THE ROYAL FAMILY PAY THEIR RESPECTS ON REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

HONOURING THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE WHILE SERVING THEIR COUNTRY

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN

Stepping back onto the public stage, the Princess of Wales made a poignant return to the annual Remembrance Sunday service as the royal family gathered at the Cenotaph to pay their respects to the fallen.

Dressed in black and with three red poppies pinned to her lapel – thought to be in honour of her of great-grandmother’s three brothers, who lost their lives in the First World War – Kate watched from a balcony in Whitehall as her husband the Prince and the King paid their tributes below.

With the Queen absent as she recovered from a chest infection, Kate, 42, was joined by the Duchess of Edinburgh, 59, who had moved from her original position on a neighbouring balcony.

The Princess has been choosing her public appearances carefully as she recovers from cancer treatment and this sombre occasion – which she hasn’t missed since marrying into the royal family 13 years ago – is clearly as important to her as ever.

Wearing a netted hat with her military-style Catherine Walker coat, and with her hair tied up in a neat chignon, Kate’s face was etched with emotion as she watched the ceremony while thousands of spectators gathered on Whitehall to watch the event on big screens.

ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

The King was joined at the Cenotaph – Britain’s national war memorial to the dead of the First and Second World Wars and subsequent conflicts – by his elder son and his siblings the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh, while 10,000 veterans joined a parade in honour of the servicemen and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

A volley from a gun fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from nearby Horse Guards Parade marked the start of the two-minute silence, which was followed by a second blast and the haunting sound of The Last Post, played by buglers from the Royal Marines.