Kate Middleton’s Decision to Wear Three Poppy Pins Instead of Just One Is Deeply Personal

Mar. 15, 2025

Catherine, Princess of Wales smiles as she stands from the balcony during the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph on Nov. 10, 2024 in London, England.Photo:Chris Jackson/Getty

Chris Jackson/Getty

Kate Middletonwore three poppies pinned to her black Catherine Walker ensemble for Remembrance Sunday — and there’s a meaningful reason why.

The Princess of Wales, 42, made back-to-back appearances on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, first at theFestival of Remembranceat Royal Albert Hall on Saturday night and then, on Sunday morning, atRemembrance Sundayat The Cenotaph war memorial. This marked a big step in Princess Kate’s gradual return to royal life, which began after she announced on Sept. 9 that she hadcompleted chemotherapy, roughly six months after she announced on March 22 she had been diagnosed with cancer.

As shestood on the balconyof the Foreign Office building withSophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Kate wore three poppy pins affixed to her coatdress. While many members of the royal family stuck with just one, Kate’s choice to wear three had a symbolic meaning: they honor her great-grandmother’s three brothers, all of whom died in World War I, according toThe Daily Mail.

Catherine Princess of Wales and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh stand from the balcony during the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph on Nov. 10, 2024 in London, England.Chris Jackson/Getty

According toThe Mirror, Kate had the chance to view letters from her ancestors during an “emotional visit” to the Imperial War Museum in 2018. Kate began wearing three poppy pins to Remembrance Sunday as far back as 2015, having worn one just the year before, according toThe Sun. She continued to wear the set of three every year until 2019, when she opted to wear the Codebreakers brooch in honor of her grandmother, Valerie Glassbarrow. In 2020, Kate went back to the set of three poppies, this time accessorizing them with the Royal British Legion crystal flower.

Remembrance Sunday takes place on the second Sunday of November every year and is a national commemoration to remember the members of the Armed Forces across the U.K. and Commonwealth who lost their lives in conflict or war. Kate has never missed Remembrance Sunday since marrying into the royal family in 2011.

The Princess of Wales on a balcony at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London on Nov. 10, 2024.Press Association via AP Images

Press Association via AP Images

The royal’s Nov. 10 outfit was loaded with symbolism, even beyond the three poppies. She wore a coatdress from Catherine Walker, a tribute to her late mother-in-lawPrincess Diana, who counted Walker as her favorite designer and a personal friend. The night before, at the Festival of Remembrance, Kate paidanother sartorial tribute to Diana, as she wore her Collingwood pearl earrings to the occasion.

Catherine, Princess of Wales during the Service Of Remembrance at The Cenotaph on Nov. 10, 2024 in London, England.Samir Hussein/WireImage

Samir Hussein/WireImage

On Nov. 10 at Remembrance Sunday, Kate wore a pair of Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings that were a gift fromQueen Elizabeth, who received the earrings as a wedding present when she marriedPrince Philipon Nov. 20, 1947. (The Princess of Wales wore the same meaningful earrings to the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022.)

Queen Elizabeth, like Kate, also chose to wear more than one poppy — the late monarch wore five poppies, one for the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army, the Royal Air Force and the Defense Medical Services.

Other working royals at The Cenotaph alongside Kate and Sophie wereKing Charles,Prince William,Prince Edward,Princess Anne,Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence,Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester,Birgitte, the Duchess of GloucesterandPrince Edward, the Duke of Kent.

“While this is a source of great disappointment to The Queen, she will mark the occasion privately at home and hopes to return to public duties early next week,” the statement continued.

Queen Camilla on a balcony at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Whitehall, during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London on Nov. 12, 2023.Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty

Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty

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This weekend marked a big step forward in Princess Kate’s gradual return to public duty, which is expected to continue in December with her annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey. In her emotional Sept. 9 video announcing she’d completed chemotherapy, she said in part, “Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes.”

“I am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can,” she added. She’s kept true to her word, attending both private and photographed meetings at Windsor Castle around some of her key causes and stepping out with the Prince of Wales in Southport, England on Oct. 10 ahead of her Remembrance appearances over the weekend.

Catherine, Princess of Wales (R) arrives to attend “The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance” ceremony at Royal Albert Hall, in London, on Nov. 9, 2024 as part of the Remembrance Day commemorating the end of World War I.CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/POOL/AFP via Getty

CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/POOL/AFP via Getty

“She is clearly a vital piece of the royal family, really important both symbolically and in reality as a future Queen,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smithtells PEOPLE. “It was good that people saw her. You can’t say she is back … but she is coming back.”

“Being a senior member of the royal family and doing these ceremonial events is obviously important to her,” Bedell Smith adds.

source: people.com