Kate Middleton's appearance at Sarah Everard's vigil has been publicly addressed by Dame Cressida Dick in a recent interview with the BBC.
- Kate Middleton's visit to the Sarah Everard vigil has been addressed by Dame Cressida Dick.
- The Metropolitan Police Commissioner condoned Kate's attendance at the vigil, which was later broken up by her own forces.
- In other royal news, Princess Diana and Princess Margaret's turbulent relationship has been revealed.
The Duchess of Cambridge was photographed as she paid tribute to Sarah in Clapham Common on March 13, just hours before the Metropolitan Police stormed the park to disband a peaceful protest.
Its commissioner, who was appointed as the head of the London police force in 2017, has now declared that Kate Middleton's visit was legal.
"She's in the course of her duties, she was working," Dame Cressida told BBC Radio 4's Today program. She went on to emphasize that the duchess attended the vigil in its early stages and that her troops waited six hours before intervening.
Dame Cressida Dick said Kate Middleton's visit at Sarah Everard vigil was legal
"At that point, people had a whole series of potential reasonable excuses for being away from home, we didn't all have them," the police chief said. "I've picked out one that may apply to her but, let's be clear, there was a very calm vigil to which she attended where lots and lots of people came."
Dame Cressida insisted that Kate's actions were fully legal, as there were no lockdown restrictions against visiting parks or laying down flowers.
"It was clearly possible under the law for somebody who lived locally to walk, as many did, and lay flowers legally; there are other reasons why people might be in the area and they could have laid flowers calmly and peacefully, potentially legally," she said.
Kate appeared at Clapham Common to offer her respects to Sarah, whose body was found in Kent after she disappeared from the busy London borough on March 3. The visit was not recorded in the Court Circular, the official list of royal engagements, meaning it occurred on Kate's private time. The duchess also sent a heartfelt letter to Sarah's family, in which she expressed her 'absolute sadness' at the horrific tragedy.
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