The Princess of Wales sported military-inspired epaulettes with braided cord detail at the Cenotaph war memorial for Remembrance Sunday.
The 42-year-old wore a sombre black blazered coat dress embellished with aiguillette detail on the shoulders and at the waist. It is royal protocol to wear only black for Remembrance services.
The princess also acknowledged 2024’s biggest winter trend by wearing a velvet neck bow. Her hair was styled in a low bun beneath a floral Philip Treacy hat with short netted veil.
Kate’s diamond and pearl drop earrings belonged to the late Queen and she wore her silver Queen’s Dragoon Guards brooch – in a nod to her role as the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief – beneath three red poppies.
Some have suggested that each poppy represents a different branch of the military, while others have said that a cluster of flowers is simply more visible than a single one.
Another theory speculates Kate wears the poppy trio to honour her great-grandmother’s three brothers, who died in the First World War.
The Remembrance weekend events are only the second time Kate has made public engagements since ending her cancer treatment, following a visit to Southport in October.
On Saturday night when she attended the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, Kate appeared to pay a quiet tribute to Diana, the late Princess of Wales, by wearing her Collingwood pearl drop earrings.
Kate’s late mother-in-law’s pearl earrings were a gift to Diana from the jewellery company Collingwood, a brand favoured by her Spencer family.
Alongside a necklace that matched the earrings, Kate wore a Catherine Walker coat dress – a label Kate favours for Remembrance events – a black Chanel clutch and she added a personal touch with a military brooch marking her role as Commodore-in-Chief of The Fleet Air Arm.
Kate’s 2024 Remembrance Sunday ensemble was evocative of the Catherine Walker military-inspired jacket she wore in 2020.
Kate’s 2020 coat featured large white buttons and subtle fringe detailing at the shoulder. She completed the look with another Philip Treacy fascinator and her three-poppy pin.
The princess’s 2024 look is also not far removed from last year’s ensemble, when Kate rewore another black Catherine Walker coat dress, also notable for its military-inspired style and intricate detailing.
She complemented this with a familiar Philip Treacy hat, which had been part of her collection since 2006.
The princess wore Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond and pearl leaf earrings.
