Kate, the Princess of Wales, has become the focus of a new viral video, after footage from her appearance at the armed forces "Beating Retreat" ceremonial event resurfaced on TikTok.
Since her marriage into the royal family in 2011, Kate has regularly attended ceremonial events connected with the monarchy and other British institutions such as the armed forces. The princess' husband, Prince William, is a former serviceman, having trained in the army, before moving to the Royal Air Force, where he became a helicopter pilot.
The biggest royal military ceremony each year is Trooping the Colour, a large-scale spectacle that takes place in London in June to mark the monarch's official birthday. In the month preceding the ceremony, a number of satellite events and rehearsals take place, including two known as the "Beating Retreat."
The ceremony has its origins in historic British warfare, where regimental drummers would sound their instruments to announce to soldiers on the battlefield that a tactical retreat was taking place. Today the act has developed into a pageant, taking place on two evenings each June before Trooping the Colour, with performances by military bands, drill displays and fireworks, all staged at the Horse Guards Parade ground near Buckingham Palace.
In 2019, the Beating Retreat had a special royal attendant, in the form of Kate, then the Duchess of Cambridge. Members of the royal family don't always attend the events, but the 2019 ceremony was attended by Kate as a way to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Uploaded to TikTok by user princessofwales2022 on August 4, the new viral video shows Kate taking her seat for the Beating Retreat, surrounded by high ranking members of the British armed forces.
Captioned "elegance," the video has received over 350,000 views on the social media platform so far, and in excess of 13,000 likes and 400 comments, many of which have praised the princess for her stylish appearance.
Kate was wearing a cream coat dress—one of her favorite fashion styles for ceremonial events—designed by London based design house, Catherine Walker & Co.
Catherine Walker had been one of the favorite designers of Princess Diana, first making pieces for the royal in 1982 when she was expecting Prince William. Over the years, Walker became the designer distinguished with having made more of Diana's event wear than any other, as well as a close friend.
When Diana died in 1997 she was buried wearing a Catherine Walker dress and after the designer's own death in 2010, Diana's daughter-in-law, Kate, became a loyal client of the house, which is now run by Walker's husband, Said Cyrus.
"Those women can't take their eyes off of her! She's stunning💕," wrote one TikTok user of the crowd's reaction to Kate at the Beating Retreat event.
"Absolutely stunning, Elegant and Classy, future Queen ladies and gentlemen 🥰," posted another, with a further comment reading: "She is phenomenal."
With her Catherine Walker coat dress at the event, Kate paired a small gold brooch in the shape of a shamrock, which had been loaned to her by the Irish Guards regiment as the wife of their colonel, Prince William.
Kate attended the annual Irish Guards' St Patrick's Day parade regularly with William after their marriage, and in 2022 King Charles made his daughter-in-law the regiment's new colonel in her own right, while William (as Prince of Wales) became colonel of the Welsh Guards.
Kate formally took on her new role during the 2023 St Patrick's Day parade, wearing the gold brooch and a coat dress in the regimental colour, saying in a speech:
"I really couldn't be prouder to stand in front of you here today. It really is a true honour to be your Colonel. I am here to listen to you, to support you, and to champion you in all you do – this is a responsibility I do not take lightly."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
