Tears of the Crown: from Kate Middleton’s Wimbledon waterworks to Princess Charlene’s wedding day tears – the moments when we saw royals well-up…
They are known for keeping a cool head and a calm exterior – particularly at official events.
But even the most stoic members of the Royal Family are prone to shed a tear or two at moments of heightened stress or emotion.
The Princess of Wales appeared to tear up as she watched Tunisian Ons Jabeur lose her second women’s final in a row at Wimbledon on Saturday, for example.
And the princess is not alone, as these pictures show…
Kate Middleton
The Princess of Wales appeared to become tearful in a rare emotional moment in public as she watched Ons Jabeur lose the women’s final at Wimbledon on Saturday
Kate seemed moved by the action and appeared to wipe tears from her eyes as she watched the conclusion of the match from the Royal Box
Kate attended a fundraising event for a children’s hospice at the Norfolk Showground, near Norwich, on November 25, 2014
The mother-of-three was driven away looking upset after meeting a mother who lost her child
Kate Middleton, 41, who is patron of the All England Club, watched Tunisia’s Jabeur take on the Czech Republic’s Markéta Vondrousova for the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Throughout the match, the royal, who is a huge tennis fan, cheered, applauded and grinned as the Czech player became the first-ever unseeded Grand Slam champion.
Kate also appeared to empathise with Jabeur, who was openly weeping after losing the match – her second losing Wimbledon final in a row.
And the princess, too, wiped tears from her eyes as she watched the conclusion of the match from the Royal Box.
In November 2014, Kate attended a launch event for East Anglia Children’s Hospices charity and afterwards, she was seen welling up as she drove away from the engagement.
Kate, who was four months pregnant with Princess Charlotte, had spoken to one attendee, Leigh Smith, who had sadly lost her three-month-old baby Beatrice from a rare heart condition.
Mrs Smith said: ‘Kate sought me out and gave me a hug just before she left.
‘I was getting quite teary-eyed, she had tears in her eyes and she just said to me, ‘You’re a very brave lady and again, I’m just so, so sorry’.’
The pair had already been in touch after Mrs Smith wrote to the Princess praising the work of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, of which Kate is a royal patron, in the difficult days after her daughter’s death.
Kate replied to her letter and sought Leigh out during the launch event.
‘I was so surprised to receive a letter with such personal comments and signed by her,’ Mrs Smith said. ‘It was a lovely gesture and helped me through a terrible time.’
Princess Diana
Princess Diana broke down in tears as she left Ashworth Hospice in Liverpool in 1992
The Princess, known for her kind heart, appeared to have been overwhelmed by the visit
Two decades earlier, Princess Diana was seen letting her emotions take over when she left Ashworth Hospice in Liverpool in 1992.
The royal, also referred to as the People’s Princess, who was known for her heartwarming empathy, appeared to have been overwhelmed by the upsetting instances at the Hospice.
However, external influences may have also been the cause of the Princess’ upset.
The same year, Diana and Prince Charles separated after the breakdown of their relationship became public knowledge, having been heavily publicised in the media.
The Queen
Queen Elizabeth was seen wiping a tear from her eye at the decommissioning of HMY Britannia on December 11, 1997, in Portsmouth
During the Remembrance Sunday Service in November 2002, the Queen was brought to tears as she paid her respect to those who had fallen during the war
The first time the late Queen Elizabeth II cried in public was on December 11, 1997, in Portsmouth, when her beloved HMY Britannia was decommissioned.
It was a shocking sight for royal watchers to witness, having become so accustomed to her stoic manner.
Dressed in an all-red ensemble, a photograph from the event shows Her Majesty wiping a tear from her cheek as she said goodbye to her luxury yacht when the costs of the aged vehicle came too great to maintain.
After a long and successful career spanning 43 years and travelling over 1 million miles around the globe, the yacht which had served the Royal Family was moored for good.
The Queen was moved to tears on Remembrance Sunday in 2002.
Tears were seen collecting on the Monarch’s cheeks when she visited the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey.
Sat alongside the then Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Cambridge, the Queen was overcome by emotion during the service where she and other members of the Royal Family paid their respect to those who had fallen in service of war efforts.
The 2002 event was poignant for the royal she took on her late mother’s role at the ceremony, held in memory of Britain’s war heroes.
