Here are some photos from the National Service of Commemoration at St, Paul’s Cathedral in London to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. Prince Charles, Prince Edward, the Duchess of Cornwall and David Cameron were all in attendance at the service to commemorate the battle that finally toppled Napoleon. Many British military leaders and descendants of those who fought at Waterloo also attended – some were quoted as saying that if the British had not won at Waterloo, they could all be speaking French right now. That’s a pretty interesting what-if. What if France had conquered Britain? What would that have meant for World War I & World War II? Hm. Now I’m going to be thinking about that all day.
I have to say, I think Camilla looked really great here. Last week Camilla debuted her expensive new hairstyle, although you really can’t make out much of her hair in these photos because of that beautiful feathered hat. Her coat is by Anna Valentine, one of Camilla’s go-to designers. Charles wore his Field Marshall military dress coat, along with all of his hardware (Knight of the Garter Star, Knight of the Thistle Star, Order of the Bath and Order of Merit).
You can read more about the commemoration here. Charles and Camilla also went to Belgium yesterday as part of the commemoration – go here to see Clarence House’s tweets about their trip.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
My soul will not allow me to like this woman. And the fact that she’s my husband, Harry’s step-mother..eww
I feel for you. I would hate to have her in my family. Be strong for Harry.
Love the hat!
Her hats have been on point lately. I’m beginning to want her hats more than the Queen if something happens to either one of them, although the Queen’s hats are colorful! Maybe I’ll stick to the Queen.
Love the bouquet!
She looks nice. Love the hat & the outfit. She’s doing much better lately.
Kate, note the dress length. It is perfect for official, public functions.
The jewelry’s a little fusty for daytime, however. If the pearl necklace and earrings didn’t have diamonds, maybe, and lose the tennis bracelet.
Appropriate dress length for an almost 68 year old woman is not the same as for a 33 year old. It just isn’t, royalty or not.
No, but if said 33 year old can’t keep her royal backside from being flashed on “work” engagements then she should really re-think her floaty mini-skirted lengths.
Also, why is it such an offense for a 33 year old to wear a just below the knee dress? I really don’t get that logic. Are women obligated to flash your thighs at work until you turn 40?
Actually, it could be. Camilla shouldn’t wear the thigh skimming hemlines that Kate can carry off well, but on the other hand, Kate shouldn’t be wearing short skirts when representing the Queen either.
Perhaps the “speaking French” twits were unaware of 1066 and all that, to coin a phrase? (With “all that” this time including the effects on language).
BTW: Russia Today have been gleefully reporting on the Belgian desire to issue a commemorative Waterloo euro coin that the French have strenuously objected to. I think the French should just bring their own one out, with Calais engraved on Bloody Mary’s heart, or somesuch.
It’s all so childish.
Good, we as Americans applaud any foreign childishness that diverts attention from our own.
I enjoying the childishness of it all.
Ha @ Kiddo. And LAK – mea maxima culpa, me too. I was news channel surfing and saw the RT report and haven’t changed channel since! Apparently, it was also important to call the ceremonies and monument unveilings commemorations, not celebrations. Deary me, you’d really have thought nations would have outgrown all this nonsense, wouldn’t you?!
Has anyone noticed that Camilla has taken to wearing the same coat in different colours and materials?
No I hadn’t. I’ll pay attention now.
She’s got one of the best hat games going, though. Trying to think who else gets close . . . Maxima?
Maxima and Mathilde both do Interesting hats but they aren’t all good. Sophie’s hat game is pretty good when she dials it back a bit.
The coat silhouette is a good one for her.
She looks splendid.
She looks great. That hat is amazing.
All of them (well mostly) dress in monochromatic, boring looks. Zara Phillips, Sophie Wessex, Princess Beatrice are some of the only risk-takers. They dress far older — as in the outfit ages you — than they need to. Would love to see more pizzazz. Kate’s one of the most boring.
They’re all as dull as hell….fashion-wise. The Queen is sweet but she looks the same all the time…with the exception of which pastel color of the rainbow she wears. Camilla needs a new hairstyle which means more than just a TRIM! Kate is highly over rated…she dresses like I did when I was 16 years old trying to look older than I was. They all wear those ridiculous HATS…that often resemble prehistoric creatures…satellite dishes or some fowl…tangled in a web of straw…hat…that tried to get away unsuccessfully. Shoes always look matronly. Even on the fashion sites…you can pick out the British shoes the instant the page opens…1960’s era styles…cheap looking. PLAIN as PLAIN can get.
I like the backstory of many of their hats being the result of tangles with birds and other unfortunate creatures… sort of royal haberdashery roadkill.
If France had conquered Britian, wether or not we had World War 1 would have still depended on their relationship/alliance with Russia against Germany/Austria.
