Kate watched William take part in the annual Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle today.
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| Grazia |
Kate enjoying a chat with Camilla and Sophie. All three ladies wore nude heels today.
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| Grazia |
The Knights which include the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex joined other Knights of the Garter in a procession to the chapel.
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| Rebecca English Twitter |
The couple shared a romantic moment as William walked past :)
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| Rebecca English Twitter |
We see a glimpse of that moment in the photo below :)
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| British Monarchy Facebook |
The household cavalry parading downhill at Windsor.
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| Rebecca English Twitter |
We have all been eager to find out how Prince William will be spending his 30th birthday. Apparently he will be working so it will be a low key celebration.
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| Max Foster Twitter |
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348 by Edward III, is the highest order of chivalry existing in England. St George is the patron saint of the ceremony. The Queen appoints the Knights of the Garter without advice from ministers and this year there will be no new Knights installed into the order. Interestingly Prince William was the 1000th Knight in the register when he joined the Order in 2008. There can only be 24 members of the order at a given time, so it is a huge honour to be chosen.
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| Wikipedia |
The Order's members must wear vestments for ceremonial occasions. Members have worn the blue velvet robe since the 16th century. The heraldic shield of St. George is sewn onto the left shoulder of the robe. The hat is a Tudor Bonnet of black velvet with a plume of white ostrich and black heron fathers.
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| Wikipedia |
Thousands lined the streets to watch the procession.
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| British Monarchy Twitter |
The couple look incredibly happy today. Lovely to see them all smiles.
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| Reuters |
Before the service Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh hosted a lunch in The Waterloo Chambers at Windsor Castle. The Queen's Sovereigns' Luncheon was also held there on May 18th. You can take a virtual tour of the chambers here. They were joined by other royals and members and officers of the Garter.
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| Royal Gov |
A look at St George's Chapel, Windsor where the service was held.
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| Wikipedia |
After the ceremony the royals travelled in a carriage procession. William and Kate joined Charles and Camilla in the second carriage.
Kate's parents were spotted at the Garter.
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| Mark Stewart Twitter |
Kate first attended the ceremony in 2008 when William was installed as a Knight wearing a black polka dot tailored suit and a Philip Treacy hat. Last year she attended for the first time as Duchess of Cambridge wearing a striking Katherine Hooker suit. Which garter outfit is your favourite?
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| Wiki |
Kate recycled the Alexander McQueen cotton and wool blend piqué coat she wore to Trooping the Colour last year. We never saw the coat fully at Trooping and I must say it is a beautiful piece, sophisticated and elegant yet the shorter length gives it a youthful flare. The sculptured coat dress was available for €1,676 reduced from €2,395 and is described as
'Alexander McQueen's sculpturally tailored white cotton and wool blend piqué coat is an exquisite choice for a modern bride. Step into pumps to accentuate the elegantly tiered Samurai skirt and accentuate the sharp shoulders with chandelier earrings'.
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| Net a Porter/British Monarchy Flickr |
Many thought Kate wore her Reiss Peacock dress underneath.
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| Reiss |
Kate wore a cream hat by couture milliner Jane Corbett (With many thanks to the amazing Anna from My Small Obsessions)
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| Jane Corbett |
The Duchess wore a similar blue hat by Ms Corbett for Trooping the Colour and the milliner expressed her delight via her blog.
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| Jane Corbett Blog |
Kate wore her favourite £185 LK Bennett Sledge shoes.
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| LK Bennett |
Kate wore her beautiful green amethyst Kiki McDonough 18ct gold and diamond drop earrings. They were reportedly a Christmas gift from William. They were available for €2,2271 and are described as
'Make a satorial sparkle with these 18ct gold, citrine and diamond earrings by Kiki McDonough. It will make a precious gift for any style savvy women. These diamond pave small hoop earrings are set in 18ct gold'.
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| Kiki McDonough |
I thought the entire look was wonderful, absolutely love the McQueen coat dress. What did you think?
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| AP |
You can watch a video from the event at ITN Source.
In other news, Kate's visit to the Widehorizons Adventure Centre has made the front of several newspapers today.
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| Daily Mail/Daily Mirror/Daily Express |
Royal Ascot commences tomorrow, Tuesday the 19th and runs until Saturday 23rd. It is definitely possible William and Kate will attend but there has been no official confirmation thus far.
Thanks for all this useful information
ReplyDeleteWonderful post as usual Charlotte! But there's a typo, the Order of the Garter was created in 1348 by Edward III, not 1938! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, I know, I'm afraid this is just a rough post editing it now for the proper one.
DeleteI LOVE this outfit on her and was hoping she'd bring it back. It's clean, chic and very regal. Can't wait for more pics to come.
ReplyDeleteRough or not, thank you for getting it to us so quickly! The Katherine Hooker coat is one of my absolute favourites, Kate looked so serenely beautiful in it. Will wait on verdict on the McQueen coat until better photos.
ReplyDeleteHi - just a great post as usual and so quick. Just to add that its a new hat by Jane Corbett and is in white and (big guess on my part) I think she is wearing white underneath - possibly the Reiss dress worn in 2011 at the Derby?
ReplyDeleteAnother date for your diary:
Thursday 5th July
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh
accompanied by The Princess Royal and The Countess of Strathearn, will attend a Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh for the installation of The Prince William, Earl of Strathearn, as a Knight of the Thistle and attend a lunch as guests of the Knights of the Thistle
Thank you so much for the info on July 5th!
ReplyDeleteUpdating the post with info now! :)
Love how Kate laughed when seeing the garter uniform. They are very funny and I laughed for ever when first seeing them causing people to think I'm even more crazy
ReplyDeleteKate looks gorgeous and I'm just delighted we got to see a full length view of that fabulous coat at last -- it was so tantalising last year when we could only see the top half atlast year's Trooping of the Colour. I think the short length looks so good with that full skirt -- and it's fun that she and the Duchess of Cormwall and Sophie Wessex have teamed up together to make a perfect vision of loveliness -- the Three Graces, anyone?
