Taking in the moment. Princess Kate showed her father-in-law, King Charles III, a subtle sign of respect during the coronation.
The Princess of Wales, 41, who is married to Prince William, curtsied to the new monarch, 74, as Charles exited the ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6, after officially being crowned king of England.
Kate — who was sitting in the front row of the church alongside William, 40, and their youngest children, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — briefly curtsied as His Majesty walked past. The family, along with the rest of the congregation, sang “God Save the King” as Charles, clad in his royal regalia, made his way through Westminster Abbey. (William and Kate’s eldest child, Prince George, 9, stood apart from his family as he served as a Page of Honour for his grandfather.)
The Prince and Princess of Wales were bedecked in their “formal robe and mantle at the request of the King and Queen,” per the BBC. Kate appeared to match William’s aunt, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, in the grand royal blue cape. (Sophie, who is married to Prince Edward, also curtsied as Charles passed by.) Princess Charlotte also twinned with her mother, as the duo wore matching silver headpieces by Jess Collett x Alexander McQueen.
The sweet moment between the family was witnessed by royal fans far and wide as Charles was officially crowned following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. (The late queen was the longest-reigning monarch in British history, passing away at age 96 in September 2022. She celebrated 70 years on the throne earlier that year.)
Charles assumed the throne immediately — and both his eldest son, William and daughter-in-law Kate have been by his side ever since. (The sovereign shares William and Prince Harry with late ex-wife Princess Diana.)
In November 2022, the Prince of Wales and his wife were in attendance for the king’s inaugural state visit as the reigning monarch. The couple were the first to greet President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa at the London event before escorting the guest of honor to meet Charles and Camilla.
One month later, the king and his wife — whom he wed in 2005 after his 1996 divorce from Diana — returned the favor by supporting Kate as she hosted her second annual Christmas concert at Westminster Abbey.
In a video from the December 2022 event, the princess was seen bending down to curtsy for her in-laws before filming Royal Carols: Together at Christmas. George and Charlotte were also on hand for the holiday celebration, while Louis stayed home during the taping.
That same month, the duke and duchess were honored by Charles and appointed with new honorary titles.
Kate was given the moniker of Colonel of the Irish Guards, which she took over from William, who was given the honor by his late grandmother in February 2011. The prince, for his part, was declared the Colonel of the Welsh Guards in December 2022.
Queen Camilla, meanwhile, earned the title of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, an honor stripped from Prince Andrew in January 2022. (Elizabeth removed Andrew’s titles after he made headlines in 2019 for his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and for being accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager. Andrew, 63, denied her allegations and stepped back as a senior member of the family amid the scandal before settling her lawsuit in February 2022.)
Amid Charles’ coronation prep, his youngest son, 38, has been less visible in the U.K. Harry has lived in the U.S. with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Archie, 4, and Lili, 23 months, since 2020. The Spare author, however, flew solo across the pond ahead of his father’s coronation and attended the Saturday ceremony. Meghan, 41, for her part, stayed back in the U.S. with their kids — and celebrated Archie’s birthday that happened to fall on the king’s big day.
On coronation day, Harry sat in the third row at Westminster Abbey, alongside cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The Duke of Sussex, who was stripped of his military titles since stepping down from his position as a senior royal in 2020, wore a morning suit to the ceremony and appeared jovial, smiling with his cousins as he entered the church. During the service, Harry paid tribute to his father when he declared, along with the rest of the congregation, “God save King Charles!”
