The Wales Family at VE Day 80th Anniversary Celebrations – What Kate Wore

The Princess of Wales chose familiar pieces for today’s VE Day 80th anniversary events. The Wales children joined their parents and other Royal Family members for today’s military procession and flypast, while Prince George also attended a Buckingham Palace tea party with the adults.

It is the first of four days of official celebrations honoring Victory in Europe Day, eighty years ago—more from the BBC’s coverage.

The occasion commemorates the end of nearly six years of war in Europe on 8 May 1945 when Nazi German forces surrendered unconditionally to the Allies in World War Two.

The military procession – involving more than 1,300 people, including members of the Armed Forces – made its way from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Below, the King and Queen as they arrived for today’s parade.

The Wales family as they walked to the viewing stand.

A brief video shows the Royal Family members arriving at the Queen Victoria Memorial. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince Louis.

The stands were set up at the Queen Victoria Memorial. Gert’s Royals shared a video of the Wales family arriving. 

Another view of the King and Queen. King Charles wore Naval Uniform No. 1 dress, with no medals or decorations, as his grandfather, King George VI, wore on the balcony at Buckingham Palace Balcony on VE-Day 1945.

In this image, you see the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence (far left).

Per Majesty magazine, Princess Anne wore “…the uniform of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal’s Volunteer Corps) with no decorations. The late Queen, as Princess Elizabeth, wore the military uniform on VE Day 1945 as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Services.” Below, a Royal Family social media post shows the late Queen wearing the uniform on VE Day in 1945. 

Sky News noted, “Since Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022, it is the first VE Day event without any of the royals who waved to crowds from the balcony in 1945.” Below are the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. You also see Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the photo. The Duke of Edinburgh wears the Army No.2 Service Dress of the Scots Guards.

Here you can see the Wales family. The Prince of Wales is wearing RAF No. 1 Uniform.

The parade and flypast kicked off the UK’s national commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe – Victory in Europe Day.

Prince William and Prince George spoke with vets as they were seated. In the lower right, you see the Duke of Kent.

The three Wales children settling into their seats. You can see Prince Louis with what looks like a plush stuffed animal, but it was actually a hot water bottle provided because of the cold.

More via The Telegraph’s story by India McTaggart. 

Prince George, who had his younger sister Princess Charlotte, 10, on his other side in the military parade’s formal seating area, was seen making sure that his younger brother was comfortably seated on a cushion so that he could see the proceedings.

Royal Air Force veteran Bernard Morgan, 101, was on the Princess’s right.

Christin shared a quick video of the Princess chatting with Mr. Morgan as she was getting settled into her seat.

He was an RAF codebreaker who landed on Gold Beach on D-Day. He was twenty years old. 

The veteran shared photos from the war with the Princess and the children.

He is an active Ambassador for the Royal British Legion.

Princess Charlotte and Prince George get a closer look. 

Here is a very wide shot of the viewing stand at the Queen Victoria Memorial. 

In this next image, you see the King helping 98-year-old veteran Joy Trew get covered up with a blanket.

The Mail reports Ms. Trew “enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force aged 17 in 1944 and served as a wireless operator working at RAF Chicksands Priory in Bedfordshire, a station taking Morse code messages from stations in Germany.” The veteran joined the Women’s Junior Air Corps when she was 17.

Here you see 101-year-old Barbara Bunce as she arrived for the parade. She was a Radio Operator during World War II and a member of the Princess Royal’s Volunteer Corps.

The day was overcast with temperatures in the mid-fifties.

This quick video does a great job of showing the parade route. 

Below, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. 

For the first time since the Cenotaph was unveiled in 1920, it was “dressed” with flags.

More from the BBC’s coverage. 

London’s Cenotaph has become a focal point for quiet reflection as commemorations get under way on Bank Holiday Monday.

The monument has been draped in Union Jack flags, echoing its 1920 unveiling in honour of the fallen soldiers of World War One.

Throughout the four days of remembrance, it will serve as a place of silent tribute to those who died in World War Two, both at home and abroad.

The Princesses watching the parade.

The Prince of Wales with his sons. 

At one point, it looked like Prince Louis brushed some lint off his father’s shoulder in a video shared by Christin. 

The Prince and Princess speaking with another WWII veteran as they left.

Royal Family members then headed to the Buckingham Palace balcony for the flypast.

As members of the public walked up the Mall to Buckingham Palace. 

Here, you get a crowd perspective from ground level.

A view of the balcony.

ITV’s Chris Ship posted a video of the scene at Buckingham Palace as the crowd sang the national anthem. 

The Wales family.

In this image, you see a Voyager (nearest the top of the photo) and an A400M Atlas.

Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Princess Royal.

