The Duchess Wears Alexander McQueen for Memorial Service

Kate and William were among the many royal family members at today’s memorial service for the sixth Duke of Westminster.

From Victoria Murphy’s Daily Mirror story:

They were joined by Prince Charles and wife Camilla as well as a host of other royals and VIP guests in the 2,000-strong congregation paying respects to the Duke, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor.

The service was at the Chester Cathedral in Cheshire, about 200 miles north of London. From The Daily Telegraph:

As the Grosvenor family and their guests sang hymns such as Praise My Soul the King of Heaven at the memorial service, the streets of this small cathedral city were lined with people huddling together in the crisp autumn chill hoping to pay their respects to a man who did so much for Chester and its surrounding countryside.

There are many ties between the families. From The Daily Mail’s article about the service:

A confidante and close friend of many senior royals, Prince Charles asked the Duke of Westminster to become a private mentor and guide to a young Prince William.

Prince William, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge are all regular visitors to the Grosvenor properties.

Lady Tamara is married to Prince William’s best friends, Edward van Cutsem, and William and Harry were both ushers at their wedding in 2004.

It was the late Duke who loaned Kate and William his private jet several times when the Cambridge family traveled on vacations. Natalia Phillips, the Duke’s widow, is one of Prince William’s godmothers. Hugh Grosvenor, now the 7th Duke of Westminster at just 25 years of age, is godfather to Prince George. Back to The Telegraph’s coverage:

The Duke of Cambridge – for whom a ripple of respectful applause went up through the sunlit square when he arrived, accompanied by the Duchess of Cambridge – also gave a reading, performing the Garter Prayer, part of the annual service for Knights of the Order of the Garter, with which the late Duke had been honoured.

Below left is Princess Eugenie and behind William and Kate, you can see Prince Michael of Kent.

A look through the lens of royal photographer Mark Stewart, aka RegalEyes.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at Chester Cathedral for the Memorial Service for the late Duke of Westminster. pic.twitter.com/6Jq7LED0to

— Mark Stewart (@RegalEyes) November 28, 2016

Now to what Kate wore for the service.

Many readers recognized her bespoke Alexander McQueen coat, first seen at Remembrance Sunday in 2015. On that occasion, the Duchess paired it with a hat by Sylvia Fletcher for Lock & Co. 

As noted in our original post, Kate’s coat has a fitted bodice and full skirt, slightly padded shoulders, double-breasted styling, a buttoned tab at the back waist and a center back pleat. The garment’s most distinctive feature is its panels of black velvet mixed with the black wool. The coat shared several design elements Alexander McQueen’s Double-Breasted Patchwork Compact Felt Coat from the pre-fall 2015 collection.

These photos have been digitally treated to lighten them up in an effort to better show some of the coat details, including the way the cuff flares out at the wrist, shown below right.

This offers another view. You can just see the scalloped edge of something Kate has on beneath her coat. NOTE: In comments, Blair and Tina suggest that is just fabric bunching up a little bit, not a separate garment, I think they are correct.

Here you can better see the back waistband details and the flaps/peplum detail at the side hip. They are a decorative component, not pocket flaps.

How they appear from the front.

The Duchess was in a familiar pair of heels, her Gianvito Rossi black suede pumps. We show them below at Net-a-Porter ($670), where they are available in a mix of sizes. They are offered at My Theresa in most sizes ($675); as well as 

The chapeau is the John Boyd design worn earlier this month for Remembrance Sunday.

Kate carried her Pretty Ballerinas velvet clutch with the floppy bow.

You may have recognized the earrings as one of the pairs on loan to Kate by the Queen. Most recently they were worn in October when Kate visited the Netherlands (c); the pearls were first noted in September when the Duke and Duchess spent a day in Vancouver during the Canada tour (r)

Here you can see a little bit of Kate’s updo.

One ancillary note: It was announced yesterday the Queen’s very close friend and confidant, Margaret Rhodes, passed away. From The Sunday Express:

THE QUEEN is mourning the death of her “best friend” and beloved cousin, the Honourable Margaret Rhodes.

“They remained close throughout the Queen’s reign and Her Majesty continued to be a regular visitor at Mrs Rhodes’s Windsor home until very recently.

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We leave you with a quick reminder about our giveaway with StyleRocks: if you’ve not yet entered, scoot on over to this post and get yourself entered. The contest closes at midnight Wednesday night, and you could be the lucky winner of this beautiful StyleRocks Woven Diamonds ring.

LINKAGE:

• The Chester Chronicle has a very good gallery here with many of the relatives and other attendees.
• The Daily Mail’s story is here; The Express story is here; The Mirror’s article is here; The Standard’s story is here; The Telegraph’s piece is here