Unrelated, Camilla always looks fab, thanks Duchy!
my grandmother always said homely people age well because they cant really look worse and no one is disappointed
That is comforting to me 😉
*laughing* That is exactly the sort of thing my grandmum would have said to remain a ‘lady’ while disparaging someone. She would have looked down and a bit sad about the homely part… then she would have raised her head to look cheerful at the glass half-full of ‘they can’t look worse and no one will be disappointed.’
Not gonna lie, I adore this lady.
I want to raid her hat closet, but sadly, I don’t think I could pull the hats off as she does.
Help me out Brits – Sixer, LAK, Nota…
Someone please enlighten me. I want to understand the cultural and other reasons surrounding the many formal war memorial ceremonies in and around London. Is it a cultural difference between the UK and the U.S.? Is it the BRF creating a need to appear busy and relevant or something else?
Except for 4th of July, in the U.S. we don’t have remembrance days for individual wars. I’m torn about the benefits of having a lot of them. Would more remembrance services ultimately reduce our number of military conflicts because we are more frequently reminded of the horror of war than we are now? Or would it be depressing to be reminded more often?
You’re forgetting Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day.
Nota, Memorial and Veteran’s Day are not for a single war and that’s why I didn’t mention them,
My dad’s best friend is a veteran, and we’ve stayed in touch. He was stationed in England, and I send him the articles I see regarding WWII and the veterans who hit the news. He is always saying how lovely it is that Britain recognizes the sacrifices made during WWII, and still honors them to this day. He says he wishes there were something more formal over here.
It always chokes me up to see articles in the Daily Mail when an old veteran dies after his family and friends have — the funeral home advertises the burial and hundreds of people show up to pay their respects. It really is lovely.
All that being said, it strikes closer to home because Britons actually had to live through WWII — my mother remembers it — and Europe is very, very close. It’s quite a bit different over here.
bluhare – Thanks for sharing. You make a good point about WWII being fought on Brit soil. The Brits’ collective memory of WWII is undoubtedly very vivid. Very few WWII vets are still alive but many of their younger siblings, wives and most of their children are still alive.
I think Americans (especially contemporary Americans) don’t do remembrance very well. Partly that is just because we tend to be focused on the future – Americans see themselves as people who can always reinvent themselves.
One hundred years ago, the Civil War was remembered all across the country, but that was because the veterans of that conflict were still alive AND it had taken place on American soil. I think though that the fact that so many Americans are the descendents of recent immigrants and (for want of a better word) old-fashioned “patriotism” is not emphasized in the schools today, many Americans feel a disconnect with American history. It is not their ancestors who fought and in today’s history classes, little is taught of military history anyway. In fact a lot of what is taught in American history these days is how bad the US is and was.
Europeans still tend to be the descendents of those who fought AND the battles took place on their soil. So they still have a feel for the past (at least some of them do!) Of course some Americans are interested in their history, but I think the numbers are declining.
Also for this type of commemoration, having a monarchy works well. They are not political. When an American president (of either party) appears these days, politics always rears its ugly head. (That did not used to be the case in quite the same way.)
justme – Excellent points about Americans feeling disconnected from their history and in general more future-oriented. I felt disconnected until as a young adult I visited the historic sites in and around Boston with a group of friends who were also raised in the Midwest.
You and bluhare have swayed me to thinking we would benefit from more remembrance events for specific wars on this side of the pond. I will never forget photos of the UK poppy installation from last fall and how it stirred up in me sadness about war but even more so feelings of wanting to help make the world a better place.
This is the problem I have with people who demand to come to the country without going through the process. They don’t learn the history, the sacrifices we have made or the language. For example, many of the men and all of the women who fought in WW2 were volunteers; they didn’t have to fight but they did. I cry everytime I think about. This country has been ugly and it’s been beautiful and one must know it all to appreciate it.
She looks amazing. I want that hat, and I have nowhere to wear it. I like her entire ensemble.
Nope. No way. Not having it. To me, she will always be the woman who worked so hard to befriend Diana all the while schtupping her husband. Butter wouldn’t melt in this woman’s mouth. She will always be the lying, betraying, valueless other woman. Team Diana all the way. So there.
And I bet she doesn’t feel the least bit guilty.
I think that hat was a bit too much.
The Countess Dowager on Downton Abbey could have worn it. That hat feels really dated and too bombastic for a modern outfit.
I’ve noticed lately that Camilla is beginning to dress like the Queen only slightly more modern and less boxy. They have similar figures, top heavy and relatively short , a long coat over a matching dress is slimming, smooths out the bumps and gives the illusion of added height. Once out of the dress-coat combo and into evening wear though their matronly shapes can’t be so easily disguised.