Princess Kate wore a new Catherine Walker coat to the Commonwealth service

Here are more photos from the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on Monday. The Windsors were not really out in force – King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne and Tim Laurence and the Gloucesters were all in attendance. And honestly, it felt like the Gloucesters, Anne and Tim were all there just as seat-fillers, to try to make it look like the family is full of working royals. Tell me that Britain’s Commonwealth ties are going the way of the dodo without telling me. QEII was a big believer in the Commonwealth, and King Charles basically just tries to maintain the connections while doing the bare minimum. Prince William doesn’t give a rat’s ass about any of this.

Some superficial notes… Princess Kate wore a new Catherine Walker coatdress which was very fussy but very “Kate.” She paired it with that multi-strand pearl necklace she’s been wearing a lot in recent years, plus diamond-and-pearl earrings from the Royal Collection, the same pair she usually borrows for special occasions. Kate also donned her Wiglet of Commonwealth Secrets™, which was just as doll-wiggy as can be. Camilla chose a bright red coat and a big diamond brooch. That piece is the Cartier palm brooch, which was passed down from the Queen Mother to Queen Elizabeth II, and then to Camilla. I… find it gross that Camilla inherited those family pieces. I feel like those kinds of pieces should go to a direct family member, like Anne or one of QEII’s granddaughters.

Anyway, not only did the Commonwealth service feel sparse and grim, it was made a lot worse by the loud, boisterous Republic protests outside the Abbey. They were calling both King Charles AND Prince William “parasites” and asking what did the royals know about Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.

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37 Responses to “Princess Kate wore a new Catherine Walker coat to the Commonwealth service”

  1. ThatGirlThere says:

    They all look a mess and miserable but Kate with those shoulder pads and hat looks horrendous. What is up with that rictus smile of hers??

  2. vs says:

    From the side, she looks like a witch

    • fwiw says:

      Yes, what has she done to her chin?

    • Kat says:

      VS l know what you mean , we all can see how under nourished Kate is here, .but some of these outfits just don’t flatter her, those heels are far too high for a church service , dont get me started on that necklace , too big for her and too old fashioned and in all fairness that stupid looking 5 euro hat, she can get any hat she wants from any designer and she picks that thing ?? Please Kate, get on or steal.your husband scooter and fly over to Vogue to get yourself sorted!!

  3. Dee(2) says:

    Wow, that was pretty loud. I know it came from the perspective in the Republic protest, but even for the crowd of people across the street I couldn’t hear not even a little bit of cheering. They are cooked. When you compare what their ” crowds” look like at regular events to this, the downfall is apparent. I don’t care how many comments are on the daily mail’s website, in real time people showing interest in them? For a positive reason?That’s gone.

    And it’s wild, because I really feel like it’s gone off a cliff in less than a decade. If they are still around in 10 years, they won’t even need to block off the streets. They’ll be able to just jump out their cars and walk right into buildings, regardless of the event.

    • Jukia says:

      @Dee There was a clip on the BBC from near the entrance to the cathedral and even with a steel band playing you could hear the booing and heckling. The engagement on the Daily Mail for the usual sycophantic royal stories is getting less and less. Only mentioning the Yorks or the Sussexes attracts more commenters. There really has been a shift since the beginning of the year and the release of the Epstein files but I’m not sure the royals realise how serious this is for them yet. I think a lot of the public have just tuned out!

      • Unblinkered says:

        @Jukia – they should all be worried sick, this equals 1930s Abdication Crisis & Death of Diana. Andrew has opened a Pandora’s Box and, as things stand, they all now face having their finances and housing arrangements examined publically. And not before time.

        It was quite wrong that only the loosely defined working royals stood at the Abbey entrance yesterday, it should have been their respective families too all those directly or indirectly enjoying the royal largesse. Makes one view the situation a little differently, yes?

    • Kat says:

      Dee, As Prince Philip.said to his wife in the final.scene of The Crown ‘The Party is over’ especially with that ‘lot’ !!
      Wasnt.he so.right

  4. lamejudi says:

    @kaiser I don’t mean to nitpick, but Kate’s necklace is a 5 strand one.

    Please feel free to remove or not post this!

  5. Cassie says:

    It’s a lovely coat but gosh she is thin .
    I guess that’s what she wants and all the magazines are gushing about how stunning she looked ,

    • Jukia says:

      @Cassie To be fair all fashion/celebrity magazines say that female celebrities look ‘stunning’ at events whether it’s true or not.

