JUST ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY
Kate and Meghan scotch rift rumours with display of sister-in-law solidarity
IT was an event to celebrate the enduring bonds that support a large family of nations.
And for the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex, it was also an occasion for a public display of family solidarity.
Kate and Meghan greeted each other warmly with a kiss as they attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey alongside the Queen and other senior royals.
Dogged by reports that they do not get on, the sisters-inlaw had beaming smiles as they kissed on each cheek.
Harry and Meghan, who are expecting their first baby in a matter of weeks, arrived hand in hand at the service to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth. The duchess looked elegant in a £1,200 cream print Victoria Beckham dress with a matching coat and shoes and a Jackie Kennedy-style pillbox hat.
The Queen has put the couple at the forefront of her work as head of the Commonwealth – something she views as one of her most important legacies – and she recently appointed them president and vice president of the Queen’s Commonwealth trust, which highlights the work of its younger citizens.
The Cambridges arrived next, Kate elegant in a red Catherine Walker coat she has worn previously and a matching hat. It was the second joint engagement in a week for Kate and Meghan, both 37. Last Tuesday they attended a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the 50th anniversary of Prince Charles’s investiture as Prince of Wales.
Charles – who has been named to succeed his mother as head of the Commonwealth – arrived with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, who wore a deep purple Bruce Oldfield coat and feathered Philip Treacy hat. Kate greeted her father-in-law with kisses on each cheek, while her sister-in-law kissed him but also curtseyed – something that would not normally be required by royal protocol.
The Queen, wearing a bright mauve coat and dress by Angela Kelly with matching hat, arrived with Prince Andrew. With Britain looking to strengthen its links with as
many of the other 52 nations as possible, the post-Brexit connotations of the event for the UK were lost on no one.
This was not least because the Queen had written in the order of service: ‘We are able to look to the future with greater confidence and optimism as a result of the links that we share, and thanks to the networks of co-operation and mutual support to which we contribute, and on which we draw.
‘With enduring commitment through times of great change, successive generations have demonstrated that whilst the goodwill for which the Commonwealth is renowned may be intangible, its impact is very real.’ Theresa May, in her role as chair-in- office of the Commonwealth, gave an address in which she read from 1 Corinthians 12:14-26: ‘The body does not consist of one member but of many … If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.’