The Princess of Wales attended the funeral of the Duchess of Kent this afternoon, joining members of the Royal Family to honour the late Duchess, who died on the 4th of September, aged 92.
The Duchess—a proud Yorkshirewoman—married the Duke of Kent at York Minster in 1961. The pair were married for 45 years before her death earlier this month.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, is the cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II. (Not to be confused with Queen Elizabeth’s son, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh).
The Duke of Kent, arriving today:
The Duchess of Kent was probably best known for her appearances at Wimbledon, where she presented the Ladies’ Singles Trophy for many years.
She was also a passionate musician, music teacher and advocate for children and young people’s welfare.
The service—a Catholic Requiem Mass led by the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster—took place at Westminster Cathedral. It marked the first royal funeral ever held at the Cathedral since its construction — and the first Catholic royal funeral in modern British history.
The Duchess had converted to Catholicism in 1994, becoming the first member of the Royal Family to do so since the 17th century.
In keeping with her wishes, her funeral was held at the mother church of Catholics in England and Wales.
Attendees included Princess Anne with Sir Tim Laurence, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Actress Maureen Lipman, Prince Andrew, and the Duchess of York.
Here’s the Duchess of Gloucester arriving:
The King also attended, but Queen Camilla had to skip the service due to illness. The Queen is suffering from acute sinusitis—though she hopes to be well enough to attend the State Visit events on Wednesday.
Following the Mass, the coffin was taken by hearse to the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore, Windsor.
The Princess of Wales arrived at the Cathedral just before 2pm with her husband William, wearing a sombre black coat dress, veiled hat and sleek high heels for the service—all repeated items that we’ve seen before. Let’s take a look at each piece in detail.
Kate’s outfit:
The Princess wore a black A-line coatdress by Catherine Walker. It’s known as the Beau Tie style.
The wool-crepe coatdress features pleats that fall gently from the shoulder to tie into an oversized bow (shown below in red).
This is the third time we’ve seen the Princess wear the garment to date. She first wore it to Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021. In September 2022, she wore it for an audience with the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, before attending a reception held on the eve of the Queen’s funeral (pictured below).
The Princess also wears the same design in red. She has also worn that piece three times (in public) to date.
The Catherine Walker website shows the dress in several different colours, including red.
Kate has frequently worn Catherine Walker clothing since joining the Royal Family in 2011. She owns many coats and dresses from the designer. (Did you know, Princess Diana wore a lot of Catherine Walker clothing too—apparently over 1,000 outfits from the French-born designer!)
Catherine Walker, who has sadly passed on now, was a self-taught designer and one of the only couturiers living and working in Britain. Her husband and business partner, Said Cyrus, still oversees the atelier in Chelsea, London.
Kate paired the coatdress with a matching black hat by Jane Taylor. It’s the milliner’s ‘Pillbox Halo‘ design.
The hat is crafted from textured Italian crepe and features a satin bow at the back. Jane Taylor can finish the hat with a birdcage veil, too, if required. As you can see, the Princess opted for the veil.
Jane Taylor’s signature design is made-to-measure and costs £2,350. Expect delivery within 2-4 weeks. It also comes in a number of colour and fabric options.
Kate’s worn dozens of hats and headpieces from Jane Taylor over the years. The Princess has been spotted wearing the brand’s designs on many high-profile occasions, such as Royal Ascot, at all three of her children’s christenings, at her sister’s wedding, at Trooping the Colour and at several National Services of Thanksgiving.
Jane Taylor London is a Knightsbridge-based millinery house founded in 2004, celebrated for its elegant blend of couture craftsmanship and modern design. With its atelier tucked in Walton Street, the studio is helmed by Jane Taylor and her team of artisans, who draw on art, sculpture and textile heritage to produce beautifully sculpted hats, fascinators and headpieces.
We saw a return of Kate’s Chanel handbag today. The Princess carries the ‘Classic Mini Flap’ style in black quilted lambskin leather.
Crafted from soft black lambskin, the bag features Chanel’s signature quilted design. It’s finished with the brand’s unmistakable interlocking CC logo in a gold-tone metal. The bag’s strap is a gold chain, interwoven with leather.
The Princess debuted the bag in October 2023. This is the sixth time we’ve seen her carry it, to date.
