The Princess in Black Ensemble for Festival of Remembrance – UPDATED

The Princess of Wales wore a black coatdress as she joined the Prince of Wales and other royal family members at the Festival of Remembrance.

The annual event is held at Royal Albert Hall, and the Legion notes it “honours the service of, and the sacrifices made by, the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces community.” Below, another view of the couple as they arrived. 

Here you see the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, as they arrived.
Embed from Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. 
Embed from Getty Images

The Duke of Gloucester.
Embed from Getty Images
And his wife, the Duchess of Gloucester.
Embed from Getty Images

King Charles, who received a standing ovation when he arrived. 
Embed from Getty Images

The Queen was unable to attend because she has a respiratory infection. More on her condition from this piece in The Telegraph. 

A Palace spokesman said: “Following doctors’ guidance to ensure a full recovery from a seasonal chest infection, and to protect others from any potential risk, Her Majesty will not attend this weekend’s Remembrance events.

“While this is a source of great disappointment to the Queen, she will mark the occasion privately at home and hopes to return to public duties early next week.”

In the Royal Box this evening, you see the Prince and Princess of Wales, King Charles, and Princess Anne. In the second row, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, and Sir Tim Laurence. On the far right, Prince Edward. (Unfortunately, the Duchess of Edinburgh is blocked from view.)
The Prince and Princess and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.  A look at tonight’s program. 

As noted in People’s story, “This year, the festival highlighted the contributions of the World War II generation during the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings, as well as more recent military milestones.” 

More on tonight’s event via The Daily Mail’s coverage. 

Hosted by Adrian Lester, several British music icons took to the stage to honour the servicemen and women, including Sir Tom Jones, Alexandra Burke, Jack Savoretti and many more. 

More on tonight’s festival from this Telegraph story. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales applauded a performance by Sir Tom Jones of I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall with the central band of the Royal Air Force.

The Princess smiled and spoke to the Prince after Sir Tom finished. The King smiled and spoke to the Princess Royal as he joined in with a clap for the Chelsea Pensioners as they made their entrance

Another view. 
Tonight’s engagement comes shortly after Prince William’s return from South Africa and the 2024 Earthshot Awards.

The Prince spoke to reporters during the Earthshot trip about the trials of the past year. More from this Telegraph piece by Hannah Furness. 

Prince William this week spoke of the toll that both his father and wife’s illnesses have taken on the family, saying 2024 had been “brutal” and had “probably been the hardest year in my life”.

He also told reporters, “I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.”

Matt Wilkinson, The Sun’s royal editor, also shared this tonight.

Now for our look at what Kate wore.

Initially, I believed she was in the black coatdress worn for the Queen’s funeral, thinking it a sentimental choice for the evening. If it is the same piece, it was modified to make it a little shorter, make the vee-neckline a little deeper, add metal buttons, and remove some of the volume out of the skirt. But Middleton Maven pointed out that the pleats at the waistline were different, and the material in today’s garment looks like it is a different weight. At this point, I am flummoxed. I don’t think we’ll know the designer until a fashion house confirms it is their design.   

UPDATE SUNDAY, NOV. 10: With thanks to Royal Fashion Police for terrific detective work, it looks like the Princess wore Alexander McQueen. The dress, or coatdress, appears identical to the ivory design initially worn for a June 2021 G-7 reception in Cornwall.

The cut, button placement, left chest pocket, flare at the cuff, pleats at the waist, and the number of buttons are the same on both garments. My guess is the black version was acquired around the time the ivory dress was purchased. We know the princess likes to buy designs in multiple colors. The piece was worn again for the Platinum Jubilee Trooping the Colour parade in June 2022. 

Because there is confusion about the presence of a pocket on the black version, here is a digitally treated image showing the outline of that design element. 

The Princess carried her Chanel bag, the brand’s Classic Mini Flap Bag ($3350). It is made of lambskin and has a detachable metal chain, measuring roughly 5″ x 7″ x 1.5″.

The Princess brought back the Collingwood Pearl and Diamond Earrings that originally belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. They are shown here when worn on Remembrance Sunday 2021. 

She also wore her Monica Vinader Nura Pearl Drop Necklace ($186), what looks like a paper poppy, and the badge of the Fleet Air Arm. The Princess was appointed their Commodore-in-Chief in September 2023.

We learn more about the tradition of wearing poppies in this People article.

Every November, the British royals are known to sport red poppy pins in honor of Remembrance Day on Nov. 11, which is also called Armistice Day and popularly known as Veteran’s Day in the U.S. Since 1921, the poppy has been used to commemorate military members who have died in wars, and the red flower is closely associated with British and Commonwealth countries for Remembrance on Nov. 11.

It looked like the Princess wore her Jimmy Choo ‘Romy’ Black Velvet Pumps.

The Princess is confirmed to attend Remembrance Sunday ceremonies at the Cenotaph tomorrow morning.