The Prince and Princess of Wales marked the First Death Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II

The members of the British Royal Family made public appearances today to mark the first Death Anniversary of Late Queen Elizabeth II. While King Charles III and Queen Camilla attended a private church service in Balmoral, The Prince and Princess of Wales travelled to to South Wales where they attended a special service at the St David’s Cathedral.

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Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning British Monarch in the history. She ascended to the throne in 1952 after the death of her father King George VI and remained the Monarch and dedicated to the life of public service until her last breath. On September 08th in 2022, Buckingham Palace first issued a press notice of the Queen being ill and shortly the members of the Royal Family left London to be with the Queen in Balmoral. Although the Palace did not say anything on the matter but the world started to speculate the worst scenario which turned out to be the truth of the day by evening. And Buckingham Palace announced that the beloved Queen left the world peacefully at Balmoral Castle.

Today we remember the extraordinary life and legacy of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth. We all miss you. W & C pic.twitter.com/SkmGtmpNEE

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 8, 2023

Her elder son, Charles ascended to the throne and became the King Charles III. Next day, Charles announced the new title for his elder son and his wife, William and Catherine – The new Prince and Princess of Wales.

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Now after one year, the family is going forward slowly and steadily. Today was William and Kate’s first public appearance after summer break. The couple’s arrival in town was delayed by almost an hour due to the bad weather causing their helicopter rerouting.

The Royal couple joined the locals for a special service at the St David’s Cathedral and paid a floral tribute to their late grandmother.  The Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, Dean of St Davids addressed the gathering and said,

“It is particularly poignant to welcome you here, Your Royal Highnesses, on Accession Day, the first anniversary of the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She came here four times: the only monarch to sit in the Sovereign’s stall, the seat of a Chapter member which came into the possession of the Crown at the Reformation. Today countless numbers will be remembering her with both sadness and with great affection, giving thanks again for her long life of dedicated service – as we do here”.

The floral tribute that Princess Kate laid read a very heartfelt message, “moment of reflection at St Davids Cathedral honouring Her Late Majesty and all that she did for communities like this around the UK, the Commonwealth and the world“.

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Situated in the smallest city of Wales, the venue had a special relation with the late Queen. Since the early 1500s, one of the Quire Stalls has been in the possession of the Crown – named the Sovereign’s Stall. And as Sovereign, the late Queen held the First Canon Cursal Stall in the Quire among the Cathedral Chapter, and she took her place there on some of her four visits to the Cathedral. She was also the first monarch to visit the Cathedral since the Reformation. on Maundy Thursday 1982, Queen Elizabeth II distributed the Royal Maundy at the cathedral. This was the first occasion that the ceremony had taken place outside England.

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Outside the church, the royal couple met with the members of the public and shared how they are coping with the loss of the family matriarch. From The Daily Mail’s report,

Outside the cathedral, she then met local flying instructor Patricia Mawuli Porter OBE who spoke of the Queen’s warmth. And the Princess told her: ‘We all have wonderful memories of her, we have to hold on to them, cherish them.’

Kate could also be heard saying to another well-wisher: ‘Is it fishing trips, sailing…?’ The woman replied: ‘It’s guided wildlife tours.’ And Kate then said: ‘Oh, OK.’

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In Balmoral, The King and Queen, joined by Sarah Chatto and Arthur Chatto, attended a special service marking the King’s Accession day and Queen’s Death anniversary. Earlier in the morning, King released a message thanking the nation for the support. Alongside His Majesty’s message, an unreleased photograph of The late Queen has been released. The picture was taken at Buckingham Palace on 16th October 1968, as part of an official sitting granted to Cecil Beaton. It was chosen by His Majesty The King to mark the anniversary.

After the service, the King couple spoke to crowds outside who shared their condolences and handed them bouquets. The King told them that the flowers were ‘wonderful’ and joked with children about getting back to school.

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William and Kate’s second stop of the day was St Davids RNLI where they were taken afloat St David’s Tamar class lifeboat Norah Wortley from a tender near a local seaweed farm and enjoyed a short trip around the headland to the new station.

 

A floral meeting with The Prince and Princess of Wales.

Then William and Kate headed to the Car-Y-Mor seaweed farm in St Davids. The Car-Y-Mor has joined hands with the winner of Earthshot awards Notpla to protect the oceans.

What Kate Middleton wore to visit St David’s Cathedral in Wales

• Eponine London Chi-Chi Burgundy Coat Dress – (Repeat – Debuted in December 2022 at the Christmas Carol service. )
• Sahar Freemantle Millinery Hat – (New)
• Gianvito Rossi ‘Gianvito 105’ Burgundy Pumps – (Repeat)
• Mulberry Bayswater Clutch – (Repeat)
• Queen’s Diamond and Pearl Small Earrings – (Repeat)

Embed from Getty ImagesHeading towards The Princess of Wales’s style of the day – Princess Kate brought back her Eponine London Chi-Chi Burgundy Coat Dress that she first wore in December 2022 at the Christmas Carol service. The coat dress was a customised version of the label’s Chi-chi outfit.

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This time Kate paired the coat with a matching hat from Sahar Millinery. Sahar Freemantle was a scholar with the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, which supports the “training and education of talented craftspeople”

Embed from Getty ImagesThe Princess of Wales paired the outfit with Queen’s Diamond and Pearl Small Earrings she first wore in September 2016 during Canada tour.

Kate was wearing her Gianvito Rossi ‘Gianvito 105’ Burgundy Pumps

and carried her Mulberry Bayswater Clutch.

For the second part of the day, Catherine changed into a casual and sporty look that featured her Troy London Khaki Parkha with white top and her G-Star High G-Shape Cargo Skinny Pants that she paired with Spells of Love Medium Twist Hoops and her Veja Esplar Metallic Low-Top Trainers.

Tomorrow, The Prince and Princess of Wales will be heading to France this weekend to attend the Rugby World Cup group stages match.