The royals reunite for an emotional Remembrance Sunday service in London
Photos taken at a service for Britain’s war heroes show Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle separated and the Queen in a rare show of public emotion.
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The Queen appeared to shed a tear for Britain’s war heroes at a Remembrance Sunday service as Britain fell silent.
Her Majesty was joined by Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, on the balcony of the Cenotaph in central London where she watched the traditional wreath-laying service.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was on a separate balcony joined by Sophie, Countess of Essex, prompting some on social media to question why?
It comes down to practical and traditional reasons.
The balconies of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are small, and only three people at a time are advised to stand on them for events such as this for safety reasons.
The royals are then separated in order of precedence – so the Queen stood with the two future Queen consorts, and Meghan stood with the others.
Prince Charles laid a wreath of poppies on behalf of his 93-year-old mother as thousands gathered in Whitehall for the emotional ceremony.
Meghan, dressed in a Stella McCartney belted wool coat and wide brim hat, arrived at the event with her husband Harry.
The pair put on a show of unity alongside Prince William and Kate, who wore a military inspired coat and a fascinator hat.
High profile politicians such as Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Commons leader Jacob Rees Mogg are also in attendance.
The Prime Minister, who laid a wreath with Corbyn, was seen leaving Downing Street with his partner Carrie Symonds.
Hundreds of armed forces personnel were also in attendance alongside Cabinet ministers, religious leaders and representatives of Commonwealth nations.
A two-minutes silence was observed at 11am – with its beginning and end marked by the firing of a gun by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
Buglers of the Royal Marines sounded the Last Post before wreaths were laid at the Cenotaph by the royals, politicians, foreign representatives and senior armed forces personnel.
An equerry laid a wreath for the 98-year-old Duke of Edinburgh who did not attend after retiring from royal duties two years ago.
William and Harry followed their father in laying wreaths, while their wives watched the ceremony from balconies.
Five former prime ministers – Sir John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May – were also in attendance.
FAB FOUR REUNITE AFTER RIFT RUMOURS
The event marked the first time the Sussexes and the Cambridges appeared together since Harry and Meghan spoke of their struggles with public life in a revealing documentary made during their trip to South Africa.
William, 37, was reportedly concerned for his brother Harry, 35, after he addressed reports of a rift in the documentary, saying he and his brother were on “different paths”.
Harry and Meghan, who wore a stylish back dress, were seated behind British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is battling to hold on to his job at a general election on December 12, and his partner Carrie Symonds.
William and Catherine sat beside the Queen at event, which was for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance.
They joined Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and wife Sophie, Prince Charles and Camilla, who bounced back after an illness earlier this week.
The festival is an annual event honouring all those who died in conflicts and coincides with Remembrance Day on November 11, which was the final day of World War One in 1918.
The Last Post was played and poppy petals fell from the ceiling during a minute’s silence.
There were musical performances from Jeff Goldblum, James Blunt, Louise Dearman and Colin Thackeray.
There have been many reports of a rift between Harry and William over the past year.
Some claimed that Harry was affronted when William asked if he was too hasty to marry Meghan, compared with his glacial courtship of wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Other reports claimed that Meghan had been difficult and made Catherine cry over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress at a fitting before the royal wedding.
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Harry gave credit to some of the reports when he addressed them in his longform documentary on ITV with journalist and friend Tom Bradby, who asked him about the claims.
“We are certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him as I know he will always be there for me,” Harry said.
“We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we are so busy but I love him dearly.
“The majority of the stuff is created out of nothing but as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.”
The comments came as both Harry and Meghan said in the documentary they had been under pressure.
They followed the couple’s decision to sue London’s Mail on Sunday newspaper over its reports about a letter that Meghan had sent to her estranged father Thomas, and subsequent lawsuits against UK newspapers The Sun and The Daily Mirror.
A source close to William told the BBC he was worried about his brother following the airing of the documentary.
The last time the Fab Four were seen together in public this year was when William and Harry played a charity polo match in Berkshire and Kate and Meghan along with George, Charlotte and Louis came to watch.
Originally published as The royals reunite for an emotional Remembrance Sunday service in London
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