The service was rarely missed by the Queen Mother, and she had taken part in the ceremony in 2001, just months before her death in March.
Her Majesty was also seen wiping away a tear almost two decades later during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in 2019.
King Charles
King Charles III and Queen Camilla appear emotional as they wave to the crowd after their horse Desert Hero won its race during Ladies Day on day three of Royal Ascot in June
King Charles seems emotional as he won his first Royal Ascot race with Camilla
King Charles was moved to shed rare tears of poignancy following the first racing win of his reign at Ascot – the first without his late mother as guest of honour.
Charles and Queen Camilla jumped to their feet in excitement on June 23 as the horse they jointly own, Desert Hero, galloped over the line in a nail-biting finish to the King George V Stakes.
The King appeared to wipe away a tear as he watched his first win as monarch II.
He appeared to find it difficult to contain his emotions as he collected the trophy, knocking it over as Camilla looked on.
Charles and Camilla are the first ruling monarchs to co-own horses racing at Royal Ascot in more than 300 years since Queen Anne founded the racecourse in 1711.
And bookmaker Paddy Power estimated that, industrywide, backers of Desert Hero collected more than £1million in winnings after the horse was priced at 18/1.
Queen Camilla sat alongside her husband as he wiped away his tears during a national service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas on August 15, 2020
King Charles demonstrated a rare side to himself when he showed great emotion in August 2020 at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire for the VJ Day National Remembrance event as he sat alongside his wife Queen Camilla.
The Monarch was moved to tears after leading a two-minute silence at the engagement before laying a wreath at the Kwai Railway Memorial. An estimated 16,000 Allied prisoners of war died in the forced construction of the Burma-Siam ‘Death Railway’ under the brutal supervision of Japanese guards.
Queen Camilla
Queen Camilla struggled to hold back the tears as she heard from women about their harrowing experiences during a visit to the Safelives Centre in London in January 2016
Queen Camilla was moved to tears by the harrowing stories of women who have survived domestic abuse – and those who have lost their lives at the hands of violent partners.
During a visit to the Safelives Centre in London in January 2016, Camilla, red-eyed and visibly moved, listened intently as, one by one, each woman stepped forward to recall their devastating experiences.
Afterwards, Her Majesty spoke to victims of domestic abuse and vowed she would do anything within her power ‘to help’.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, broke down in tears as she opened up about Prince Philip two months after he died in an interview with the BBC in June 2021
Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, broke down in tears as she opened up about the death of Prince Philip during an emotional BBC interview.
The Duchess said the late Duke of Edinburgh’s passing on April 9, 2021, had left a ‘giant-sized hole in our lives’ during an interview with Naga Munchetty at St James’s Palace in June of the same year.
The mother-of-two, who is married to Prince Edward, choked up as she recalled taking a photograph of the Queen and her husband in Scotland in 2003.
In an emotional and wide-ranging interview, Sophie admitted the grieving process was going to take ‘a lot longer’ due to the pandemic.
She also told the heartwarming story of Philip ‘chatting away’ with her daughter Louise about carriage driving and how ‘he was so pleased she took up the sport’.
The Duchess of Edinburgh was reduced to tears as she made a short speech thanking staff for helping her after she was rushed to the hospital for the birth of her first child
Overcome with emotion, Sophie hugged Adriene Price, Frimley Park’s head of midwifery, at the opening of the new unit
The Duchess of Edinburgh made an emotional return to Frimley Park Hospital, where her two children were born, to officially open its new neonatal unit back in March 2014.
The 58-year-old, whose children, Lady Louise, 19, and James, 15, were both born there, paid an hour-long visit to the hospital, where she shared an emotional embrace with Head of Midwifery, Adrienne Price, who was present at both births.
The new unit was a direct result of the hospital’s fundraising efforts after they raised £150,000 in the Saving Tiny Lives campaign, which was reinvested into its special care baby unit, which welcomes fifteen new babies a day.
Sophie struggled to fight back her tears as she unveiled the plaque and said: ‘Thank you very much for inviting me here today.
‘I want to say well done to everyone for your fundraising, and for all the work you do to help thousands of families – your service is the difference between life and death.’