The bag is available in select Chanel boutiques and retails for £4,080 in the UK and approximately $4,700 in the USA, according to the latest information from Chanel.com.
Kate’s no stranger to the French luxury fashion house; she has several Chanel pieces in her wardrobe. Alongside the Classic Mini Flap Bag, she owns two additional Chanel handbags, a vintage blazer, and a stylish coat dress.
Founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel, the label has long been synonymous with elegance and sophistication. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s vision was to create comfortable yet stylish pieces, blending simplicity with refinement. Today, Chanel remains a global symbol of luxury, extending its influence across fashion, fragrances, handbags, and jewellery.
Let’s move on to the Princess’s jewellery now.
Let’s start with the earrings—a pair of pearl and diamond earrings that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth II. They’re known as the ‘Silver Jubilee earrings’, referring to the late monarch wearing the earrings during her Silver Jubilee in 1977.
The earrings feature simple pearl drops suspended from a sparkling diamond stud.
The Princess debuted the earrings during a visit to Vancouver, Canada, in 2016 and has worn them on a handful of occasions since.
Kate brought back Queen Elizabeth’s four-strand pearl and diamond choker for the funeral.
It’s often referred to as the ‘Japanese Pearl Choker’ as it was commissioned from cultured pearls gifted to the late monarch by the Japanese government. Her Late Majesty commissioned royal jeweller Garrard to create the formal choker necklace.
The necklace includes four rows of pearls with a central diamond clasp in a curved shape, each side including three rows of diamonds that join at the top and bottom with marquise diamonds. According to Garrard: The Crown Jewellers for 150 Years, the Queen commissioned this from a set of the “finest cultured pearls presented to her by the Japanese government.” She made her first state visit to Japan in 1975; the choker was in use by at least 1982.
Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault
In total, Kate has worn the choker eight times to date, debuting the piece in November 2017 for a family dinner celebrating the Queen and Prince Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary. She’s since worn it to several high-profile and solemn events. Notably, she wore for the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
Let’s move on to Kate’s shoes now. The princess finished the look with a pair of sleek black suede heels by Gianvito Rossi—the Gianvito 105 style.
Kate’s owned the skyscraping heels for a decade now, first wearing them in 2015.
The 105mm heel pumps feature a sharp pointed toe; they’re handcrafted from the finest suede and leather by artisans in Italy.
Kate owns the same pair of shoes in NINE other colours at my last count—they’re a timeless style that has become a staple in her wardrobe.
She’s a big fan of the Gianvito Rossi shoes in general, and owns a whopping 23 different pairs of footwear from the Italian designer.
Gianvito Rossi, son of renowned shoe designer Sergio Rossi, launched his eponymous brand in 2006, quickly establishing himself as a master of refined, elegant footwear. Known for sleek silhouettes, impeccable craftsmanship, and superior comfort, Gianvito Rossi heels have become a go-to choice for celebrities and royals alike.
It looks like Kate carried her Cornelia James Imogen gloves.
Back in 2012, the company confirmed Kate owns the gloves. She’s worn them pretty frequently ever since.
The charming glove features a bow tie detail on the cuff. They’re handmade in the UK from soft merino wool, responsibly sourced from Australia.
The bow-topped gloves are clearly a favourite—Kate owns them in navy and chocolate brown too!
The gloves can be purchased from CorneliaJames.com for £129. Optional extras include monogramming and touch screen technology.
The company has been making gloves since 1946. Each pair of Cornelia James gloves is designed and made in East Sussex, England.
The company have held a Royal Warrant since 1979. In addition to Kate, a number of royals have worn gloves by Cornelia James, including Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, Princess Anne, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice.
Finally, Kate wore a dress underneath the coatdress. You see the pleats poking out underneath the coatdress’s hem:
Susan from What Kate Wore suggests it might have been this Alexander McQueen dress.
The Princess first wore the garment to visit Sandringham House in 2022, where she viewed floral tributes left for the late Queen Elizabeth in the days after her death. A few months later, she re-wore the dress during a visit to the Hayes Muslim Centre (March 2023).
The McQueen dress had a ribbed bodice and a very similar pleated skirt. It’s certainly a possibility. Of course, it’s impossible to know for sure—unless we see a photograph that proves or discredits the theory.
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