Kate Middleton has been spotted for the first time since Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 on Thursday.
Middleton, now known as the Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, was seen driving and looking rather somber while leaving Windsor Castle on Friday afternoon.
The mom of three, 40, wore large black sunglasses, dangle pearl earrings, a black mock turtleneck and had her hair back in a tight ponytail as she looked straight ahead at the road.
Middleton did not join her husband, Prince William, also 40, when he rushed to Balmoral Castle, Scotland to be by the Queen’s side on Thursday.
She had stayed behind to welcome their three children — Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4 — back home after they started school on Wednesday.
William — whose formal title is now the Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge — his father, now King Charles III, and his wife, now Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles, all made their way to the royal estate late Thursday morning after the Queen was placed under medical supervision.
Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, also joined them along their journey, where Princess Anne has been this week for royal engagements.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry arrived separately and hours after the Queen had passed. He was photographed looking saddened in a car entering the Balmoral Castle gates Thursday evening.
However, Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, did not travel with her husband there, as she was in Germany promoting the Invictus Games. BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell speculated that she “might not be terribly warmly welcomed.”
Harry and Markle infamously quit the royal family in early 2020 — causing a divide in their relationships with many of Harry’s relatives.
The former Duke and Duchess of Sussex — who paid somber tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch on their Archewell Foundation website — are still expected to attend a funeral alongside the rest of the royal family and leaders from across the globe.