In 2002, the Countess lost her first child when she suffered an ectopic pregnancy.
Lady Louise arrived four weeks before her due date and Sophie herself came close to death during the emergency caesarean after she lost nine pints of blood through internal bleeding.
The Queen, who was extremely fond of her daughter-in-law, was so concerned that she made an unprecedented break with protocol and visited Sophie in the hospital.
Prince Harry
The Duke of Sussex took to the stage at the WellChild Awards in October 2019, to talk about how he knew at last year’s event that his wife Meghan was pregnant
As Prince Harry talked about becoming a father he choked back tears and had to stop his speech, with host Gaby Roslin stepping in to pat him on the back
In October 2019, an emotional Prince Harry became tearful while talking about becoming a father with Meghan Markle as he gave a speech at the WellChild Awards.
Taking the stage, the Duke of Sussex delivered a speech celebrating the inspirational qualities of seriously ill children and young people.
‘They never fail to inspire me – but this year it resonates in a different way because now I’m a father,’ he told the audience.
‘Last year when my wife and I attended we knew that we were expecting our first child, no one else knew, but we did.’
He added: ‘And now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you pulls at my heartstrings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own.’
As he spoke about it he seemed to choke back tears and had to stop his speech, with host Gaby Roslin stepping in to pat him on the back, before the crowd cheered at him.
Meghan Markle
Duchess of Sussex had tears streaming down her face during the guided meditation session filmed for their Netflix documentary after they quit the Royal Family in January 2020
Meghan Markle broke down in tears as she had a guided meditation session with Prince Harry in the couple’s new bombshell Netflix documentary.
The clip, which appears to have been filmed shortly after the Duke and Duchess quit the Royal Family in January 2020, opens with the couple sitting in an unknown friend’s New York apartment.
The voice of Prince Harry and Meghan’s guided meditation instructor is heard telling the couple to inhale and exhale as they sit on a sofa with their palms facing up at the ceiling.
She tells the couple: ‘Remember that what is transpiring in the media, what’s being created, is an illusion.
When you try to prove that you’re good and that you’re not the person they say you are, you’re taking the bait, you’re feeding the beast. It is an illusion.
‘Your work is not to prove your goodness. You know who you are, both of you.’
As their instructor speaks, Meghan is seen lovingly placing a hand on Prince Harry’s thigh.
After being told that their session has come to an end, the camera jumps back to Meghan – who has tears streaming down her face.
The mother-of-two then wiped away the tears as her visibly emotional husband leans his head back on the sofa.
Princess Anne
Princess Anne wiping a tear from her eye at the decommissioning of HMY Britannia
Princess Anne was spotted getting emotional at the decommissioning ceremony for HMY Britannia on December 11, 1997, in Portsmouth.
The Princess Royal, who was 47 at the time, was also seen dabbing her eye as she let a few tears slip during the emotional time for the family.
The Royal Yacht had played a major role in her life.
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, in the television programme Finding Sarah: From Royalty to the Real World
Sitting down for her six-part series Finding Sarah: From Royalty to the Real World in 2011, Sarah Ferguson broke down in tears as she recalled the earlier years of her marriage to Prince Andrew.
The Duchess of York welled up as she recounted the lonely years as her ex-husband was stationed away in the Navy as she navigated her new life as a Princess.
Wiping tears from her eyes, she explained how she faced a storm of criticism shortly after Princess Beatrice was born in 1988 when she attended her first royal tour to Australia with Prince Andrew but without her newborn.
Princess Beatrice, who was born in August 1988, was only six weeks old at the time when the Duke and Duchess of York undertook the tour.
The Duchess of York flew out ahead of the royal tour’s start to spend time privately with her husband and also extended her stay in Australia to visit her sister who lived in the country.
She said: ‘That’s when the press turned on me. That’s when they said I was a bad mother, ‘Bad Fergie’ sold papers. It’s never stopped since then.’
Jack Brooksbank
Groom Jack Brooksbank teared up and had to remove his glasses over becoming overwhelmed with emotion during his wedding to Princess Eugenie
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank as they leave St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle following their wedding on October 12, 2018
Upon seeing his bride, Princess Eugenie, arrive at St. George’s Chapel for their royal wedding ceremony on October 12, 2018, Jack Brooksbank could not hold back the tears.
