Kate, the Princess of Wales this week paid a touching tribute to the King’s beloved grandmother Elizabeth, the Queen Mother during the state visit of South Korea’s President to London.
During the banquet at Buckingham Palace, the Princess of Wales became the first royal to don the dazzling Strathmore Rose Tiara that once belonged to the late royal for nearly 90 years.
The fashion pick was interpreted as a subtle hint at the type of royal Kate wants to emulate going forward.
According to author Sally Bedell Smith: “It underlines the link that Kate appears to be making to her husband’s great-grandmother and a very strong partnership that she and the Duke of York (who became George VI) had.
“The couple today are doing things as a real team, and a real partnership, much as the then Duke and Duchess of York did.”
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Much like Kate with William today, Elizabeth, the Queen Mother was known to be a steadfast presence at her husband’s side through both peace and times of crisis for the country.
She famously refused to evacuate during the London Blitz, insisting that “the children won’t go without me. I won’t leave the King. And the King will never leave.”
Speaking to the Daily Express earlier this year, Bedell Smith noted the similarities between the current Prince and Princess of Wales and his great-grandparents.
Much like George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Kate and William are supportive of each other but know they can pursue their own interests and duties separately.
She said: “In the case of William and Kate, obviously they have causes that they share and yet each of them has the latitude to pursue their interests.
“It’s all designed to help improve the lives of the British. That commitment to serving the public was very deeply embedded in George VI and Elizabeth, and it certainly is in the case of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.”
Author Bethan Holt told PEOPLE that the Princess of Wales has repeatedly indicated the Queen Mother is one of the prominent models inspiring her decisions as a senior royals.
She said: “It has been said that Kate has looked for inspiration to the Queen Mother in terms of how she conducted herself and so to have that tiara symbolising that, in such a public moment, I think it is really significant.
“I think if there was anyone to wear that tiara, it was Kate; she was the woman to wear it and carry it forward.”
