Prince William’s subtle tribute to Diana: How Prince gave a nod to his mother at garden party

Prince William paid a subtle tribute to his mother Princess Diana as he attended the first garden party after the Coronation earlier this week.

Following the coronation of the new monarch and Queen Camilla on Saturday, the Prince of Wales, 40, teamed up with his wife Princess Kate, 41, Duchess Sophie, 58 and Prince Edward, 59, for the event at Buckingham Palace. 

They took the lead with the event which praises volunteers up and down the country. On Instagram, Kate and William said the event was to celebrate ‘people who do extraordinary things’. 

But Prince William also gave a quiet nod to another significant person at the event. 

For, in a rare public gesture, he opted to wear his mother’s favourite flowers, forget-me-nots, in the lapel of his jacket.

Princess Diana died at the age of 36 when the car she was travelling in crashed in a Paris tunnel on August 31, 1997

The flowers perfectly coordinated with Prince William’s baby blue tie, as well as his wife Kate’s Ellie Saab outfit. 

Princess Diana died at the age of 36 when the car she was travelling in crashed in a Paris tunnel on August 31, 1997. 

Forget-me-nots have been quietly referenced by the Prince of Wales and his brother Prince Harry at a number of events over the last few years. 

When the the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, which was one of Princess Diana’s favourite spots for reflection, was given a makeover in 2021, 100 of Diana’s favourite Forget-me-nots were planted.

And Harry has frequently featured forget-me-nots at poignant moments in their lives as a nod to the royal, including on Meghan Markle’s first mother’s day post in 2019.

Forget-me-nots also featured in Meghan’s bouquet on the couple’s wedding day, as a tribute to Harry’s late mother, who loved the small purple flowers.

The Duke hand-picked several flowers from their private garden at Kensington Palace a day ahead of the wedding.

In 2020, the couple visited a preschool in Los Angeles on the 23rd anniversary of Diana’s death, where they planted the flowers.

In a rare public gesture, William opted to wear his mother’s favourite flowers, forget-me-nots, in the lapel of his jacket

The Prince and Princess of Wales were joined by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to host the Coronation special Buckingham Palace Garden Party – and Kate and Sophie matched their outfits

William and Kate hosted the garden party where they are meeting Coronation champions, being rewarded for their volunteering efforts

The Princess, 41, dazzled in the recycled Elie Saab dress which she previously wore while attending Royal Ascot in 2019

Prince William joined his wife Kate at the Garden Party this week, which showcased the first glimpse of King Charles’s ‘slimmed down’ monarchy.

Mother-of-three Kate wore an Elie Saab dress and hat combo, which is a repeat of an outfit she once wore to Royal Ascot, accessorised with dazzling diamond and blue topaz ‘Lola’ earrings from Kiki McDonough and a clutch. Meanwhile her hair was styled in a sleek, intricate updo while her hat contained another floral headpiece – harking back to her show-stopping Coronation look. 

At her side was Duchess Sophie who also opted for a blue dress – and had also previously worn the outfit at Royal Ascot. With both Prince William and Prince Edward in top hats and tails, the foursome looked sleek and co-ordinated.

As Kate began greeting the 500 champions and thanked them for their hard work, she looked regal in the dress and hat combo, which was a slightly more jazzed-up look from her appearance at the Slough Big Help Out on Bank Holiday Monday.

Meanwhile Sophie stunned in a deeper shade of blue with a frilled midi-dress with a full skirt and looked just as regal alongside Prince Edward and the rest of the family. 

 As Kate and William walked down the steps outside the Palace and into the garden this afternoon, the Princess of Wales beamed at her husband, who appeared to be drawing her attention to something.