The Duchess in Emilia Wickstead for Jubilee Service at St. Paul’s

The Duchess chose an Emilia Wickstead dress for today’s National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral.

The service is part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, four days of events celebrating HM’s remarkable 70-year reign. Unfortunately, the Queen didn’t attend today’s service. After Trooping the Colour yesterday, Buckingham Palace announced HM was experiencing “some discomfort” and decided with “great reluctance” that she would not attend today’s service. Below, HM at yesterday’s flypast.

The Queen did take part in the lighting of a Jubilee Beacon at Windsor Castle last night.

The royal family was well represented today. Below, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall as they arrived for today’s service.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. 

Princess Anne and Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence are greeted by the Lord Mayor of London, Vincent Keaveny.

The Lord Mayor is an international ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services sector, elected annually. Below, the Wessex family is greeted by the Lord Mayor.

Crowds of people lined the streets near the cathedral. 

Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank. 

A video with some of the arrivals. 

With the Queen watching from home, the royal family came out in full force to attend a church service at St. Paul’s Cathedral for the monarch’s #PlatinumJubilee.

LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/XC9P1D1hXa pic.twitter.com/pNnCY1aYnt

— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 3, 2022

You hear the church bell ringing in videos from today. More from Tatler’s coverage. 

Both prior to and following the service, the St Paul’s Cathedral Guild of Ringers rang Stedman Cinques, joined by the largest church bell in the UK, Great Paul. Weighing more than 16 tons, the service marked the first royal occasion the bell has been rung at since it underwent restoration in 2021. At the conclusion of the event, the peal of bells will ring out continuously for around four hours.

Mike and Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips, Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor (Sophie Winkleman).

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 

More than 250 service personnel formed a guard of honor lined the steps and entrances to the cathedral.

The Duke and Duchess as they head up the cathedral steps.

Another view of the Duchess.

A look inside St. Paul’s.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall greet the Duke and Duchess.

The Wessex family. 

Another view. 

Details on guests invited to the service via this Times of London story. 

The congregation included more than 400 key workers, charity volunteers and members of the armed forces who were invited to the service in recognition of their contribution to public life.

As befitting a queen who is head of state in 15 countries, the congregation was truly international. There were high commissioners and ambassadors from across the world, as well as governors general and clergy from world faiths.

Princess Anne and the Cambridges.

The State Trumpeters. 

There was quite a crowd of notable names. Below, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Home Secretary Priti Patel, and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

Below you see former prime ministers Theresa May (green dress) and David Cameron with spouses Philip May and Samantha Cameron (blue print dress). Ms. Cameron founded and runs Cefinn, a fashion brand the Duchess has worn.

Former prime ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. 

The service included “bible readings, anthems, prayers and congregational hymns, expressing thankfulness for The Queen’s reign, faith and service; desire to foster unity and peace amongst all peoples; and commitment to care for God’s creation.” 

More about military participation in the service via this Forces story. 

The Royal Navy was represented by sailors from ships HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Lancaster, which both enjoy a special relationship with The Queen, The Duke of Lancaster.

Inside, The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines provided music during the service.

Which were joined by four State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and nine Fanfare Trumpets of the Royal Air Force.

Below, the Fanfare Trumpets of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force.

The Tindalls and Peter Phillips. 

You can see Princess Beatrice, Jack Brooksbank, Prince Harry, the Wessexes, and the Duke of Gloucester. 

We have some details on the service via this BBC story.

Mr. Johnson gave a reading from St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians in the New Testament, beginning: “Rejoice in the Lord always”.

The sermon was given by the Archbishop of York after Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, tested positive for coronavirus last week.

The Prime Minister. 

Among today’s hymns was a new anthem by Judith Weir, Master of The Queen’s Music, that sets to music words from the third chapter of the Book of Proverbs.

More from The Guardian’s coverage. 

The archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has described his job of delivering the sermon as a “slightly terrifying gig”, having stepped in at the 11th hour after Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, contracted Covid.

Cottrell, who has preached in church in the Queen’s presence, told BBC’s Radio 4 programme he was confident the Queen “wants to hear about the Christian faith, which is what has motivated her and sustained her throughout her life, throughout her reign.”

More on the sermon from the BBC.

Referencing the Queen’s love of horse racing and Saturday’s Epsom Derby – which will mark the Jubilee – Mr Cottrell praised the monarch’s endurance over her reign.

He said: “Your Majesty, we’re sorry you’re not with us this morning in person, but you are still in the saddle. And we are all glad that there is still more to come.

“So, thank you for staying the course. Thank you for continuing to be faithful to the pledges you made 70 years ago. Thank you for showing us how service and faithfulness matter. People of all faiths and none can learn from this.”

Senior royals as they were leaving the service.

A quick video. 

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall and the #DukeandDuchessofCambridge leaving @StPaulsLondon.

???? ZDF #PlatinumJubilee pic.twitter.com/HvaSRtouRx

— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) June 3, 2022

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall as they exited the church.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. 

Princess Anne, Sir Tim Laurence, and the Wessex family. 

Another view.

Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Jack Brooksbank, Princess Eugenie and Mike Tindall.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the Tindalls, and Peter Phillips. 

Lord Frederick Windsor and Sophie Winkleman with Lady Gabriella Windsor, and her husband, Thomas Kingston. (Some may recall our coverage of  Lady Gabriella’s 2019 wedding.) 

