The Story Behind Kate Middleton, The Princess Of Wales’s Armistice Earrings

Yesterday afternoon, the wind-lashed expanse of the National Memorial Arboretum played host to a significant chapter in the modern history of the Windsors, as the Princess of Wales arrived to represent the royals at the annual Service of Remembrance. Not only was it Catherine’s debut at the event – and a rare appearance by a non-blood royal in that role – but also an occasion she personally helped shape, having commissioned the poet Arji Manuelpillai to write a tribute for the proceedings.

Titled, A Sonnet For Us All, Manuelpillai devised the piece to “shine a light on the bonds and relationships that lay often hidden by conflict. Those quiet acts of care, the friendships that endure, and the sense of duty that binds one generation to the next,” he said, adding, “these human connections, and the gentle responsibility to carry love forward, are themes that resonate not only with me, but also with HRH The Princess of Wales, for whom the importance of service and compassion lies especially close to the heart.”

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