Since returning from her summer break, the Princess of Wales has been showcasing a fashion transformation that has not gone unnoticed, stepping firmly into her role as a future Queen-in-waiting with her wardrobe.
Her style, once a carefully balanced blend of accessible high-street finds and polished designer gowns, now carries a noticeably grown-up tone.
The bright floral dresses and off-duty denim have been pushed aside in favour of something more regal, more deliberate, and crucially, more reminiscent of the late Queen Elizabeth.
The most striking example came at the recent state banquet to welcome President Donald Trump as Kate glimmered in a long-sleeved Phillipa Lepley gown of shimmering gold.
Intricately embroidered with golden lacework, her dress was a true showstopper. Regal, commanding and entirely befitting of a princess preparing for her future role as Queen.
It also bore an uncanny resemblance to the outfit worn by Queen Elizabeth herself at a similar occasion two decades earlier. In 2003, when welcoming then-President George W Bush, the late Queen stunned in a long golden gown with delicate lace embroidery.
The parallels are impossible to ignore and can’t simply be a coincidence. It seems that Kate is making a deliberate fashion tribute to her grandmother-in-law, echoing a historic moment from Britain’s longest-serving monarch.
Kate’s gown immediately drew comparisons to one of the late Queen’s most glamorous looks. Constructed from a white dress layered under a gold Chantilly lace coat, this Phillipa Lepley design was something a little different for the future Queen. Instead it harked back to a gown Queen Elizabeth chose for the 2003 visit of President George W Bush
The Princess of Wales stepped out in an Emilia Wickstead burgundy coat to greet Donald Trump. Impeccably polished in the tailored coat paired with a matching hat, her colour-blocked ensemble mirrored Her Majesty’s Commonwealth Day appearance at Westminster Abbey in 2018
Dressed in her Balmoral tartan kilt, the late Queen set the trend for tartan during a private audience with the Canadian Governor General at Balmoral Castle in 2017. Fast forward to Kate’s recent visit to the National Federation of Women’s Institute and tartan once again reigned supreme as she wore one of her favourite designers Alessandra Rich
Channelling the timeless style of the late Queen, Kate visited Frogmore Gardens in a chic Ralph Lauren tweed midi skirt paired with a forest green Me+Em jacket, a look that felt lifted straight from Her Majesty’s wardrobe
Kate dressed in a tailored Ralph Lauren tweed blazer which could have easily been lifted straight from Queen Elizabeth II’s much-loved wardrobe. The late Queen was famed for her enduring devotion to practical yet polished country attire, choosing a similar blazer at Royal Windsor horse show back in 1988.
For decades, the late Queen used her clothing to communicate power, reassurance and identity. Bright block colours ensured she was always visible to the crowds, while carefully chosen accessories, fabrics and jewels carried subtle symbolic messages.
Fashion for the Queen was never frivolous, it was part of her duty.
Now, it seems Kate is adopting the same playbook. Gone are the casual skinny jeans and Breton stripes that once dominated her outdoor engagements.
Instead, she has embraced a more regal country style. Tweed midi skirts, tailored jackets in earthy tones, and heritage fabrics that echo Elizabeth’s beloved Balmoral wardrobe.
Even at formal occasions Kate has been borrowing from the late monarch’s most enduring style signatures. When welcoming for President Trump, she wore a deep burgundy Emilia Wickstead coat paired with a matching hat, a look instantly reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth’s colour-block ensembles.
Equally telling has been her recent embrace of tartan. The Princess has swapped out her once-preferred floral prints in favour of bold checked patterns and plaids, a hallmark of the Queen’s wardrobe.
By dressing like the late Queen, she is not merely honouring a beloved family figure, she is signalling her readiness to step into the Queen’s shoes when the time comes.
Her shift toward heritage fabrics, muted tones, and timeless silhouettes also suggests a conscious move away from trends and towards classicism, the very essence of Queen Elizabeth’s style.
And yet, Kate’s interpretation is not slavish mimicry. She is careful to modernise the Queen’s style codes for her own generation. Her tweeds are cut slimmer, her coats sharper, her gowns more figure-skimming. She is both honouring the past and updating it for the present.