FALLEN HEROES
Remembering Passchendaele
Royal tribute to Passchendaele
Asombre Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined dignitaries, servicemen and other royalty to mark the centenary of the start of the Battle of Passchendaele last week.
The royal couple travelled to the site of the bloody battle alongside Prince Charles (68), the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May (60) and Queen Mathilde of Belgium (44).
During the proceedings, they laid flowers and offered speeches to commemorate the sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands of British, Commonwealth and German soldiers who lost their lives and were “swallowed by the mud” on the battlefield.
Kate (35), who wore an elegant light-grey coat dress by Catherine Walker, then joined Queen Mathilde and the German foreign minister in placing flowers on German soldiers’ graves, in what is thought to be a first for a British royal, as William watched on.
Kate, William and Charles were spotted exchanging hugs
ROYALS MARK 100 YEARS SINCE THE GRUESOME BATTLE
and kisses before the ceremony began. The young royals were only in Belgium for two days for the Passchendaele service, before returning home to Kensington Palace.
It was a big week for William, who finished up in his role as an air ambulance pilot to relocate from his and Kate’s country home in Anmer, Norfolk, back to London.
William, supported by
Kate, will now focus more on his royal duties, particularly as his grandfather Prince Philip (96) retires later this month.
And while Kate was overheard joking about having more children during her and William’s visit to Poland and Germany last month, her witticism was taken seriously by one children’s organisation last week.
Having Kids, a US-based group, has posted an open letter to the royal couple, urging them to “reconsider” any decision to have a third baby, citing reasons such as climate change, economic quality and the distribution of resources.