The Princess of Wales met with crew members from HMS Glasgow today at Windsor Castle. 
Kensington Palace released photos late this afternoon from the meeting.
More from a Royal Navy news release.
The crew were invited to Windsor where they met with the Princess of Wales for the first time since her appointment as HMS Glasgow’s ship’s sponsor was announced in June last year.
“It was a huge honour to be invited to Windsor Castle and to meet Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales,” said Warrant Officer Darran Sullivan, the ship’s Executive Warrant Officer.
“The appointment of sponsor signals an enduring connection between the ship’s crew and Her Royal Highness. It is clear from meeting her that she has a real interest in HMS Glasgow and in the lives of those who will serve onboard.”
We return to the news release.
Petty Officer Colin Chalmers, who joined as one of HMS Glasgow’s Marine Engineers last month, echoed the sentiment: “It was amazing meeting the Princess of Wales, particularly as there was such a small group of us in attendance. The moment she walked into the room her enthusiasm and genuine interest in us really shone through and put us immediately at ease.”
During the visit, the ship’s company presented Her Royal Highness with an HMS Glasgow ship’s crest and challenge coin.
Another view.
A group photo to memorialize the occasion.
Last June Prince William announced the Duchess of Cambridge as the ship’s royal sponsor during a visit to the BAE Systems shipyard where the ship is being built.
This is from a Daily Mail story covering that shipyard visit.
William – known as the Earl of Strathearn when north of the border – visited the BAE Systems yard in Govan, Glasgow, to meet the team building HMS Glasgow on the banks of the River Clyde.
He announced that the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, has become the sponsor of the Royal Navy frigate and will officially name her after the Queen approved her appointment to the role.
He announced: ‘Her Majesty the Queen has approved the appointment of my wife Catherine as sponsor of the superb ship we see taking shape outside – HMS Glasgow.
‘I know that Catherine will be delighted to join you here in Glasgow for the naming ceremony in due course.’
More from The Scottish Daily Express.
HMS Glasgow is the first of the Royal Navy’s new City Class Type 26 frigates. The first batch of the new generation of ships are being built by BAE Systems on the River Clyde, with HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast following the first of the class.
The ships’ main roles are anti-submarine warfare and air defence, although their flexible design means that they can also perform other duties such as counter-terrorism missions, disaster relief, and maritime security missions. The vessels will also deliver critical protection for the Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD) and the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Groups.
Now for our look at what Kate wore for today’s meeting with the crew.
She was in styles we have seen previously, her Alexander McQueen Crepe Blazer and coordinating trousers.
The single-breasted jacket features peaked lapels, angled flap pockets, a double back vent, and slightly raised shoulders. I show it at Bergdorf Goodman ($1995), but it is also offered at Neiman Marcus and Alexander McQueen. The trouser is a cigarette-leg style that I haven’t yet found in navy. The Princess has the jacket and coordinating trousers in several colors. Below you see her in the white ensemble, worn most recently at the Commonwealth Games in August, and the pink, seen at a June Early Years engagement.
Beneath the jacket, it looked like the Princess repeated her Bodysuit by Holland Cooper.
The exact style shown above is no longer available in the 90% polyamide/10% elastane blend previously worn by the Princess. A new style with what looks like the same cut and other details is now offered in a 60% cupro/40% viscose fabric (£149, about $165 at today’s exchange rates.)
Carly at Kate Middleton Style points out this looks like the ensemble worn by the Duchess of Cambridge for a January 2021 call with nursing students.
I think the Princess had on her Patrick Mavros Ocean Tide Milky Quartz ($4800), first worn in May 2020.
And she brought back her Round Stilla Lapis Lazuli Pendant Necklace ($180) from Astley Clarke.
More from the product description: “…this demi-fine Stilla gemstone pendant features a captivating table-cut lapis lazuli gem, set in 18-carat yellow gold plated sterling silver, and uses a spectacle setting to display the entire blue gemstone and show its complexities beautifully. This gemstone pendant is finished with a gold nugget detail and our signature Astley Clarke star-set lapis lazuli tag.”
Unrelated to wardrobe, it looks like today’s meeting was held in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, where so many Royal Family photos have been taken. Below, one of the classic 90th birthday photos shot by Annie Leibovitz of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, this one with her five great-grandchildren and her two youngest grandchildren.
This is one of the rooms severely damaged in the 1992 fire at the castle.
Embed from Getty Images
Below, some of the restoration work underway in January 1995.
Embed from Getty Images
And the room after that restoration was completed in 1997.
Embed from Getty Images
I imagine this is the first of what could be many Windsor Castle audiences for the Princess of Wales.
