcony after the Remembrance Sunday service.
Kate watched, as is tradition, from above on the nearby Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office balcony overlooking Whitehall with the Duchess of Edinburgh.
Today is the first time the Princess of Wales, 42, has carried out official Royal engagements on consecutive days since last December.
Kate, who continues to recover following her treatment for cancer, made a radiant return to duties at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance on Saturday evening.
She attended the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph today where the Prince of Wales, 42, and King Charles, 75, laid wreaths.
The Queen, 77, was absent as she battles a chest infection.
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On a sombre Remembrance Sunday...
- Thousands of veterans gathered at the Cenotaph for the Royal British Legion's march past the 'empty tomb'
- The King led the nation in a sombre two-minute silence as Britain remembered our fallen soldiers
- Princess Kate joined Sophie Wessex to watch the ceremony from the Foreign Office balcony
- Sophie placed a supportive hand on Princess Kate's back as they left after the ceremony
- Kate was dubbed the perfect "Queen in Waiting" by a body language expert
- And a lipreader revealed everything Princess Kate said to her "true confidante" Sophie
- Sun Royal Photographer Arthur Edwards gives his thoughts on 'beautiful' Kate's return
PM Sir Keir Starmer and the Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch also laid wreaths at the 'empty tomb' as veterans lined up in the middle of Whitehall.
Dressed in sombre black, 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.
Her diamond and pearl drop earrings belonged to the late Queen, and she also wore her silver Queen's Dragoon Guards brooch beneath three red poppies.
Sophie, 59, described as 'Kate's rock', placed a hand on her back as they left the balcony.
Keith and Lynn Etherington-Banks said they were "very excited" to see the Princess of Wales back on duty today.
The couple travelled two hours from Portsmouth - arriving in London a day early on Saturday to make sure they got a good spot at the Cenotaph.
Lynn, 63, said: "We're very excited to see Princess Kate with the rest of the Royal family today. It's great to see her back working after a tough year.”
Former Royal Marine cadet Keith, 60, added: "We're big fans of the Royals. It's been a difficult year for them, so it will be good to see Kate out in public again.
"We wanted to pay our respects today as we both come from military families. We always watch the Remembrance Sunday service but this is the first time we've made it here in person."
Melissa Smith, 40, also from Portsmouth, told The Sun: "I come from a military town and my both sets of my grandparents served - across all three forces. It felt important to be at the Cenotaph today.
ARTHUR EDWARDS When Kate smiles it's like a clap of thunder - our beautiful Princess is on road to recovery, and we couldn’t be happier
YOU could have heard a pin drop as King Charles led Britain in two minutes of sombre remembrance today.
The Monarch appeared to have the troubles of the world on his shoulders as he lay a wreath on the Cenotaph.
Our King cares so deeply for the soldiers who laid down their lives for Britain.
And he would have been thinking about those he too has lost in recent years, his mother The Queen being one of them.
I too remembered those in my family who lost their lives in World War One.
My grandfather - my name sake who I never met - was only 36 when he sacrificed his life for our country.
He left five children behind, one of whom was my father. I think of him often.
But the star attraction was the Princess of Wales, and we were thrilled to see her.
Catherine - beautiful as always - looked really well as she shared the balcony with Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
She cut a sombre figure along with the rest of Britain, during the two minutes of silence to remember fearless heroes who laid down their lives.
But then… a smile. And it was like a clap of thunder through my camera. She is the star attraction.
It is a shame our lovely Queen Camilla wasn’t at her side. She would have loved to be there.
But she felt, of course, that she must stay in the warm, and recover from her chest infection. And a wreath was laid on her behalf.
As the ceremony progressed, we saw Catherine chatting away with Sophie - they are of course, great pals.
The two sung hymns together - with plenty of gusto at that. I’d love to hear Kate sing…
I - like all of us - want to see Catherine fit and well before she gets back to work.
And today showed our Princess well on the road to recovery. I’m looking forward to seeing much more of her in the future.
"The Royal family are a huge part of the Remembrance service, so it will be great to see Kate joining them today after being so unwell."
