Kate Middleton Turns Heads in Red at Royal Reception in Canada

Meanwhile, controversy surrounds Prince William and the Black Rod Staff ceremony

By Zach Johnson Sep 27, 2016 12:30 PMTags
Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP

Kate Middleton looked ravishing in red Monday night.

All eyes were on the 34-year-old Duchess of Cambridge as the province of British Columbia hosted a reception for the royal couple at the official Government House in Victoria's upscale Rockland neighborhood. Middleton, who attended the event with Prince William, modeled a $1,332 Preen cocktail dress and paired it with Queen Elizabeth II's diamond maple leaf brooch. Kate wore her hair in an elegant chignon, allowing her baroque pearl Soru earrings to stand out.

Just before the reception, William added a fourth ring to the Black Rod staff, which symbolizes the First Nations in the province. The first three rings represent the Crown, Canada and British Columbia. The staff was created in 2012 to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and since then, there have been requests for the fourth ring to signify the nation's link with indigenous peoples.

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Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, leader of 115 First Nation tribes in the province, declined to participate, as he felt the event was "yet another grandiose pomp and ceremony that would create the illusion that things in our communities are progressing forward." The decision was made after a three-day debate at the Union of B.C. Chiefs' annual general meeting. "With the deepening poverty of our communities, remembering the missing and murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the ongoing negligence of Indigenous Child Welfare policies across this country, in good conscience, I cannot participate in the Black Rod Ceremony," Stewart argued.

Kensington Palace officials declined to comment on the controversy.

"We do not mean any disrespect," Stewart said. "It is a matter of principle."

In Stewart's absence, Grand Chief Edward John of the Tl'azt'en Nation helped hold the Black Rod as Chief Shane Gottfriedson of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation gave William the ring.