Prince William and Kate Middleton wore all black to honour Prince Philip as they returned to work for the first time since the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
The Cambridges visited the RAF Air Cadets, in east London, amid the Royal Family’s two-week mourning period that will end tomorrow.
Under royal protocol, the family should only undertake engagements that are considered appropriate during this time period.
The Queen – who today celebrated her 95th birthday – gave the couple special permission to attend due to Philip’s close links to the RAF Air Cadets, who help young people to get their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
During the mourning period, family members should wear all black or dark clothes, along with MPs and newsreaders.
If they are wearing a military uniform, a black armband should be worn to signify their grieving.
William today wore a black suit and tie for the visit, while Kate recycled a black Dolce & Gabbana coat she was previously seen wearing on Remembrance Sunday in 2017.
The couple spent the day with RAF Air Cadets which has become the largest participant in the Duke of Edinburgh awards, which recognises volunteering and other achievements.
While visiting the 282 Squadron in West Ham, London, the cadets gave a Three Cheers Salute for Prince Philip.
Kate, who Philip made Honorary Air Commandant of the RAF Air Cadets in 2015, also showed off her flying skills in a flight simulator while William stood back and joked: ‘I’ll hold the handbag’.
Much like the rest of the Armed Forces, the RAF had always been of special importance to the Duke of Edinburgh, who served as the Honorary Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps for 63 years.
William was also involved with the Force when he served as one of its pilots for search and rescue helicopters.
The Cambridges spoke to a number of Cadet members who are preparing for their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
Every year the Air Cadets, a force established in 1941 for 12 to 19-year-olds, receives about 3,000 Duke of Edinburgh awards.
Since the programme began in 1956, Air Cadets have taken home 193,000 bronze, silver, gold medals.
Group Captain Al Lewis said of the visit: ‘It was a really unique experience and the cadets only found out an hour before they arrived…
‘It was wonderful for them, too, to see the real legacy that the Duke of Edinburgh left.
‘I spoke to the duke about whether he was still flying and he said he was very keen to try to keep his flying hours up. He clearly misses flying professionally.’
The Cambridge’s visit came on the day of the Queen’s first birthday since her beloved husband died on April 9.
She today issued a statement which said: ‘I have, on the occasion of my 95th birthday today, received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate.
‘While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world.
‘My family and I would like to thank you all for the support and kindness shown to us in recent days.
‘We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Share this with