Over the weekend members of the royal family joined the Queen at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday and the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph at Whitehall on Sunday, to honour all those who have lost their lives in conflict.
And while it’s normal for people to wear poppies to commemorate those who have fallen, The Duchess of Cambridge chose a very special poppy to wear to the Remembrance Sunday service – The Codebreakers Brooch.
Duchess Catherine wore a very special brooch for a very touching reason. (Image: Getty)
The brooch is especially special to the duchess, who opted to wear in a touching tribute to her grandmother Valerie Glassborow and her great-aunt Mary, who both served as codebreakers at Bletchley Park – where the Enigma code was broken – during World War II.
In May, Kate paid a special visit to Bletchley Park, to see her grandmother and great-aunt become the latest additions to Bletchley’s Codebreakers’ Wall of Honour.
During her visit, Kate said: “My granny and her sister worked her. It’s very cool.
“When she was alive sadly she could never talk about it. She was so sworn to secrecy that she never felt able to tell us.”
The Queen is also known to take a special approach to the poppies she wears – opting for five poppies, which is thought to represent each service in the war; the Army, the Navy, the RAF, the Civil Defence and women, Hello! reports.
Duchess Catherine stood alongside the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall on the balcony of the Foreign Office for the service, while they watched the Prince of Wales and the Dukes of Cambridge, Sussex and York lay wreaths at the Cenotaph.
Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Prince William during the Remembrance Sunday service. (Image: Getty)
The Duchess of Sussex was also in attendance, standing alongside the Countess of Wessex and Sir Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne’s husband and while some might be quick to assume this may be a slight against her, as royal experts have noted in the past, not only are the balconies very small and impossible to fit more than three people, there is also a royal “pecking order”.
Speaking to People about how Meghan wasn’t front and centre last year, Majesty magazine’s managing editor Joe Little said: “She was not as prominent perhaps as some people might have expected, but there’s a pecking order.
“There was no slight intended, but William being the older, more senior brother would go out [first] with his wife.”
In saying this, it therefore makes perfect sense that the two women joining her Majesty would be the two future Queens of England.
Meghan joined the Queen’s daughter-in-law and wife to Prince Edward, Sophie, Countess of Wessex for the Remembrance Sunday service. (Image: Getty)
The day prior, members of the royal family also joined the Queen to attend the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, this year commemorating and honouring those from Britain, the Commonwealth and the Allies who made victory possible in the Second World War.
The Duchess Meghan arrived wearing a beautiful black jacquard dress, believed to be a bespoke number by Erdem, paired with Aquazzura pumps and ruby earrings by New Zealand designer Jessica McCormack.
Meghan was in good spirits as she made her way to the Festival of Remembrance on Saturday. (Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, Duchess Catherine looked chic in a dark blue dress by Zara, which she paired with black pumps, a navy headband and pearl earrings borrowed from the Queen.
Duchess Catherine opted for high street retailer Zara for her Festival of Remembrance look. (Image: Getty)
The engagement marked the first joint event for the Cambridges and Sussexes since July, when they went for a family day out at the charity polo – now six-month-old Archie’s first public appearance.
From this week the Sussexes will be having an extended break from royal duties – with the understanding that they’ll be heading to Los Angeles to spend Thanksgiving with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland before they return in time to celebrate Christmas with the royal family in Sandringham.