After the church service, many of the royals attended a reception hosted by the Lord Mayor and the City of London Corporation. How do you move a Passel of royals from one place to another?

The royals who arent travelling by car with outriders have hopped on a very ordinary coach to make their way home. It has a small crown on the front, for added jubilee pic.twitter.com/c95vzFe1UG

— Hannah Furness (@Hannah_Furness) June 3, 2022

Below, the Duchess of Cornwall is welcomed at the Guildhall.

Colonel Simon Duckworth greets the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

More about the reception via The Daily Mirror. 

Guests tucked into a selection of tasty canapés including smoked Norfolk duck breast with grapes and balsamic, smoked salmon and dill, beetroot shortbread with whipped goats cheese and cocktail sausages. There was also a buffet including coronation chicken with grapes and rice salad, Welsh shephard’s pie, cod and chips, trout and rare fillets of Hereford beef.

For desert they were treated to vanilla clotted cream ice cream and chocolate dipped in strawberries.

They were also served English sparkling wine and wines from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Those not drinking could order non-alcoholic beverages including a cranberry bellini.

The Duke of Gloucester, a cousin to the Queen, and his wife, the Duchess of Gloucester.

The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

Prince and Princess Michael; the Prince is the Queen’s cousin.

Lady Sarah Chatto, Princess Margaret’s daughter, and son Arthur, in his Royal Marines uniform.

Zara Tindall and Sophie Winkleman. 

The Mirror also reports that Lord Mayor Vincent Keaveny spoke about the Queen at today’s event, “…telling guests: ‘We are immensely grateful for her 70 years of service to the United Kingdom and to the Commonwealth that we are celebrating today.'”

Now for our look at styles worn by attendees at today’s service. We begin with the Duchess of Cornwall, who wore an embroidered coatdress by Fiona Clare and a hat by Philip Treacy.

I loved this image of Princess Anne. The Court Jeweller reports she was wearing “her gold and diamond stalactite brooch, and her gold, pearl, and diamond Andrew Grima earrings.” I don’t know who designed her ensemble.  UPDATE JUNE 6: With thanks to Frances and Jane for their comments, the ensemble is by Shibumi. The brand notes on Instagram she wore their Avani Coat atop the Hepburn Dress, both (I think) in Smoky Blue. Here is a link to an article about Princess Anne’s fondness for the label and pieces they have created for her.  

The Countess of Wessex wore the Alessia dress by Suzannah London with a Jane Taylor hat. Lady Louise chose the Ghost Grace dress with a Jane Taylor headband. 

Princess Eugenie also wore Emilia Wickstead, the Amila dress, while both Sophie Winkleman and Princess Beatrice wore Beulah London’s ‘Ahana’ dress.

Princess Beatrice carried a fun accessory, a Sophie Webster clutch with ‘Wifey for Lifey’ on one side.

Zara Tindall was in a coat by Laura Green with a hat by Juliette Botterill and a bag by Aspinal of London.   

The Duchess of Sussex wore “head to toe Dior” with a Stephen Jones hat, per What Meghan Wore.  

Samantha Cameron was in the Cordelia dress by Cefinn.  

Today’s most stylish chapeau award may go to Mike Tindall, who has had fans in stitches with his Instagram fashion posts. 

Thank you to Polka Dot Pop, Gabi, UFO No More, Laura, Couture and Royals, Remoulade Sauce, and The Court Jeweller for sharing information used in today’s post.

Now for our look at what Kate wore. 

She was in a bespoke dress by Emilia Wickstead. It looks like it is crafted of lightweight wool crepe, with criss-cross detailing on the front, a full skirt, and a hidden back zipper.  

She wore her hair in an intricate updo and accessorized with a Philip Treacy hat.  

The Royal Hats blog describes it as “a pale yellow straw saucer hat trimmed with large silk roses and jinsin twists.” 

The Duchess carried a new handbag that is unidentified. The design appears to be constructed of wicker or rattan, with rounded corners and a goldtone metal clasp.

UPDATE JUNE 4: The handbag looks like the Lili Woven Clutch by the Australian brand Forever New.  Thank you to a Middleton Maven follower for the ID!

UPDATE JUNE 15:The brand confirmed it was their bag in a June 15 Instagram post.
The Duchess also carried gloves that are not identified at this point. 

The Duchess brought back her Gianvito Rossi 105 pumps in Bisque suede ($712).

And wore the Queen’s Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings.

One more photo from today. 

Tomorrow, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit Wales during the day and then attend the Platinum Party at the Palace. 

A reminder about comments: please keep the primary focus on what was worn and be respectful. Inappropriate comments about any member(s) of the royal family will not be published.

VIDEOS: 

This is not from today’s service, but more-than-worth-a-watch if you’ve not seen/heard the story about HM and her encounter with two American hikers at Balmoral. 

On a weekend of Queen anecdotes, this won’t be matched. Just lovely. pic.twitter.com/6z0WjUO2wn

— Jake Kanter (@Jake_Kanter) June 3, 2022

Video of arrivals at St. Paul’s. 

 Sky News has almost 4 minutes coverage of arrivals at today’s service. 

The Telegraph includes a portion of the sermon in this video. 

 This video offers coverage of arrivals inside the cathedral. 

Arrivals at the reception.