In all honesty, after the whole documentary debacle (see my last post), I needed a break from the Mountbatten-Windsors. The Royals were no longer bringing joy to me, which is the whole point of The Duchess Commentary – a fun, lighthearted hobby. Plus, not much has been going on with Kate and Meghan since the documentary premiered in the U.K. on October 20 and the U.S. on October 23. Some engagements here and there, but mostly just fallout. Things seem to have calmed down now, and so I’m back.
This week is Remembrance Week, where members of the Royal Family take on quite a few engagements, paying tribute to both those who died in combat and honoring those who have served and who are currently serving. This weekend, the entire Family will be together for the first time since Trooping the Colour in June to attend the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance on Saturday at Royal Albert Hall. Expected to be in attendance? The Queen, Charles and Camilla (though Camilla might miss, as she is down with a pretty serious cold), William and Kate, Harry and Meghan, Anne and her husband Tim, Andrew, Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent. The same group will reappear on Remembrance Sunday for a visit to The Cenotaph, the war memorial in London. It’s all in a leadup to Remembrance Day, which is on November 11 – the same day as Veterans Day in the U.S. Remembrance Day honors those who died in World War I specifically.
Kate randomly made an appearance today at the launch of the National Emergencies Trust, a charity that will provide emergency response to natural disasters. Originally only William was set to attend, but Kate joined at the last minute and dazzled, as she always does, in royal blue Emilia Wickstead. To accentuate her outfit she wore a pair of Diana’s sapphire earrings which, of course, perfectly match Diana and Kate’s shared sapphire and diamond engagement ring.
Meghan also appeared today in blue with Harry at her debut appearance at the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey. She wore a dark coat, black leather boots, leather gloves, and a velvet hat. I expect these Remembrance Week activities to be the last we’ll likely see of Harry and Meghan for most of the rest of 2019. If you’ll remember, when everyone else was on vacation in August, the Sussexes were still working; they chose to take their vacation at the end of the year.
Yesterday, Harry and Meghan surprised a crowd at a local community event for military families. The Sussexes visited the Broom Farm Community Centre just down the road from their home in Windsor, where Meghan revealed that Archie has sprouted two teeth and is crawling!
Random side note: I cannot tell you how sick I am of talking about documentaries, but interestingly enough Charles and William were featured in their own ITV (the same network that aired Harry & Meghan: An African Journey) documentary recently. The film was about the Duchy of Cornwall, which we’ve talked about on the blog before – it is a private estate established in 1337 to provide an income for the heir to the throne, which right now is, of course, Charles, but one day relatively soon will be William. (Charles even teared up at the thought of his oldest son taking over the role of Prince of Wales.) The documentary is called “Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy of Cornwall” and celebrates Charles’ fiftieth year being in charge of the duchy, since 1969.
Another random side note: I almost hate myself for sharing this, but if you need a laugh today and only if you have a sense of humor, go to @garyjanetti on Instagram. You’re welcome, Royal fans.