Princess Kate gave King Charles III and Queen Camilla a perfect curtsy during the annual Garter Day procession.
The Princess of Wales, 41, watched the king, 74, and queen, 75, walk by in the annual Order of the Garter procession at Windsor Castle on Monday, June 19. Charles and Camilla, who were officially crowned at their coronation ceremony last month, donned royal regalia for the event — blue mantles (robes) and hats topped with ostrich feathers.
As the royal couple passed by, Kate tucked one foot behind the other and knelt down slightly, keeping her balance as she displayed exemplary curtsy form. The Duchess of Cambridge wore a high-neck, black and white polka dot Alessandra Rich dress for the occasion. She completed her look with a matching Philip Treacy hat, a white clutch, pearl drop earrings and black and white high heel shoes.
The St. Andrews alum stood next to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh while watching the parade, which took place in London. Sophie, 58, wore a pink floral dress with a matching shawl and a white and pink hat for the garter Day festivities. Kate and Sophie were later joined by their respective husbands, Prince William and Prince Edward, who were part of the procession.
The Order of the Garter, which was founded by King Edward III in 1348, is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in the U.K. The annual Garter Day procession and service takes place every June following Trooping the Colour, which took place on Saturday, June 17, this year.
Kate and William, 40, and their three children — Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — were among the royals who celebrated Charles’ inaugural birthday procession on Saturday. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, meanwhile, did not make the trip across the pond for the occasion.
Earlier this month, royal expert Gareth Russell predicted that the duo — who stepped back from their senior royal positions in 2020 — would not attend the celebration.
“I don’t think they need to be invited,” the Do Let’s Have Another Drink! author exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “Not as a kind of insult to them, but you know, it’s a long trip to make from California for the sake of Trooping the Colour. … I think this is one of the events where the Sussexes were never going to be invited.”
Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, attended Queen Elizabeth II’s final Trooping the Colour in June 2022, which took place during the late monarch’s Platinum Jubilee. (The queen died in September 2022 at age 96).
The twosome have visited the U.K. only a handful of times since relocating to the United States in 2020. Last month, the Duke of Sussex attended his father’s coronation ceremony while the Suits alum remained in California with their children: Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2. Harry also traveled across the pond a few weeks later to testify in his ongoing phone hacking trial against Mirror Group Newspapers.
The BetterUp CIO has spoken out against The Firm and the U.K. media on several occasions since stepping back from his royal duties, including in his January memoir, Spare. Among the allegations made in the tell-all is Harry’s claim that William once initiated a physical fight with him after calling Meghan “difficult” and “rude.”
Despite airing his grievances with the royal family, the Archewell cofounder has been vocal about his desire to reconcile. During a January sit-down with 60 Minutes, he told Anderson Cooper that the “ball is very much in their court.”
