Why Did Prince Harry Get a Better Seat Than Kate Middleton at the Anzac Day Service?

Published Apr 25, 2019

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6:15pm

Today, in honor of Anzac Day, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry joined forces to pay tribute to fallen soldiers.

With Prince William in New Zealand and Meghan Markle on maternity leave, the 37-year-old Duchess of Cambridge and 34-year-old Duke of Sussex attended the annual Anzac Day Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey side by side.

We always love a good Kate and Harry outing, which are sparser now that the Royal Fab Four has separated. But that wasn’t the only aspect of the service that caught our eye.

As royal aficionados well know, position and rank are of high importance and at the Anzac Day service, the highest-ranking royal in attendance sits closest to the altar. In this case, it wasn’t the Duchess of Cambridge who snagged the good seat, but Prince Harry.

WPA Pool/Getty Images

Why? Well, even though Middleton is married to the future king of England and will serve as the queen consort, she isn’t royal by blood. So, Prince Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, held the highest rank there. Prince Richard, the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary who’s 26th in line to the throne, sat next to him and Middleton sat in the third closest seat.

Had Prince William been in attendance as well, he and Kate would have sat in the first seat. Instead, he’s spending Anzac Day in New Zealand on a solo visit to pay homage to servicemen, as well as to the families and victims of the Christchurch mosque terrorist attacks that occurred in March.

If Meghan Markle wasn’t on maternity leave, she would have been seated next to her husband, Prince Harry, in front and—gasp—ahead of Middleton.

When Prince Charles ascends the throne, however, this whole order will change. Upon Prince Charles becoming king, Prince William and Middleton will become the Prince and Princess of Wales and will only be outranked by the king and queen consort, Camilla Parker Bowles. In that case, the Duchess of Cambridge will rank accordingly, even if Prince William isn’t present.

How’s that for complicated family dynamics?

Lex Goodman

Cat mom, yogi, brunch enthusiast

Lex is an LA native who's deeply obsessed with picnics, Slim Aarons, rosé, Hollywood history and Joan Didion. She joined PureWow in early 2017.

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