Princess Kate, William steal spotlight as first female Archbishop enthroned

Prince William and his wife Princess Kate turned heads as the royal couple made historic appearance as the Church of England got the first female head on Wednesday, March 25.

The Prince and Princess of Wales stole the limelight as they graced a historic enthronement ceremony of Dame Sarah Mullally as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury at Canterbury Cathedral.

The future monarch and his wife Princess Catherine were part of the congregation representing King Charles, and heard Dame Sarah's first sermon as archbishop.

Kensington Palace shared a message before the couple's engagement on their official Instagram Story.

In her statement to the BBC on the eve of the service, the Archbishop of Canterbury told that it would have "women's voices right the way through it".

Among the 2,000 guests are nurses and carers from Canterbury, invited to reflect the new archbishop's long career as a nurse.

The installation - historically known as an enthronement - marks the symbolic start of Dame Sarah's public ministry as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The 105 previous Archbishops of Canterbury, from St Augustine in 597 AD, have all been men. Women were only allowed to become priests in the Church of England from 1994.

"Once I try and get my head around being the archbishop, I recognise the significance of being the first female archbishop, but I am also aware of the women that have supported me in my ministry," Dame Sarah told the outlet.