Prince William and Kate Middleton step out in Windsor days after the Queen's funeral

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Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, have made their first public appearance since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday.

While the period of royal mourning continues until this coming Monday and most of the Waleses’ engagements have been cancelled to observe that official mourning, William and Kate’s appearance in Windsor on Thursday was perfectly in line with this respectful time.

The royal couple stepped out in their new hometown, where they headed to the Windsor Guildhall to meet volunteers and staff who were directly involved with Queen Elizabeth’s funeral proceedings earlier this week.

They spent time at the Guildhall getting to know the workers who came to greet them, and to express their gratitude for helping everything run according to plan.

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Credit: Ian Vogler-WPA Pool / Getty Images

On their way to this official engagement, the Waleses were met by crowds of well-wishers, smartphones at the ready to catch a glimpse of the royal couple on camera — which was reminiscent of the walkabout they conducted in the town shortly after the Queen’s passing, when they were joined by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

For this public appearance, the Princess opted for a smart double-breasted black knee-length coat, which she wore closed to show off its gold buttons. She paired the coat-dress with simple black tights and black suede pointy heels. The Prince wore an understated navy suit, with a crisp white shirt and black tie.

Due to the mourning period, William wasn’t able to attend the Earthshot prize summit in New York City on Wednesday as he had originally planned. Still, he confirmed that he and Kate would be in attendance at the awards ceremony in Boston in December, People reports. 

As for Kate, she had to skip a charity tennis event she had organised with Roger Federer, the Laver Cup Open Practice Day in London, which takes place today (Thursday), and whose ticket sales will be donated to Action for Children and the LTA Tennis Foundation.

Our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this difficult time.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.