Somber Kate Marks Remembrance Sunday

Every year, on the Sunday closest to the 11th of November, the Queen and senior members of her family gather with government leaders at the Cenotaph to pay tribute to the country's fallen. In the often gloomy and grey winter morning, troops line magnificent Whitehall as the Monarch places the first wreath of red poppies at the base of the war monument. From the balcony of the Foreign Office, the spouses of those senior royals partaking in the tribute, watch somberly. Today, for the sixth consecutive year, Kate stood by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall and HRH the Countess of Wessex on the principle balcony.

I have been watching The Crown on Netflix, as I think have all royal fans, so I Googled the Elizabeth's first Remembrance Sunday as queen and this video from 1952 surfaced:

Today, the 90 year old monarch, still flanked by the Duke of Edinburgh, but now also by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, laid her wreath at the Cenotaph. Really remarkable the span of her reign.

Kate made her first appearance on the Foreign Office balcony in 2011, wearing a double-breasted Diane von Fürstenberg coat that featured elaborate embroidery on the collar and at the cuffs. She wore that coat again in 2012, and today she recycled it for its third appearance at a Remembrance Sunday. Here she is, radiantly gorgeous, in 2011 wearing the DVF Lio coat.

Kate almost always mixes a debut item with a recycle for Remembrance Sunday. 2011, by necessity, was a complete debut, since she was a newly minted royal. In 2012, she recycled the same coat and paired it with a hat that walked the line between debut and recycle.

It was the hat's first royal appearance, but long-time Kate fans were already familiar with the Philip Treacy piece thanks to its first outing in December of 2006 when Kate wore it to William's Passing Out Parade at Sandhurst.

In 2013, Kate recycled her hat and wore a new Temperley coat.  The duchess surprised fans by styling her hair in long banana curls. It was a coiffure which would be done away in relatively short order.

In 2014, the pregnant duchess recycled that wildly popular first hat and paired it with a new coat from Alexander McQueen. This is one of my favorite looks, and I still think she looks like the Duchess of Devonshire or Lady Blakeney.

Finally, just last year, Kate wore a second entirely new ensemble for her appearance on the balcony next to the extremely stylish Queen Maxima, who was a visiting London with her husband King Willem-Alexander.

Following her general protocol, this year Kate paired her recycled coat with a new hat from (I think it must be) John Boyd. This gracious, full-brimmed chapeau is in the same style as the dove-grey hat Kate wore to the Commonwealth Service at Westminster in March of this year.

I know not everyone loved that ensemble, but it really wowed me. Kate wears so many perchers that it is a treat and a pleasure when she wears a broad brim. Today's hat has a more rounded shape, but if I had to guess (which is exactly what I am doing right now) I'd say it is Boyd.

Today was a big win for Kate. The pictures showed this coat off to its best advantage. I have to say, I had never really noticed the extra detailing along bodice and I think these pictures also show off the extravagant cuffs to best advantage, too. This is the first time Kate has worn her hair up for Remembrance Sunday, choosing to style it in this chic side chignon she recently highlighted in Canada. It is very sophisticated and the asymmetry is a nice twist on her usual updo. Kate added a touch of sparkle (after last night's rather lackluster showing) with new earrings on loan from the Queen. Well done, Your Royal Highness. This was a princess perfect.

P.S. Today is the first anniversary of that terrible, terrible night at the Stade de France, at the cafes in the 10th, and the atrocities of the Bataclan. For me, and I am sure many, a year has not dimmed the horror of that night as the news of Paris under siege unfolded. One year on, the families of the victims, and indeed those who were lost, remain in our prayers.

Mass at Notre-Dame for the Victims of the 13th of November