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Just loving hearing that the two love birds don't need to be near each other to have "their moment". Just their eye contact speaks volumn of their love for each other.
ReplyDeleteI love the dress but did not get to see the hat very good. And I hope it is not true that William has to work on his birthday. But if he does I am sure his Duches will take care of him when he get's home. I thought she was planning a big party but there again you can not believe everything you read in the media.
Thanks Charlotte for this great blog.
This is one of my favourite pieces of hers. So glad she "recycled" it and we got to see it again :-) I think she looks amazing in white and light pastel colors, but then again she looks beautiful in anything!
ReplyDeleteOh I've always wanted to see that dress coat in its entirety! Love it!
ReplyDeleteAlso love how elegant Sophie, Camilla, and Kate look together.
- Sarah
I wonder if Kate read your blog from a couple days ago, and saw our comments that we all wanted to see her wear this coat again?!? :) Haha...
ReplyDelete~ Tracy
This is one of Kate's most beautiful day looks ever! So youthful but still sophisticated. The coat and hat goes together perfectly and yes the shoes work as well. She looks very happy and relaxed and it is always nice to see her in with the other royal family members on a more relaxed way as at the polo yesterday. We are being spoiled rotten by the many appearances this month! Fan from South Africa
ReplyDeleteI only wish the hemline were a bit longer. She looked lovely but also a bit awkward when the other 2 ladies had the perfect length on the knees especially Sophie. It almost looks like she...grew a couple of inch taller since last year. LOL
DeleteNow that would be something if Kate had seen the comments :) One can wish!
ReplyDeleteI think she looked simply incredible today.
She wore a very nice outfit today. I really like the way she varies from new pieces to old ones.
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed that both Camilla and Sophie wore nude heels today?
"Copy-Kate" is not only for commoners!
Yay, I have been waiting for Kate to wear this McQueen dresscoat again to have a full length view of it :) I think this is one of her best outfits ever, she looks simply amazing! The colour, cut, details and full skirt flatter her figure, she looks really elegant but in a youthful way. Love it! I also like her accessories very much, they compliment her outfit very nicely. It's lovely to see Kate, Camilla and Sophie toghether in their coordinated outfits, the three ladies looked very elegant today :)
ReplyDeleteCharlotte,
ReplyDeleteThis is not directly related to this post, but I just wanted to say that I really appreciate you allowing some space for debate here. Of course no one here wants to mingle with "Kate Haters", but I've had to drop a couple of other sites I used to frequent because nothing other than "Kate is perfect and anyone who dares to dislike a hat or dress IS JUST GREEN WITH JEALOUSY". I really like that here I can be free to comment on clothes I love, and honestly say so when she (rarely) picks an outfit that I don't personally love!
That said, I DO love today's outfit. :)
Thanks for running a great blog (and comments section)!
- Sarah
Dear Sarah
DeleteThank you for your lovely comment. Fair debate and discussion is simply essential to running any blog/site. If the owner only wants to hear certain opinions then there isn't much point in making it public. I doubt even Kate herself thinks everything she wears looks great in hindsight :) Some readers like to discuss the couple or the engagements and others the fashion so it's really important to respect all opinions and I think hearing different perspectives is very interesting. So do feel free to speak your mind without any worries of others attacking, it's only comments like that (attacking other posters, trolling or hateful) that are a problem.
Kate looked lovely. No surprise there! :)
ReplyDeleteI like this coat (and the full skirt underneath it) though I must admit I preferred it with the black hat from last year. Or perhaps her diamond and saphire earrings would have provided more of a contrast to the overall look.
Hello Charlotte! I'm so happy to have your blog so I can keep up with William and Kate. Thank you for all your work!
ReplyDeleteLOVE this coat! i've been waiting since last year to see the coat in full-length and it's even better than i thought! love the fitted, tailored top and full skirt, and the white color looks great w her complexion. also really like the earrings w this outfit.
ReplyDeleteand the mcqueen is such a welcome change from her trooping the colours' mother-of-the-bride outfit.
i do think it's slightly odd she wore basically the same hat as 2 days ago, in a different color.
the 3 ladies looked so elegant together! what a great pic.
I wonder if the three ladies coordinated what colors they would be wearing??OUR KATE LOOKS GORGEOUS!!And her head dint swim under the big hat- like the earlier blue one :)I recognized the earrings she wore were from Christmas last year. Any idea on the dress she wore under the coat? I hope Kate can get some rest until the next event on July 5th,,,we may see shopping or walking Lupo sigthings till then :))
ReplyDeleteThe customized Erdem dress can be this dress http://www.erdem.co.uk/collections/pre_spring_2012.php#pic19
ReplyDeleteI just love the fact that the Queen is carrying her purse, even when she´s dressed in the robe!
ReplyDeletei love these three ladies love they coordinated what colours maybe they were talking the countess of wessex looks great to love her hat i love the duchess of cambrige recycle another outfit at least she had that in her ordinary lady before she marry prince william i love the hat
ReplyDeletethis is one of my favorite looks... possibly a top 10 look! she is a stunner :D
ReplyDeleteLove this piece on The Genteel about the Duchess' style: "fit to be Queen"! http://www.thegenteel.com/articles/commentary/fit-for-a-queen
ReplyDeleteThis is really really like a hard compiegn to fine earrings saphirewhen you have too many choices to go, among a pool of styles its not easy to choose for yourself so I often have to go for this confusion but my problems solved when I visited the store pravins and I got a beautiful range over here.
ReplyDelete