Remembrance Weekend 2019

 

This weekend, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined Her Majesty The Queen and other Members of The Royal Family for events surrounding Remembrance Day.

 

Festival of Remembrance:  

On Saturday, November 9th, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined The Queen and other members of the Royal Family to attend the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

The Festival of Remembrance has been hosted annually since 1923 by the Legion to commemorate all those who have lost their lives in conflicts. The Duke and Duchess watching below:

 

A poignant moment as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stand with the rest of the Royal Albert Hall to pay tribute to Bereaved families. Leading them was Fin Doherty, who is in the army and also lost his brother, JJ, who died in 2008 while serving with the Parachute Regiment when his patrol was ambushed by the Taliban in Helmand province.

The Royal Albert Hall stands to pay tribute to bereaved families at the #FestivalOfRemembrance.

They are led out by Fin Doherty. pic.twitter.com/OynFNAGBIy

— Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) November 9, 2019

 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have attended annually since 2016 (except when The Duchess went solo in 2017 because The Duke had another engagement).

 

Earlier in the Week, The Duke of Cambridge presented the music director for the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance, Captain Cole, with his MBE.

Congratulations David Cole MBE, honoured at Buckingham Palace by The Duke of Cambridge.

Captain Cole is the musical director of @PoppyLegion’s annual #FestivalofRemembrance, where we commemorate all those who have lost their lives in conflict. pic.twitter.com/JDJklian16

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 5, 2019

 

Watch the full thing here:

 

For the Festival, The Duchess of Cambridge wore a dress that is thought to be Jenny Packham but is so far unconfirmed. She paired it with a gorgeous Zara headband, a new Alexander McQueen clutch, and her Jimmy Choo black velvet pumps.

 

Catherine also wore 3 poppy flowers on top of what looks like her acorn brooch. The poppies were the flowers that grew on the battlefields after World War I. The Royal Family where poppies on their clothes from the end of October until after the Remembrance events.

 

The Duchess has for some time now worn three poppies. Lots of possibilities behind the reasoning have speculated but the largely accepted one is that it’s to honor 3 of her relatives (Francis, Maurice, and Lionel Lupton) who all served and died in WWI.

 

 

Remembrance Sunday

On Sunday, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the annual Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph.

 

Remembrance Sunday commemorates British service members who have died in wars and other military conflicts since the onset of World War I.

 

The Duchess of Cambridge stood on a balcony of the Foreign Office and Commonwealth Building above with Her Majesty The Queen and The Duchess of Cornwall…

 

While The Duke of Cambridge laid a wreath at the cenotaph with members of his family. Some nice insight: “The word cenotaph means ‘empty tomb’ and it symbolises the unprecedented losses suffered during the First World War”.

 

Video of the wreath laying:

Another (better) view of the wreath laying: pic.twitter.com/Uya6hvmzP6

— Tea Time With The Cambridges (@TeaCambridges) November 10, 2019

 

A sweet moment between the top 3 ladies:

The Duchess of Cambridge shares a moment with The Queen and The Duchess of Cornwall as they watch the Remembrance Sunday Service. pic.twitter.com/wyuXmsNf31

— Tea Time With The Cambridges (@TeaCambridges) November 10, 2019

 

This day isn’t about fashion but The Duchess wore a new single poppy  brooch that is known as the ‘Codebreakers Brooch’. This brooch is a perfect tribute to Catherine’s grandmother, Valerie Middleton, who was a codebreaker during World War II. Each brooch comes with a certificate to remember one of the 13,000 men and women on the Bletchley Park Roll of Honor.

 

A poignant photo to end off the events remembering the lives that were lost:

 

November 7th:

On Thursday, November 7th, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the launch of the National Emergencies Trust at the St. Martin Fields.

 

The National Emergencies Trust (NET) is an independent charity which will provide an emergency response to disasters in the UK. The trust will work collaboratively with charities and other bodies to direct public donations to NET appeals, and to distribute funds fairly and efficiently at the time of a national emergency.

 

Upon their arrival, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met a small group of people affected by previous disasters, including the Grenfell Tower fire and the Westminster Bridge terrorist attack.

 

Meeting the group of young girls who sang in the choir for The Duke and Duchess:

 

The Duke of Cambridge gave a speech at the launch where he said: “It has been humbling to speak to survivors of the London Bridge and Manchester attacks, the Cumbria floods, the Grenfell Tower fire and other disasters here in the UK. Their stories are as heart-breaking as they are inspiring. Their resilience and strength are deeply humbling”.

 

The Duke of Cambridge has been extremely involved particularly with the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower Fire. In 2017, he joined The Queen to visit the people in Grenfell. He was seen embracing a women who could not find a family member after the fire and promised the people he would return…

 

And he did! In May 2018 he went back and helped rebuild some buildings and appeared on DIYSOS.

 

A video of The Duke’s speech:

“Whenever and wherever disaster strikes here in the UK, this country has a unique way of pulling together.”

The Duke of Cambridge at the launch of @NatEmergTrust, an independent charity which will provide an emergency response to disasters in the UK. pic.twitter.com/ALVx6GxPy3

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 7, 2019

 

Is it truly a royal engagement without some puppy time?

 

For the engagement, The Duchess of Cambridge wore a new blue dress created by Emilia Wickstead with an Aspinal x Beulah clutch she has had for years and a new pair of Jimmy Choo pumps.

 

A video of the engagement:

 

That same day in the evening, The Duke of Cambridge attended a gala for London’s Air Ambulance Charity. The Duke, a former air ambulance pilot, became patron in January of this year for their 30th anniversary campaign.

 

A video of his engagement which includes the speech he gave: