Kate and Camilla display new royal partnership during special lunch for sorrowful Commonwealth dignitaries
17 September 2022, 17:39 | Updated: 17 September 2022, 23:10
Kate, Princess of Wales, and Camilla were shown deep in conversation as the royal women mingled with Commonwealth leaders during a special lunch at Buckingham Palace.
The Prince and Princess of Wales joined the King and Queen Consort for lunch with governors-general from the Commonwealth realms ahead of Monday's funeral as the world continues to mourn the Queen.
Kate, who wore her hair down, was pictured smiling at the Queen Consort, who was holding a drink with a slice of lemon in it, as the pair chatted.
At one stage, Kate, who was wearing a long three-strand pearl necklace, placed her hand on the arm of Saint Lucia governor-general Cyril Errol Melchiades Charles as they spoke.
The princess also stood next to the King as he spoke to the dignitaries, with William also mingling in the busy room.
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Princess Anne and the Earl of Wessex also attended this afternoon's lunch for the governors-general of the Commonwealth nations at Buckingham Palace.
The governors-general of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu were among those present.
The Commonwealth, a club of 56 countries that evolved out of the British Empire after World War Two and which presents itself as a partnership of equals, mattered hugely to the late Queen, who as its head made numerous visits to member states and cultivated friendly ties with their leaders.
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The lunch comes after William and Charles met mourners queueing for the Queen's lying in state.
Crowds cheered as the monarch and his son arrived to thank people for waiting up to 26 hours to pay their respects to Her Majesty at Westminster Hall.