  6. LADY DIGBY says:

    Kate is definitely NOT giving Wilbur a festive glance here is she? She will be hacked off that she only got one front page cover and that one newspaper choose the photo of Geri kissing the King INSTEAD of her! How very dare they!
    https://news.sky.com/story/tomorrows-newspaper-front-pages-12427754?postid=11238592#liveblog-body

    • Emily says:

      And the front page is the Express, which no one really takes seriously as paper anymore. It’s an anti Brexit, pro royal comic.

  7. Tessa says:

    That long wig hanging down keens back is not a good look.

  8. Tessa says:

    She has thst pasted on grin and poses for csmeras. She needs a shoulder length hair trim

  9. Tessa says:

    Is the palm brooch going to be passed down by Camilla to her daughter. Would scooter reclaim it first

    • Amy Bee says:

      I believe it’s part of the Royal Vault so it stays in the Royal Family. Kate will probably be the next person to wear it.

  10. Mary grace says:

    Not a fan of Kate but I can’t wait for her to start wearing all Camilla’s jewels when Charles dies

  11. Jais says:

    Look what happens when the events are announced and known about as opposed to surprise visits. What a loud congregation!

  12. Becks1 says:

    I can’t tell from that Tatler article who the Palm Brooch belonged to – whether it was personal or whether it was at some point made part of the royal collection. It’s possible that QEII just left most of her personal jewelry to Charles so no one paid inheritance tax. But even if she did it would be nice of Camilla to essentially gift it to anne on permanent loan or something. but alas, Camilla isn’t giving up any jewelry if she can help it, lol.

    Kate looked fine. The hair was a little too doll-like, the hat a little too big, the shoulders a little too pointy, but the color was nice and this look is very much Kate, right down to those little errors because Kate never gets it 100% right (or very rarely.)

    The protestors…..whew. the monarchy is in trouble and I wonder if they realize it. I don’t think its going to completely end but I think in 10 years it will look very different and the funding will be overhauled again.

    • Nic919 says:

      There is a photo of kate looking almost angry as you can tell she’s heard the protestors as she is walking to the abbey. William is looking straight ahead and has a better poker face.

  13. Kittenmom says:

    Kate has the same profile as Mac Tonight.

  14. Amy Bee says:

    The Royal women look like they live in the 1950s.

  15. Lamb Chop says:

    Really, at this point, people should be asking them much more and extensive questions about their finances. Where did all this mysterious “billions ” came from? Produce provenance for every single item they purport to own, and return such billions from wence they came. At this point there’s little gain from yelling about pedrew, there is a lot of gain about questioning their bogus stolen wealth. A lot of this was remarkably obtained in less than 200 years.

  16. Octopus says:

    If you look at the pictures of Kate and William they look so much, in appearance and dress, like old pictures of King George and Czar Nicholas holidaying on yachts pre WW1. Before George and Mary said no to taking in the cousins after the Bolsheviks took over. I mean Kate would blend right in those old pics from 130 years ago. It feels like that’s the kind of role they want too-remote, stuffy, and to interact with the peasants as little as possible.

  17. sunniside up says:

    Looking at the coat dress I can’t help the feeling that it must be very thin fabric, all those pleats would create bulk around the waist and hips if it were a thick. Was she cold?

    • minnow29 says:

      I’m not a fan of that coat. The color is ok, but the pleated sides of the skirt look like hotel curtains or something. I’m sure it’s just them trying to hide how skeletal she’s become…the pointy, structured shoulders, the folded yards of fabric on her hips…I’m not overweight, but if I wore that, my hips would look 3 feet wide.

  18. Interested Gawker says:

    It’s giving Darkwing Duck.

  19. Nic919 says:

    The Romulan shoulder pads look dumb.
    She’s also taken to wearing Melania hats with a brim so wide William can’t stand too close to her.

  20. Penelope Cowell Doe says:

    Old fashioned coat, but quite pretty. Horrible hat. Horrid jewellery. Horror of a wig. She’s far too thin.

  21. DianeS says:

    Kate is a beautiful girl. But she is no fashion icon. No matter where she goes, or what color she chooses, she always looks the same. Lovely but safe (boring). I actually think she shines when she’s in casual jeans and blazers.

  22. Chaine says:

    NGL, the anti-royal protest looks kind of fun. And what was that weird mascot that came out of the church area at the end of the video?

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