The Duchess in Familiar Styles for Imperial War Museum Visit

The Duchess of Cambridge was in familiar pieces for a visit to the Imperial War Museum in London today. 

Simon Perry of People posted a video of her arriving.

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge has had a reunion with some of the subjects of her poignant photo project with Holocaust survivors and their families at the @I_W_M today U.K. prepares to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in wartime, she opened 2 new galleries there pic.twitter.com/fg9Uux8pN7

— Simon Perry (@SPerryPeoplemag) November 10, 2021

 The Duchess was at the Museum to officially open two new galleries: The Second World War Galleries and The Holocaust Galleries.  The new Second World War Galleries display more than 1,500 items from 80 countries “that bring to life the impact of the Second World War on millions of people.”

They include “extraordinary historical documents such as the rare birth certificate of living Holocaust Survivor Eva Clarke, one of very few people to be born in a concentration camp who survived past liberation” per the Museum.  In this image the Duchess is viewing a typical kitchen from the era.

The Duchess then toured The Holocaust Galleries, created to tell the individual stories of some of the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust. 

This new gallery includes more than 2,000 photos, books, artworks, letters, and personal belongings.

The Duchess as she saw the Holocaust Galleries. 

After touring the two new galleries, the Duchess viewed the exhibition “Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors.” 

The exhibit features more than 50 images of Holocaust survivors who made the UK their home after the war.  It is a collaborative effort of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust along with The Jewish News and the Royal Photographic Society (Kate is Royal Patron of the RPS), and Dangoor Education.  More from the Museum site:

The systematic persecution of Europe’s Jews by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945 led to the mass extermination of 6 million lives. For those who survived, its memory and impact were life-changing.

Through a series of individual and family portraits, the moving photographs in this exhibition present a group of survivors who made the UK their home after beginnings marked by unimaginable loss and trauma. While offering a space to remember and share their stories, these portraits are a celebration of the rich lives they have lived and the special legacy which their children and grandchildren will carry into the future. 

The exhibit includes two photo portraits the Duchess shot.  Many readers will probably remember reading about the images in this January 2020 post. Below, survivor Yvonne Bernstein and her granddaughter, Chloe Wright. In the photo, Ms. Bernstein holds her ID card from Germany, dated “3 March 1939” and marked with a “J” for “Jude,” or Jewish.

The second photo shot by the Duchess shows survivor Steven Frank and his granddaughters, Maggie and Trixie.

The Duchess took the photographs at Kensington Palace. Below, you see her chatting with Mr. Frank and his granddaughters during the shoot.

The two portraits shot by the Duchess.

The photo of Mr. Frank and his granddaughters was used on the cover of a special edition of The Jewish News in January 2020. 

 

More form The Daily Mail’s coverage of today’s engagement.

As she walked into the room to greet Steven, she could be seen extending her arms and asking for ‘a big cuddle’, before the Holocaust survivor extended out his arms to offer her a hug, saying: ‘Are we allowed to do that now?’ 

Steven, 84, was among only a handful of children to make it out alive from the last of the many concentration camps he was sent to. By then his father had been gassed to death for speaking out against the Nazis.

Meanwhile Yvonne, 82, was hidden as a child in France throughout most of the Second World War and her uncle was seized and murdered for shielding her.

Here the Duchess at the museum with Ms. Bernstein and her granddaughter, Chloe. 

 

The Duchess speaking with Mr. Frank.

In a truly remarkable moment Hungarian-born John Hajdu, 82, explained to Kate that the threadbare teddy tucked into his top pocket had escaped with him first the onslaught of the Nazis, then Soviet occupation, and finally the Hungarian revolution when he made his way to England

A video of the Duchess chatting with Mr. Hajdu.

And teddy was with you all the time,’ Kate marvelled. ‘Wow, goodness me, what a story.
‘I hope parents explain these stories to their children to ensure it never happens again. ‘ @I_W_M pic.twitter.com/67hv9IdAgz

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) November 10, 2021

 The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust posted on social media about the Duchess’s involvement.

 

Karen Pollock, the Trust’s CEO, noted the Duchess was “demonstrating yet again the importance of educating about the Holocaust and her clear personal dedication to our cause.”

The War Museum has released a book to coincide with the opening of the new galleries, The Holocaust. 

More about the book from the Museum: 

Published to coincide with the much-aniticated opening of the new Seond World War and Holocaust galleries at Imperial War Museum London, in 2021, this is an essential book for anyone with an interest in the everyday realities of one of the most brutal and significant wars in modern history.

Many unique images from the IWM’s Second World War and Holocaust collection are included, some being published for the first time.

We now make a hard turn to take a quick glance at what Kate wore for today’s engagement.

The Duchess brought back a Catherine Walker coat first worn for engagements in the West Midlands this past May.

And an Alexander McQueen blouse that was first noted in 2011 for an engagement in Birmingham, then seen again in June 2014 for a visit to Bletchley Park, and again in May 2016 at an 1861 Trust engagement in Portsmouth.

The silk-georgette blouse showcased military-style frogging on the front, gold buttons at the cuffs and on the front, a stand collar, and ruffles at the waist.

I have not yet had a good look at her trousers. UPDATE: The Duchess may have been wearing an LK Bennett style, the Frieda Cigarette Trouser ($195).

It looked like the Duchess was in a new pair of navy suede pumps. Middleton Maven suggests they are the Gianvito Rossi 85 style ($675).

The Duchess wore her sapphire and diamond earrings and a poppy.

Here you see the Duchess as she was leaving the Museum. 

We expect to see the Duke and Duchess at the annual Festival of Remembrance on Saturday and again for  Remembrance Sunday the following day. 

LINKAGE: 

• Visit the Imperial War Museum site here; the Museum’s Twitter feed is here; its Facebook page is here, and its YouTube channel is here. 
• Visit the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust site here; the organization’s Facebook page is here; its Twitter feed is here and Instagram page here; click here to read about International Holocaust Memorial Day as set by the UN General Assembly. 
• Read Justin Cohen’s full Jewish News piece on the origins of the survivor photo project and Kate’s involvement by clicking here.