In her fashionable footsteps, Kate Middleton, the Duchess Of Cambridge, is known for channeling her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana’s iconic style.
SOMETHING BLUE
That’s no coincidence! Considering William proposed to Kate with his mother’s engagement ring, a blue sapphire Prince Charles gave Diana in 1981, it makes sense that the couple wore similar outfits to announce their own engagement in 2010.
BABY’S BIG ENTRANCE
“Seeing Kate showing off George in that gorgeous dress was such a lovely surprise given that Diana also went with polka dots in her first appearance with William in 1982,” says a longtime royal aide. “No doubt she wanted to honor her.”
LADIES IN RED
When Kate touched down in New Zealand with 8-month-old George, she paid a not-so-subtle sartorial tribute to her late mother-in-law. Kate sported a military-style red coat by Catherine Walker — a favorite designer of Diana’s — and matching pillbox hat by Gina Foster, reminiscent of an ensemble Di wore at Birmingham Airport in 1984.
THE CROWN JEWELS
Kate doesn’t wear tiaras often, but when she does, she likes to make a statement. She’s worn Diana’s favorite, the Lover’s Knot, to several royal functions, including a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on October 23, 2018. The Lover’s Knot Tiara was commissioned for Queen Mary in 1913 from Britain’s House of Garrard. It consists of diamonds and a collection of 19 hanging pearls, all set in silver and gold. Later it was handed down to Queen Elizabeth. She then eventually gave the tiara to her daughter-in-law, Diana, as a long-term loan on her wedding day, making it an especially sentimental piece.
REGAL HUE
Kate popped in a bright purple Issa dress as she celebrated National Canada Day in July 2011. In June 1996, Diana arrived for gala dinner at Field Museum Of Natural History in Chicago wearing a similar shade Versace gown and shoes by Jimmy Choo.
THE NEED FOR TWEED
Kate bundled up in a Dubarry Bracken tweed jacket while visiting King HenryÕs Walk Garden back in January 2019. Diana wore a similar suit designed by Bill Pashley while honeymooning with Prince Charles at Balmoral in Scotland in August 1981.
PRETTY IN PINK
For for a 2012 garden party at Buckingham Palace, Kate was all smiles in a pink Emilia Wickstead Autumn/Winter 2012 coat dress and a coordinating, oversized pink, straw and lace hat by milliner Jane Corbett.. During a visit to Howe Barracks in May 1995, Diana inspected members of the Queen’s and Royal Hampshire Regiment while wearing a Versace suit and a hat by Philip Somerville.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
In February 2011, the Duchess of Cambridge visited her alma mater, the University of St Andrews, while wearing a red button-up skirt suit with a peplum hem by Luisa Spagnol, styled with a black belt, black turtleneck, black opaque tights and black Aquatalia boots. The Princess of Wales wore a similar orange ensemble by Versace, styled similarly, visiting Liverpool sixteen years prior.
SOMBER STYLE
In 2016 during a Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, Kate kept her look stylish yet somber wearing a black Diane von Furstenberg coat adorned with a red poppies along with a John Boyd wide-brimmed topper. At the same ceremony in 1991, which pays tribute to those who have died since the First World War serving Britain, Diana wore a nearly identical ensemble.
MAD FOR PLAID
In what would become a staple piece in Kate’s closet, this blue and green tartan Alexander McQueen coat made its debt on the royal in 2012 at St. Andrews. The Princess of Wales attended the Bute Highland Games in Scotland, in August 1987 wearing similar button-up plaid frock with a lace collar and cuffs.
