The sad reason Kate Middleton and Prince William have returned to their wedding venue

Kate Middleton and Prince William returned to their wedding venue today for a very special reason. 

• Kate Middleton and Prince William returned to their wedding venue, Westminster Abbey, today for a poignant reason.
• It's almost a decade since the couple married at the historic venue - but today they went back to mark one year since the start of the first Covid lockdown.
• This royal news (opens in new tab) comes after it was confirmed that Harry and Meghan did not marry in secret (opens in new tab) ahead of their big day in 2018.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared at Westminster Abbey in London today, where they tied the knot in April 2011.

While it's almost ten years since their love story (opens in new tab) became a fairytale at the royal wedding, which was watched by millions across the globe, the couple's trip to the historic venue was for a very different and poignant reason.

Today marks the year anniversary (opens in new tab) of the first ever coronavirus lockdown. Today, 12 months ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation, asking us to stay at home to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

A year on from the start of the first lockdown in March, Covid has claimed the lives of thousands of people in the UK and taken a huge toll on our economy, businesses and mental health.

There was a minute's silence at noon today to remember those lost to the pandemic and to pay tribute to key workers and members of the public who made great sacrifices during the health crisis that has gripped the world since the start of 2020.

At 8pm tonight, Brits are also being encouraged to stand on their door step with candles and lights to commemorate what has been one of the nation's greatest hardships.

Kate and Prince William's attendance at Westminster Abbey was in honour of this huge milestone and the royal duo paid tribute to staff giving out the Covid vaccine on site and laid flowers in remembrance of those taken by the virus.

William lit a candle while Kate laid a bunch of daffodils.

This comes after Kate was seen attending Sarah Everard's memorial (opens in new tab) on Clapham Common earlier this month.

The Duchess laid flowers at the bandstand at the South London park, reportedly picked from her Kensington Palace garden.

Kate attended without Prince William, her children or obvious security and is said to have stayed there for around five minutes.

She read the cards and looked at the other flowers placed there in memory of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who went missing and was later found dead in Kent woodland.