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Sombre Kate supports her husband as he remembers fallen comrades

14 NOVEMBER 2011 It was a sombre moment as the Duchess of Cambridge joined the other Windsor wives in honouring Britain's fallen for the first time.

In a black Diane von Furstenberg coat that sported two scarlet poppies, Kate stood on the balcony of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to watch Prince William laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in London's Whitehall.

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The 29-year-old had followed the example of the Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Wessex in wearing a hat for the Remembrance Day service – hers was by Jane Corbett.

Camilla and Sophie appeared to be talking her through the proceedings as William, a search and rescue pilot, followed senior royals, including the Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles in paying his respects, dressed in his grey Royal Air Force uniform.

For Flight Lieutenant Wales, as he is known in the military, the act of remembrance has very real meaning. Two dear friends of his lost their lives in combat.

Second Lieutenant Joanna Dyer, a friend from Sandhurst, died in Iraq in 2007. Major Alexis 'Lex' Roberts, his former platoon commander, was killed in Afghanistan the same year.

He has never forgotten their sacrifice. At the royal wedding places were reserved for Joanna's sister and Susan Roberts, Lex's widow.