An offical Royal Family post on Instagram read: "We remember them. On behalf of the nation, The King lays a wreath at the Cenotaph during the annual Service of Remembrance.
"Wreaths were also laid by The Prince of Wales, The Princess Royal and The Duke of Edinburgh, and on behalf of The Queen and The Duke of Kent."
William revealed Kate aims to step up her royal engagements in 2025.
He said: "I think hopefully Catherine will be doing a bit more next year, so, we'll have some more trips maybe lined up."
Last night William affectionately put his arm around his wife as they emerged from their car outside the Royal Albert Hall.
The couple smiled and chatted warmly while taking their seats for the concert.
Leading the royals at last night's event, the King — who is also being treated for cancer — was in good spirits as he chatted to Armed Forces veterans.
Camilla's touching tribute to Queen Mother
QUEEN Camilla will not be at today's Remembrance commemorations as she continues to struggle with a chest infection.
But Camilla's equerry Major Ollie Plunkett will lay a wreath at the Cenotaph on her behalf.
The 95-poppy wreath closely resembles one made for the Queen Mother, who died in 2002.
It has a ribbon in the colours of Camilla's racing silk - brown, red and yellow.
Here are some of the other wreaths which the royals will lay at the Cenotaph today:
King Charles
Charles's wreath is modelled one made for his grandfather, King George VI.
It has 41 poppies mounted on black leaves, with ribbons and a bow from Charles's racing silk - scarlet, purple and gold.
The King is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and previously served in the Royal Navy.
He will wear his Admiral of the Fleet uniform with a greatcoat, poppy and sword.
Prince William
William will wear his RAF Wing Commander uniform with a greatcoat, poppy and sword.
He will lay a wreath at the Cenotaph while Princess Kate looks on from the Foreign Office balcony.
William served in the Armed Forces full-time for seven and a half years, before leaving in 2013.
Prince Edward
The Duke of Edinburgh will wear his Royal Wessex Yeomanry uniform as he lays a wreath.
He holds 10 military appointments and recently visited the Royal Dragoon Guards before they deployed to Estonia.
His wife Princess Sophie will watch the service with Princess Kate from the Foreign Office balcony.
Princess Anne
Anne holds the rank of Admiral in the Royal Navy, General in the Army and Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Air Force.
She also serves as Patron of the Women's Royal Naval Service, known as the Wrens.
Her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence will join Kate and Sophie on the Foreign Office balcony.
In January Kate spent 13 nights at The London Clinic for abdominal surgery.
Subsequent tests found cancer and she began preventative chemotherapy treatment in late February.
In September she told the world in a family video that she had finished chemo.
Last week William visited South Africa — his first foreign trip since Kate's diagnosis.
Lifting the lid on his dad and wife's cancer battles he has described the year as "brutal" and "dreadful".
He and mum-of-three Kate cancelled a trip to Italy and to see British troops in the Baltic.
Kate had aimed to time her return for the Remembrance services, plus her Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey.
Charles led the nation on Sunday in a two-minute silence to honour those who have died in conflict.
The Royal British Legion's veteran parade saw 10,000 veterans, representing 326 different armed forces and civilian organisations, march past the Cenotaph.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in the Second World War and the 25th anniversary of the end of the war in Kosovo.
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It also marks the 75th anniversary of NATO and the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between the UK and France.
More than 800 sailors, soldiers and aviators were on duty on Remembrance Sunday.
William following his mother's lead
By Arthur Edwards
I AM delighted that Kate seems ready to go back on the road again.
Her appearance at the Cenotaph today is a sign that we will hopefully be seeing more of her next year.
She is always a delight to work with. Her husband, William, has also now outlined his future. He is very much a modern-day man.
I think he is following the lead of his mother, Princess Diana, who broke the mould for how the royals did things.
I remember she held the hand of a leper in Nigeria and shook hands with HIV patients in hospital when everybody was nervous about the 'plague' sweeping the world at the time.
William watched Diana modernise the royals and he is continuing her work.