- The Metropolitan Police confused Kate Middleton with Meghan Markle in a report on a vigil for Sarah Everard.
- The force was heavily criticised for their actions at the vigil in Clapham Common in March 2021.
- The blunder was made in an internal document summarising the force's actions that evening.
A Metropolitan Police summary of the force's much-criticised actions at a March 2021 vigil in Clapham Common for Sarah Everard mistakenly referred to an appearance by the "Duchess of Sussex", a copy of the document shows.
A public order event debrief, released under Freedom of Information laws, summarises incidents of note from the evening.
The report says that "the Duchess of Sussex attended the bandstand at approx. 1715. Reported in media."
But it was Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, who attended the vigil that afternoon. A Kensington Palace spokesperson later said she attended to pay her respects to Everard and her family.
The vigil had been judged unlawful by the Met, but Dame Cressida Dick, the then-Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, suggested that Middleton's appearance was legal as she was there for work purposes.
The document also noted the event had "significant media interest and political interest that could have an impact" on the Met's representation.
Photographs and footage of the Metropolitan Police handcuffing and arresting women attending the vigil at the bandstand, trampling flowers left in memory of Everard, led to widespread condemnation.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said some of the footage left him "deeply concerned".
The report refers to "a large vocal reaction" to the arrest of attendees on the bandstand, adding that "at times some missiles were thrown towards police".
In January, the High Court ruled the force breached the rights of the original organisers by forbidding a socially distanced vigil.
A woman who was arrested at the time said subsequently officers had been contacting her on Tinder.
The Metropolitan Police did not respond to a request for comment.
