Princess Catherine in a dress by Alexander McQueen, the same British designer who made her wedding dress.

A fashion highlight reel of British designers, big jewels and a mix of designer with high street

By Sarah LaingThe Kit

Sat., May 6, 20235 min. read

Article was updated 0 mins ago

What Kate would wear to the coronation of King Charles III had been the subject of nearly as much speculation as whether Harry and Meghan would RSVP yes or no to the new monarch’s big day (yes and no, as we now know).

Given the millennia of history and tradition this event is steeped in, you’d think the well-established protocol would have spelled the answer out for us. But we’re over a century out from the last time a Princess of Wales attended a coronation and, well, Kate would not have been likely to take too many style cues from the bustled, corseted, extravagantly bejewelled Princess Mary, who didn’t think twice about layering a diamond-and-pearl choker with the Lover’s Knot tiara converted into its necklace form, topped with the pearl-and-diamond Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. (Fun fact: This would go on to be the tiara Queen Elizabeth II wears on coins and notes.)

If Mary’s goal with her coronation outfit was “stupefy them with bling,” Kate’s sartorial task was much more complicated. It’s a different world entirely, and what was an expected display of royal splendour would now read as insufferable insensitivity when the world is gripped by a cost-of-living crisis and republican spirit is in the ascendant. It’s also not her coronation, which required a delicate dance between looking nice but not in a Main Character sort of way—even though it’s inevitable that most people will be much more interested in what Kate wears than, say, Queen Camilla, the woman of the hour and the second-most-important person there after Charles.

Kate chose a gown by Alexander McQueen, the same British designer who made her wedding dress. The ivory silk crepe gown is embroidered with symbolic motifs that represent the United Kingdom: The thistle for Scotland, the shamrock for Ireland, the rose for England, the daffodil for Wales, all in silver bullion thread, topped with the robe for the Royal Victorian Order, to which the late Queen appointed her in 2019. Kate’s also wearing what the palace calls a “headpiece” (so not a tiara!) made by milliner Jess Collet and Alexander McQueen, made from silver bullion and crystal. In a nod to the late Princess Diana, Kate is wearing what look to be her “Collingwood” pearl and diamond earrings.

And it’s not just the big ceremony Kate’s had to dress for. In the run-up to the coronation, she’s been busy on a wide-ranging royal goodwill tour. On the way, her outfit choices have been straight from her long-standing fashion playbook: British designers, mixing new and old and luxe with high street, and one-by-one ticking off the colours of the Union Jack.

Let’s get into it!

Heirloom earrings (but no tiara!) to greet international guests

Princess Catherine wears a dress by contemporary London brand Self-Portrait, helmed by designer Han Chong.

This event was pegged as one of our best chances to see Kate sport a tiara, a Friday-night reception welcoming visiting royalty and guests attending the coronation including Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco, King Felipe and the ultra-chic Queen Letizia of Spain, U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and Ukraine First Lady Olena Zelenska. Alas, it was not to be, but she did wheel an interesting piece of Windsor bling out of the vault for the occasion: a pair of sapphire-and-diamond Deco-style fringe earrings that belonged to the late Queen Mother. We’ve seen Kate wear these several times before, and it’s a clear nod to dynastic continuity. They also match her new blue draped dress from Self-Portrait, the contemporary London brand helmed by designer Han Chong. This completes her red-white-and-blue triple score: she’s effectively worn all the colours of the Union Jack within a 24-hour period.

A patriotic (if impractical) ensemble to ride the Tube

Princess Catherine in a coat from Eponine London and a Suzannah dress.

On the Thursday before the coronation, Kate and William headed to a Soho pub to see how locals were prepping for the festivities. To get there, they rode the Tube, riding a few stops on the new Queen Elizabeth line.

For this appearance, Kate wore a pair of white Jimmy Choo stilettos that demonstrate she’s definitely not a real commuter. Strictly adhering to her patriotic colour palette, she paired a scarlet coat from Eponine London with a white dress from Suzannah. Three things those items have in common? They’re all British designers and they’re all eye-wateringly expensive. The dress alone costs around $4,000! That said: Sustainability has been a theme of this coronation, and Kate has worn these items at least three times before.

A familiar name and knockout heels for a reception and walkabout

Princess Catherine wears a white Jenny Packham sheath dress and Aquazzura "Bow" heels.

Inevitably, comparisons were made with a similar white and black Givenchy sheath worn by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during her royal days. It probably didn’t help that Kate paired this dress with a new pair of Aquazzura “Bow” heels, a knockout style her sister-in-law has long favoured.

An LK Bennett moment for the coronation rehearsal

On Thursday, Kate was snapped heading into Westminster Abbey for a rehearsal alongside the other royals. For this occasion, she wore an LK Bennett dress with a print you could argue featured shamrocks (hello, nod to Northern Ireland, another United Kingdom country).

While this dress itself is new, she already owns this exact style in green and white polka dots. The choice to wear LK Bennett, an upper-end of high street British retailer, is a nostalgic one for Kate as she wore their dresses frequently in her early years as a duchess. And if you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know how often she wore her LK Bennett nude heels.

A bit of fast-fashion in Wales

Princess Catherine re-wearing a Zara dress she debuted in 2020 and a Catherine Walker coat.

Yes, the coronation is about King Charles, but it’s also about celebrating the unbroken continuity of the monarchy. Hence the Prince and Princess of Wales—the titles historically held by the heir apparent and his or her spouse—making a pre-coronation visit to, well, Wales.

It was also a chance for Kate to demonstrate a bit of thriftiness before the real pomp and pageantry begins. Attending a ceremony to commemorate a tragic coal mining disaster, she re-wore a Zara dress first debuted in 2020 and seen again in 2021. While the fast fashion retailer is Spanish, the houndstooth pattern has a British origin, originating over 2,000 years ago in Scotland, which ticks off a nod to another country in the United Kingdom.

She topped it with a much spendier Catherine Walker coat, also a re-wear, albeit one that costs thousands of pounds. This choice nodded to Diana, the previous princess of Wales, and a fan of the British designer.

Burgundy in Birmingham

Princess Catherine in a dress by British high street brand Karen Millen.

Just before we hit coronation week proper, Will and Kate visited Birmingham, in order to give a little bit of love to the parts of England outside London before all the attention zooms in on what’s happening in the capital. The burgundy colour of her trench dress could be a nod to England, traditionally represented by the red St George’s cross, and it hit an accessible note as it’s from British high street brand Karen Millen. Ditto her Sezane earrings, a gold-plated rewear. 

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