The Princess with her children. 
The RAF’s Red Arrows.

Another view of the iconic aircraft as they fly over London.

A wave from Princess Charlotte. 

The next event on the agenda was a Buckingham Palace tea party, where the Prince and Princess of Wales were joined by their eldest child.

This is the first time Prince George has attended a tea or garden party at Buckingham Palace.

The Princess with guests.

More via The Telegraph’s piece. 

Veterans from the Royal Navy, British Army, RAF, Wrens, Special Operations Executives, D-Day and Desert Rats, as well as 20 Second World War-era civilians, including evacuees, have all been invited as guests of honour to the tea party at the Palace. Among them are Joyce Wilding, 100, of “Churchill’s Secret Army”, and Ruth Bourne, 98, a Wren at Bletchley Park. Both were in the crowds outside Buckingham Palace in 1945, celebrating VE Day.

The two princes with 99-year-old Douglas Austen Hyde, who is also called “Dougie.” Mr. Hyde joined the Merchant Navy in 1944, when he was just 18.

This Hello story has more. 

He started out working as a ‘fireman’ stoking boilers and later, he joined a secret operation to liberate Europe, spending months going back and forth to the beaches deploying munitions and amphibious vehicles. 

Showing an avid interest, George asked the former seaman: “Did you ever get shot at?” and “Did you ever see a U-boat?”

After their chat, Dougie said: “I was very impressed with the lad’s interest. I told him luckily I wasn’t ever shot at but we did lose one of our fleet in the Channel.

“He was very polite and listened with interest. Whenever I used to do talks to young kids, that’s all you ever wanted, for them to listen and have a little understanding of those days. 

There were guests inside and outside this afternoon.

Inside, people dined on large tables in the Marble Hall, decorated in bunting made from fabrics recycled from the royal estate. 

Some in attendance watched the flypast. 

Here you see the Princess of Wales with Joy Trew, the veteran seated next to King Charles for the parade. More from The Daily Mail’s article. 

George and William spoke with Royal Engineers veteran Alfred Littlefield, 101, who served during D-Day, as William spoke of the importance of preserving veterans’ stories. William smiled as he shook hands with veterans and said it was ‘very important’ for George and the ‘next generation’ to hear the stories from those who fought in the war.

George listened intently as his father chatted to Mr Littlefield and William later told veteran Douglas Hyde, who joined the merchant navy aged 18 in 1944, that his son was ‘very keen’ to ask the ex-serviceman some questions.

Kensington Palace posted on social media about today’s events.

And here is a video shared by Buckingham Palace. 

Now, for a quick review of some of the ensembles worn by Royal Family Members. The Queen was in a sapphire blue wool crepe dress and coat by Fiona Clare. She wore her 12th Royal Lancers Brooch; she is the Lancers’ Colonel-in-Chief. It is also her late father’s regiment.

The Duchess of Edinburgh wore a gingham coat by Suzannah London, with a Jane Taylor hatband, and Christian Dior earrings.

Princess Charlotte appeared to wear the same black watch tartan coat she wore on Christmas Day. It looks like she may have worn a matching dress today, with a hint of lace trim at the collar. NOTE: Thank you to Bonnie and Brenda for their comments pointing out this is not a true black watch pattern.  

Now, for our look at what Kate wore for the day’s engagements, an Emilia Wickstead dress and hat by Sean Barrett.

The midi-length Emilia Wickstead design features a fitted bodice, peak lapels, an applied waistband, and a full, pleated skirt. You see the dress and hat in these three photos as they were initially worn for the South Africa state visit in November 2022. 

The pillbox hat sat atop the Princess’s long, waved hair.

The hat is a classic pillbox style with a jaunty bow in the back.

It is the same style the Princess wore in blue for the March 2022 Commonwealth service, seen below right. The photo on the left is from the state visit.

We saw the return of a pair of pumps by Ralph Lauren, the retailer’s Celia style ($750), first noted in September 2020. The Celia is a classic point-toe pump in calfskin with a 4″ heel.

The Princess wore a pair of earrings we’ve not seen previously, with a single ruby drop surrounded by diamonds suspended from three graduated diamonds. The earrings appear to match a ruby and diamond pendant, which was first noted during the July 2017 Poland visit. The second photo from the right shows the pendant as worn on the Poland trip. She also wore her RAF wings pin.

NOTE: With thanks to HRHDHD for their comment, the pendant worn today has a different bail than that worn in Poland. It’s possible it is a different piece, perhaps made to match the earrings.  

The Princess brought back the Nigel Milne triple-strand pearl bracelet that originally belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. The bracelet was part of a 1988 collection, featuring three strands of cultured pearls with diamond and pearl spacers and clasp.

We will see you on Thursday for the VE Day 80 Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.