Why Did Kate Middleton, Prince William & The Queen Just Change Their Profile Pictures?

Go on a deep dive of the royals' social media accounts and you'll typically find charming candids and posed photographs that show them at various functions. In particular, Prince William and Kate Middleton prove that they take their job of giving us insight into their day-to-day life seriously. The pair appear to be slowly gravitating towards personalized posts — like that time William boycotted social media to "show support for the entire football community." In July, the prince also tweeted that he was "sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players" following the team's loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 finals.

Not to be outshone by her husband, Kate took to Instagram with her first-ever personal comment in September, when she congratulated British tennis player Emma Raducanu. "What an incredible achievement Emma! We will all be rooting for you tomorrow," she wrote, per Harper's Bazaar. Making it extra clear that the sentiment was coming directly from her, Kate signed off with a "C" for Catherine. As of November, the royal pair announced they are "hiring for a communications role," so we can likely expect to see even more personal content coming our way soon.

But while William and Kate might be the most socially active royals (compared to Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth) all three official accounts occasionally change their profile pictures in solidarity. And on November 9, People reported that @dukeandduchessofcambridge, @theroyalfamily and @clarencehouse all updated their profiles for this somber reason.

It's tradition for the royals to observe Remembrance Day on November 11. Just like Veteran's Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day commemorates those who lost their lives in World War I. First observed by King George V in 1919, the holiday saw royals and commoners alike donning red poppies from 1921 onwards, as the flowers grew on the battlefields and were viewed as a "symbol of remembrance and hope," per Harper's Bazaar. In 2020, the royal family updated their respective profile pictures in honor of Remembrance Day, and now it appears they are doing so once again.

As of November 9, Prince William and Kate Middleton changed their Instagram picture to feature a red poppy. Likewise, Queen Elizabeth II's profile photo now shows Her Majesty dressed in black and sporting a red poppy, while Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' image shows the couple seated among volunteer Poppy Appeal collectors. In a rare personal post (perhaps taking cues from his son and daughter-in-law?) Charles shared his pride in wearing a poppy — something that's only made possible by "volunteer Poppy Appeal collectors who share a common goal — to recognise the unique contribution of the Armed Forces community." Apart from Remembrance Day, the last time the royals collectively changed their profile pictures was to honor the late Prince Philip, who died on April 9.