The Royal Family were meeting for the 2026 Commonwealth Day Service

Princess Anne had to swerve the Princess of Wales due to the size of the hat she was wearing.

Catherine donned a navy Catherine Walker dress coat at today’s Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

 

She accompanied the dress coat with a matching navy hat that caused issues while greeting the Princess Royal.

The pair were exchanging pleasantries inside the abbey, and after greeting Sir Timothy Lawrence with a kiss, Catherine made her way to Anne, who appeared to swerve the future Queen.

Princess Anne, Princess of Wales

Princess Anne made her feelings clear with the size of Catherine’s hat as she avoided kissing her on the cheek

| GB NEWS

Anne laughed the situation off as she put a hand on Catherine’s arm before moving on.

Senior members of the Royal Family were all in attendance for the service in Central London, besides the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, who are supporting Team GB during the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Games.

The royals were met with a frosty reception as they arrived at Westminster Abbey, as three anti-monarchy protests took place outside the historic venue.

Republic, an anti-monarchy group, were among the factions ready to lambast the arriving royals.

Yellow placards reading “Not My King” were visible, as well as a massive banner stating: “What Did You Know? Abolish The Monarchy. Charles, What Are You Hiding?”

Elsewhere, black placards reading: “Commonwealth Of Hypocrisy. We Demand Justice For Babanki”, and “Commonwealth Of Hypocrisy. Free All Arrested. Over 4500 Currently Held In Cameroun’s Torture Centres” could be seen.

Princess Anne, Princess of Wales

The Princess of Wales laughed the interaction off

| GETTY

In addition, a third group are protesting against the Commonwealth’s alleged anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Last month, Republic announced it was planning a major demonstration at this year’s Order of the Garter ceremony, scheduled for Monday, June 15 at Windsor Castle.

In a press release, the organisation revealed it has “an exciting action planned” for the royal event and is seeking monarchy sceptics to participate.

The group has explained that those interested in observing the protest must apply through the traditional route, but conceal their reason for attending.

Republic, which exists to advocate for the replacement of the monarchy with a de jure parliamentary republic, emphasised that building a large pool of ticket holders would increase the likelihood of their planned demonstration succeeding at the historic ceremony.

The group explicitly warned applicants to conceal their affiliation with the campaign group when requesting tickets.

Anti-monarchy protests erupt at Westminster Abbey before the Commonwealth Day service earlier today

| GB NEWSIt comes as the BBC has scrapped its live broadcast of today’s Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, opting instead to air an episode of Escape to the Country.

The national broadcaster attributed the decision to budgetary constraints.