This year marks the first chance for Britain to win Eurovision in more than a decade – with the Princess of Wales securing tonight’s grand finale by taking part in the event’s opening ceremony.
The short sees last year’s winners, Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, perform their winning production “Stefania” at Kiev’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti station, interspersed with cutaway angles from British talent Andrew Lauey Lloyd Webber to Ms. Banksy. The Duchess performed an instrumental short for her cameo, filmed next to the piano in the crimson drawing room at Windsor Castle.
Photo: Alex Bramall
Of course, the video is pre-recorded, and the princess wears a one-shoulder Jenny Packham gown playing the roles of Joe Price and Kojo Samuel. The performance – and her choice of Ukrainian blue dress – was a welcome display of support for the Eastern European country more than a year after the Russian invasion. Controversially, the European Broadcasting Union banned President Volodymyr Zelensky from speaking at this year’s contest for fear it would violate the contest’s supposed political neutrality.
This isn’t the first time Kate has used fashion to show her support for Ukraine. The princess visited the country’s cultural center in London last March wearing a blue Alexander McQueen jumper with a Ukrainian flag badge, before arriving in Ukraine in Reading in November wearing a navy and mustard LK Bennett dress community Center. Her decision to meet First Lady Olena Zelenska at Buckingham Palace on the eve of the Queen’s funeral was an equally powerful statement. Kate may not always be outspoken when it comes to politics – but when she expresses her feelings, the world listens.