As the Princess made her entrance, Jack reportedly took off his glasses to wipe tears from his eyes as he watched his wife-to-be in her ivory silk wedding dress.
The groom was also spotted shedding a few tears, overcome with emotion, as they stood next to each other at the altar while sharing several heartwarming glances.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wiped away a tear as the bodies of victims of the MH17 crash were removed from a plane at Eindhoven airport in July 2014
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands broke down in tears alongside members of the Dutch royal family as the first bodies of those killed in the MH17 crash arrived back in Holland during an emotional ceremony attended by relatives of the victims.
The remains of around 40 international victims of the Malaysia Airlines tragedy left Ukraine’s Kharkiv airport on two military planes in July 2014, ahead of a painstaking identification process which was expected to take several months.
Among those attending the solemn ceremony at Eindhoven airport were King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who held on to each other’s hands as the bodies were removed from the transporter aircraft.
At several points, the Dutch Queen was seen wiping tears from her face.
Princess Charlene of Monaco
Princess Charlene of Monaco wipes away a tear as she and Prince Albert II of Monaco leave Sainte Devote church after their wedding ceremony at the Palace of Monaco on July 2, 2011
As she walked down the aisle in a bespoke Armani dress that had taken the Italian atelier an astonishing 2,500 hours to create, Charlene Wittstock, now Princess Charlene of Monaco, looked anything but the happy bride.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she exchanged vows with the principality’s ruler, Prince Albert II, in front of a global audience of millions.
But she denied that the tears were the result of a series of rows over her fiance’s womanising ways and a failed escape attempt in the days leading up to her wedding.
In a rare interview, the South African former swimmer revealed in July 2013 that they were tears of happiness and has described the speculation as ‘categorical lies’.
‘Everything was just so overwhelming and there were all the mixed emotions because of the rumours, and obviously the tension built up and I burst into tears [immediately after the ceremony],’ she said.
‘And then I burst into tears some more because I was thinking “Oh no, now the whole world has seen me cry”.’
Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Queen Mathilde of Belgium broke down in tears as she held the hand of her husband King Philippe’s hand during
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium during her 18th birthday celebration in October 2019, in Brussels
On October 25, 2019, Princess Elisabeth turned 18, making her the heiress apparent to the Belgian throne as the eldest daughter of King Philippe of Belgium.
During a ceremony marking her birthday celebrations, Elisabeth gave her first official speech as the first future Queen by birth of Belgium.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium shed tears as her first-born gave the speech, as she was spotted wiping tears away from her cheek during the ceremony.
The heir to the Belgian throne thanked her family for their support and encouragement. She said: ‘We are a great team, also with my brothers and sister, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eleonore. Thank you, Mom, for your availability and your listening. Thank you, Dad, for your trust. I know I can always count on you.’
Elisabeth concluded her speech saying: ‘I know that I still have so much to learn. That’s what I want to focus on in the coming years: to try to better understand the world in which we live and to contribute to improve it, by giving the best of myself.’
Princess Rajwa Al Hussein
Queen Rania’s touching speech appeared to leave Princess Rajwa Al-Saif in tears, and she dabbed her eyes throughout
Princess Rajwa Al-Saif was left in tears after an emotional moment at the first celebration ahead of her wedding to Crown Prince Hussein.
Her mother-in-law, Queen Rania, paid a touching tribute to her new daughter-in-law.
The Jordanian queen described Rajwa as ‘the sweetest and most beautiful bride-to-be’, adding that she is as precious to her as her daughters Princesses Iman and Salma.
She said: ‘I’ll never forget how happy His Majesty and I were when Al Hussein told us he wanted to marry Rajwa. She is the perfect answer to all my prayers for him,’ Rania reflected, before wishing the couple a blessed and happy future.
‘May you always be each other’s source of happiness and support.’
Queen Rania later shared a number of photographs on Instagram showing her celebrating with bride-to-be Rajwa at her traditional pre-wedding henna party.
She wrote: ‘No celebration would be complete without our Jordanian family. Celebrating our beautiful Rajwa!’
Architect Rajwa Al Saif married King Abdullah and Queen Rania’s eldest son, Crown Prince Hussein in a stunning wedding ceremony on 1 June, which was attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
