Princess Kate beamed as she stepped out alongside her husband at this evening’s Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Princess of Wales, who revealed she has completed her course of chemotherapy in September, looked well as she joined King Charles and other senior members of the Royal Family to honour fallen troops.
She stopped to speak to Vice Admiral Paul Bennett, National President of the Royal British Legion, as she stepped inside the iconic Kensington venue.
But Queen Camilla was not in attendance as she pulled out of Remembrance events this weekend as she recovers from her chest infection. The Palace says it is a “great disappointment” but doctors advised it was best to ensure a full recovery and to protect others from any potential risk.
Her Majesty continues to recover at Ray Mill House, her private home in Wiltshire, and expects to be well enough to return to London early next week for several engagements. The first in the diary is a Booker Prize reception at Clarence House on Tuesday.
Kate wore an all-black outfit and a poppy pinned to her dress for the solemn event, accessorised with matching pearl earrings and necklace that belonged to the late Princess Diana. Her hair is perfectly curled and she’s wearing smoky eye make up.
The annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance is dedicated to all those who have served and given their lives in the service of their country.
The King, who became Patron of the Royal British Legion earlier this year, was also joined by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.
Charles appeared in high spirits despite the absence of his wife, laughing with guests before he entered to royal fanfare by state trumpeters of the household division and rapturous applause from the crowd.
Taking a seat next to his sister, the King smiled and spoke to Anne before joining the audience to clap for the Chelsea Pensioners as they made their entrance at the Festival of Remembrance.
The Royal Family then stood to applaud Second World War veterans.
Kate’s attendance at the Festival of Remembrance had been in doubt, as the princess has attended only a handful of events since her abdominal surgery and subsequent cancer diagnosis at the start of the year.
But since she revealed that her course of chemotherapy has come to an end she has started to ease herself back into royal duties.
Last month she attended her first community engagement of the year, joining William in Southport to meet the families of the three girls who died following the horror knife attack in July.
She also attended a private matinee ballet performance of Giselle at the National Ballet and met a young photographer battling cancer at Windsor Castle.
Tonight’s appearance marks Kate’s fourth public appearance this year, having also attended Trooping the Colour, Wimbledon and a community engagement in Southport last month.
The Princess will also appear at the Cenotaph to mark Remembrance Sunday tomorrow, alongside the King, Prince William and other senior royals.
The Queen will not be in attendance, with a Buckingham Palace spokesperson saying: “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.”
Earlier in the week William said his wife is “doing really well”, adding: “She’s been amazing this whole year.”
Speaking during his four-day trip to South Africa for his Earthshot Prize, the Prince described the past year as the “hardest year” of his life.
“It’s been dreadful,” he said. “It’s probably been the hardest year in my life. So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”