Kate in Whistles and McQueen for Jubilee Concert, Prince William & will.i.am Party Together

Tonight’s Diamond Jubilee concert sounded extraordinary, with more than 500,000 people lining the streets around Buckingham Palace for the event.

Before we get to What Kate Wore we want to explain the absence of one of tonight’s key figures, Prince Philip. The Duke of Edinburgh was taken to the hospital this afternoon, suffering from what physicians believe to be a bladder infection. He will not be at tomorrow’s Service of Thanksgiving or any of the other events and is not expected to be released from the hospital for several days.

Queen Elizabeth arrived around 9pm. 

Some thought she was running late because of the Duke’s illness but that was not the case according to the Telegraph:

Buckingham Palace aides said that the Queen had always intended to arrive at that time, and that her late arrival was not connected to the Duke’s illness.

Her thoughts may have been elsewhere as she watched the second half of the concert, but she appeared to be enjoying herself nonetheless…

Tom Jones performing. 

A wide shot. 

Shirley Bassey. 

Kate opted for a dress by one of her favorite labels, Whistles.

Once information about the dress brand was released by the palace, Leisa George-Meigh was speedy, sharing on the WKW Facebook page that it looked like Kate was in the ‘Bella Body-Conscious Dress” by Whistles.

The piece is from an older season (I believe 2011) and is no longer available in this print.  Most recently it was sold at ASOS for $260.93. The frock is described this way:

• Bodysuit: 92% Silk, 8% Elastane
• Lining: 96% Polyester, 4% Elastane
• The belt does not come with the garment and is for styling purposes only

In these photos, you can see some of the design elements Kate favors, like the waist detailing and ruching front and back, there is also an exposed metal zipper.

Thanks also to Anna of My Small Obsessions for tweeting so quickly with the ID as well.

Grazia shared this comparison, one of the only photos we have seen of Kate standing up, as she applauds the Queen’s arrival. 

The Duchess was also in an Alexander McQueen shearling jacket, but we have yet to locate the specific piece that Kate wore. Kate appeared to be sporting new earrings, as well as the Tiffany Diamonds by the Yard bracelet seen on many previous occasions. The earrings appear to be hoops wrapped or embellished with some form of decor.

The weather was much nicer than yesterday, a little nippy but mostly sunny, although there was some rain. 

The crowds were enormous, here is a shot from the scaffolding used by the BBC, who put on the concert, with thanks to Kevin Bakhurst of the BBC.

Much of the organizational work for the event was done by Gary Barlow, one of Kate & William’s favorite singers. Below we see him before the show with BBC2 Radio host Chris Evans.

Among the entertainers, Sir Elton John, Kylie Minogue, and Rolf Harris.

Sir Elton played one of Kate and William’s wedding songs, the classic “Your Song,” as well as “Crocodile Rock”. Appropriately enough, he also played “I’m Still Standing”.

Sir Tom Jones tweeted these photos, asking “How’s this for a stage set?”

And will.i.am shared this picture with the caption “Me and my crew holding down the royal palace while people celebrate the diamond jubilee.”

One of the highlights had to be 80s band Madness performing their classic “Our House”.

Where were they when performing the hit song? You guessed it, atop Buckingham Palace, look at the upper right hand corner in these photos from the British Monarchy (above) and CNN’s David Wilkinson (below).

Once the music ended Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and others moved to the stage for a brief program, singer Cheryl Cole tweeted “This image will live with me Forever. I could never have dreamed of this moment.”

Prince Charles spoke to the crowd, noting it was sad the Duke wasn’t able to be at the event; tomorrow’s papers also recognize Prince Philip’s absence:

More on Prince Charles’ tribute to his mother from the Daily Mail:

Standing on stage with his mother the Queen a few feet away, Charles told hundreds of thousands who had gathered to watch the star-studded event that they were ‘celebrating the life and service of a very special person’.

To hear the address Prince Charles made, click here for ITV’s story:

The Queen then lit the last of 4000+ official Jubilee Beacons around the world.

The evening concluded with what is said to have been a spectacular fireworks show.  (We did not have a live stream or other means of seeing the show, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow night.)

Here is a look from Georgina Brewer of ITV News.

At the Queen’s request, younger royals hosted a party at the Palace following the concert, below we see Prince William with will.i.am

And members of British Boy Band JLS tweeted about the party:

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Three quick reminders:

• US viewers can watch an edited version of the concert on ABC tomorrow (Tuesday, 6/5/) at 9pm EDT
• Tomorrow’s activities get underway with the National Service of Thanksgiving at 10:30am BST (5:30am EDT, that’s 2:30am PDT)
• BBC America coverage starts at 4:15am EDT

Members of the Royal Family attending the Service include:

• The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
• The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
• Prince Henry of Wales
• The Duke of York and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie
• The Earl and Countess of Wessex and Lady Louise Windsor
• The Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Phillips, and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Tindall
• Viscount and Viscountess Linley, the Hon. Charles Armstrong-Jones and the Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones
• The Lady Sarah and Mr. Daniel Chatto, Master Samuel Chatto and Master Arthur Chatto
• The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Earl and Countess of Ulster, the Lady Davina and Mr. Gary Lewis, and the Lady Rose and Mr. George Gilman
• The Duke and Duchess of Kent, the Earl and Countess of St. Andrews, the Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor, and the Lady Helen and Mr. Timothy Taylor
• Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, The Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor, and the Lady Gabriella Windsor
• Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy, and Mr. and Mrs. James Ogilvy

Some royals, including the Queen, then head to Mansion House (the Mayor’s official residence) for a reception luncheon. Other royals, including William & Kate, Harry, Charles & Camilla, hgost everyone else from the St. Paul’s service at the Guildhall. (It’s possible Charles will be moved to the Mansion House reception, standing in for Prince Philip.)

At 12:45pm (7:45am EDT) the Queen and other senior royals will be trumpeted into Westminster Hall by the State Trumpeters.

Following lunch, the much-anticipated carriage processional gets underway, although the weather may make it difficult to see those in the carriages very well.

Links for more information:

• For a full schedule visit the official Diamond Jubilee website
• To download the Order of Service for tomorrow, click here
• To see a map of the carriage procession route, click here
• To see the Mirror‘s album of 60 photos from tonight’s concert, click here

We’ll see you tomorrow!