Keeping Her Majesty close: Kate wears the Queen’s earrings for a THIRD time this week as she joins Prince William to meet troops who will be on duty at the monarch’s funeral
- Kate Middleton was the picture of elegance during outing today in Surrey to visit an Army training centre
- Princess of Wales was joined by her husband William to meet troops taking part in funeral arrangements
- Paid tribute to the Queen by rewearing the monarch’s pearl and diamond earrings for a third time this week
- Comes as the couple continue to mourn the late Queen ahead of her state funeral on Monday
- The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage
Kate Middleton paid tribute to the Queen today as she donned the monarch’s diamond and pearl earrings for a third time this week while meeting troops taking part in the Queen’s funeral on Monday.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, 40, appeared deep in thought as they arrived at the Army training centre in Surrey to meet soldiers this afternoon.
The royal mother-of-three, who was dressed in mourning black, was pensive as she supported her husband on the day out today.
Meanwhile she paid tribute to her husband’s late grandmother by wearing a set of the Queen’s pearl earrings for the occasion.
While she has worn the jewels several times over the years, she has made a special effort to wear the pieces on a number of occasions this week, including at Buckingham Palace to receive the Queen’s coffin and yesterday to meet mourners in Sandringham.
It has been a busy period for the royal mother-of-three, who only recently moved her family to a new home in Windsor and took her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, to their first day at school last week.
Yesterday, she and William went to Sandringham to view floral tributes left to the Queen, while earlier this week she supported her husband and other senior royals as they paid tribute to the Queen at the funeral procession through central London.
Kate Middleton paid tribute to the Queen today as she donned the monarch’s diamond and pearl earrings for a third time this week while meeting troops taking part in the Queen’s funeral on Monday
While she has worn the jewels several times over the years, she has made a special effort to wear the pieces on a number of occasions this week, including at Buckingham Palace to receive the Queen’s coffin (left) and yesterday to meet mourners in Sandringham (right)
It is believed the jewels previously belonged to the Queen with Her Majesty wearing them to a number of events over the years. Pictured, the Queen wearing the earrings in 1977 (left) and in 2017
Today, the royal swept her long brunette hair into a neat bun and donned a black fascinator as she arrived at the centre in Surrey.
The earrings are believed to be an elegant pair the Princess has worn on a number of previous occasions, including the day she left hospital after the birth of Prince Louis.
Kate also chose them for a day of engagements in The Netherlands in 2016, her first official solo overseas visit without Prince William.
The royal mother-of-three also wore the jewels as she joined the royal family to receive the Queen’s coffin at Buckingham Palace.
The royal mother-of-three, who was dressed in mourning black, was pensive as she supported her husband on the day out today (pictured left and right)
Kate was the picture of elegance as she joined her husband Prince William to meet troops taking part in the Queen’s funeral on Monday
The royal mother-of-three, who was dressed in mourning black was pensive as she supported her husband on the day out today
It is believed they previously belonged to the Queen with Her Majesty wearing them to a number of events over the years.
The Queen was known for being generous with her private jewellery collection and has passed on tiaras, earrings and necklaces to members of her family.
During the outing today, she and the Prince will be thanking Commonwealth troops deployed from Canada, Australia and New Zealand who are rehearsing to take part in Her Late Majesty’s State Funeral on Monday.
Rehearsals for the service took part earlier in the day and continued even after the royals arrived on site.
Today, the royal swept her long brunette hair into a neat bun and donned a black fascinator as she arrived at the centre in Surrey
Today’s visit is Kate’s second to the centre in less than a year, after she wore a helmet and posed in an army tank in pictures she posted on Armed Forces Day.
Pirbright is acting as a holding area for service personnel based outside London, where troops can train, eat and sleep before moving into the capital to deliver ‘ceremonial support’ to the funeral’.
The centre houses 750 service personnel across Defence, and Commonwealth Realm Defence Forces and has previously been used for soldiers involved in The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral and Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were also introduced to residents by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk at a private audience at Sandringham House yesterday.
During the visit, Norfolk’s Lord-Lieutenant, Lady Dannatt, introduced Kate, 40, and Prince William, 40, to people from the area.
Lady Dannatt is the King’s representative in the county, taking over the role from Sir Richard Jewson KCVO JP when he retired in August 2019.
It has been an extremely busy period for Kate, who has been supporting her husband Prince William publicly, and no doubt helping her children adjust to life without their Gan-Gan.
The earrings are believed to be an elegant pair the Princess has worn on a number of previous occasions, including the day she left hospital after the birth of Prince Louis (left). Also pictured: Kate in 2019 (centre) and on Remembrance Day 202
The death of their great-grandmother the Queen will be a heavy blow to Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis, as they and their parents begin a new life at Adelaide Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle – where Her Majesty spent most of the year.
Within 48 hours of their children starting a new school, the country was in mourning – but the Duchess decided to stay in Windsor to support the children at school as William flew to Aberdeenshire on a RAF jet.
Prince William, now heir to the throne, rushed to Scotland in an attempt to see his grandmother before she died.
Since then, Kate has remained a stoic presence by Prince William’s side, accompanying him at a royal walkabout in Windsor alongside his brother Prince Harry and sister-in-law Meghan Markle, as well as at the funeral procession yesterday.
Meanwhile Prince William paid a deeply personal tribute to his ‘Grannie’ the Queen earlier this week, saying that she was by his side on the ‘happiest and saddest days of my life’.
The Prince of Wales said in a statement released on Instagram that while the world was mourning the loss of an ‘extraordinary leader’, he had lost his ‘grandmother’.
He referenced the family holidays they spent with his children George, nine, Charlotte, seven, and Louis, four, and thanked the Queen for the support and guidance she gave to him and Kate.
William wrote: ‘On Thursday, the world lost an extraordinary leader, whose commitment to the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth was absolute. So much will be said in the days ahead about the meaning of her historic reign.
‘I, however, have lost a grandmother. And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of The Queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade.
‘My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives.
‘She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life.
‘I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real.
‘I thank her for the kindness she showed my family and me. And I thank her on behalf of my generation for providing an example of service and dignity in public life that was from a different age, but always relevant to us all.
‘My grandmother famously said that grief was the price we pay for love. All of the sadness we will feel in the coming weeks will be testament to the love we felt for our extraordinary Queen.
‘I will honour her memory by supporting my father, The King, in every way I can.’
The couple’s visit comes as plans for the Queen’s funeral were released today.
Millions of people across the UK are also being urged to fall silent for two minutes during the closing moments of the Queen’s funeral on Monday – as part of a double moment of nationwide reflection honouring Her Majesty.
The two-minute silence will be held at 11.55am on Monday, during the closing chapter of Her Majesty’s state funeral – echoing a one-minute tribute scheduled for 8pm the night before.
Buckingham Palace also confirmed further details of the Queen’s funeral which will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11am.
The Queen’s coffin is currently lying in state at Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster – the queue for which is currently approximately 4.2miles long with an estimated wait time of at least 9 hours.
A continuous vigil of Her Majesty’s coffin is kept by the King’s body guards which will last until 6.30am on the morning of the Queen’s funeral.
At 7.30pm today, the King, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex will hold the Vigil of the Princes ceremony like they did in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh just days ago.
The senior royals are expected to replicate the ceremonial act they performed in Edinburgh, where they ‘took guard’ of their late mother’s coffin for 10 minutes.
Each stood on one of the four corners of the oak coffin with their heads bowed as part of the royal cortège known as the ‘Vigil of the Princes’.
It is understood that the ban on Prince Andrew wearing military uniform, which has seen him opt for a morning suit for public appearances this week, will be lifted as an exception for the final vigil held in London.
Source: Read Full Article
