Kate Middleton and William made a public appearance in Wales this week and now the Prince and Princess are gearing up for the royal VE Day commemorations in May
William and Kate headed to Wales including a visit to a community garden and woodland (Image: PA)
Greeted by cheering crowds, the Prince and Princess of Wales made their first joint visit to Wales in over a year last month, and now the couple are set to take the lead alongside the King and Queen at the 80th anniversary of VE Day in May.
Former royal correspondent Jennie Bond says that given the poignancy of the occasion – which was associated with the late Queen for so many years – it will be an incredibly important occasion for the family. “Assuming Catherine is able to attend, the royal family out in strength will be a powerful tribute to all those who served, and to the many who gave their lives,” she says. “It will be emotional for everyone. The King will have so many memories of his father’s wartime service and his mother’s short time in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Jennie says it’s wonderful for William to has his wife by his side again (Image: Getty Images)
The royal family won’t be shy at hiding their emotions during the VE Day commemorations, Jennie says (Image: PA)
“Camilla will have similar memories of her own father, a distinguished soldier who won a military cross for gallantry during the Battle of Dunkirk. And of course William will have memories of serving in the military and an appreciation of how fragile the peace that was so hard won now is. It will be one of the most important days in the royal calendar this year.”
As part of the commemorations celebrating the end of World War Two in Europe, the Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to join Charles and Camilla at a special Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey. Also expected to be in attendance are the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and hundreds of veterans and their loved ones, who Jennie says will rightly be at the centre of the activities.
“The handful of veterans will be the centrepiece of the events, of course, but this is a hugely important day for the royal family. They all take their links to the military very seriously, even if they have not served.”
The occasion also offers a rare and no doubt welcome opportunity for the family to unite in public after Kate and Charles were forced to step back from their roles last year due to ill health. With the theme of unity at the heart of the events, and after a somewhat difficult few years for the royals, Kate and William in particular will be aware of the significance of their presence, Jennie adds.
“However ‘modern’ and relatable William and Catherine are, they are fully aware of the profound significance of occasions like this, especially in the. very troubled times we are now living through,” she says. “The whole family will be keen to unite and lead the commemorations.
The Waleses have had a tough year(Image: PA)
“I remember the 50th anniversary when Diana and Charles took William and Harry to some of the commemorations. They were just 12 and 10 years old. Harry held his mum’s hand. This was long past the acrimonious separation of Charles and Diana so they were no longer living as a family, but they put on a show of unity for the sake of the country and to show due respect for those who served and those who died. It was the start of learning just how important this day is and what a key role the royals have.”“
Kate, 43, and William, 42, were also no doubt among the many hundreds of thousands who watched Queen Elizabeth recall her own VE Day memories during the 75th anniversary in 2020, which came a few weeks into the Covid lockdown. Seventy five years after King George VI made a radio broadcast to the people of the Commonwealth to officially mark the end of the war, the Queen sat at a desk in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle and delivered her own broadcast.
While both the Queen and her father were formal and sombre during their deliveries, recent years have indicated something of a softening of the so-called “stiff upper lip” adopted by the family. Images of Kate at the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance in November showed her becoming visibly emotional as she honoured the services and sacrifices of the country’s military.
Jennie says that while the family are normally expected to remain composed and collected, they are not immune to the emotions of such events. “I’m sure they will all find it an emotional occasion. Charles, in particular, finds pageantry and music extremely moving,” she says. “I don’t think he, or Camilla or William and Catherine, will be shy about showing their emotions.”
A former aide of William’s, Jason Knauf, highlighted the struggle between the royal’s public profile and their private emotions in an interview last week, revealing his former boss was at the “lowest I’ve ever seen him” when Kate was diagnosed with cancer.
“Within a couple of weeks, if you’re Prince William, you find out that both your wife and your father have cancer. I couldn’t believe it,” he told 60 Minutes Australia. “It’s very difficult to have this stuff play out in the public eye,” he continued, “but [William has] chosen to keep his thoughts on it private, and I think all of us who know him have to respect that we should do the same.”
A former aide of William’s said in the wake of his wife and father’s diagnoses, it was the “lowest” he’d seen the prince(Image: Andy Parsons/Kensington Palace via Getty Images)
News of Kate’s attendance at the VE Day celebrations came just days before she and William travelled to Pontypridd in South Wales ahead of St David’s Day, where they visited Meadow Street Community Garden and Woodland to hear how the community came together to repair the flooding damage last year, and took part in a cake baking challenge at a local bakery.
The trip was one of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s first joint engagements since Kate returned to royal duties following her treatment for cancer, and they appeared thrilled as they donned their aprons and tackled the task of making traditional bakes at The Welsh Cake Shop.
Despite getting the seal of approval for their “perfect” cakes, William refused to take credit for his dough-making skills and, referencing their appearance on A Berry Royal Christmas back in 2019, told his audience, “Well I don’t know, my stunning baker skills, Mary Berry taught me everything I need to know.” Given all they endured last year, Jennie says, it is a welcome sign of brighter times to come for the couple.
“It’s telling that Catherine was in Wales only last month and now they are both back together helping out the local community that has suffered so much through the floods,” Jennie tells us. “You do get a real feeling of empathy; the community has been through an incredibly bad time – and so have William and Catherine. And that’s exactly what some of the locals were saying – they wanted to show their support for the prince and princess, just as the couple were showing their support for the community.
Jason Knauf with Prince William(Image: PA)
“I’ve been impressed by how seriously William and Catherine are taking their roles as Prince and Princess of Wales. They have a genuine affection for the principality after spending the early years of their marriage living there. It was a time in their lives when things were about as normal as they can get for a member of the royal family. They remember it with real fondness.
“It must be just wonderful for William to have his wife at his side again and the fact that they are doubling up for this engagement, when every appearance by the princess is so valuable because she’s not yet back full-time, underlines once again just how important Wales is to them both.”
