Kate Middleton at the ceremonial welcome for the President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade on November 21.Photo:Chris Jackson/Getty
Chris Jackson/Getty
Kate Middleton’s latest monochrome moment was a layered look — both visually and symbolically.
The Princess of Wales, 41, popped in ared cape coatand bow dress with a coordinating hat, clutch and heels to welcome the President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeo and First Lady Kim Keon Hee to the U.K. on Tuesday for a state visit.
“I think they are trying to be a little more sustainable, let’s take something you have already worn and reinvent it a little. The cape completely transformed it from a classic Kate look to one of her bravest looks of all time,” Bethan Holt, author of the bookThe Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style, exclusively tells PEOPLE of the fashion statement.
Kate Middleton at the ceremonial welcome for the President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade on November 21.Karwai Tang/WireImage
Karwai Tang/WireImage
Princess Kate andQueen Camillamight be mindful of recycling looks from their royal wardrobes as a sensitivity towards the ongoing cost of living crisis in the U.K., and the Princess of Wales has repeatedseveral looksthrough the last year.
Princess Kate was unmissable besidePrince Williamduring the important duty conducted onKing Charles’ behalf, and Holt decodes the tribute as deliberate.
Prince William and Kate Middleton attend a ceremonial welcome for the President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade on November 21.Samir Hussein/WireImage
Samir Hussein/WireImage
“It’s really intentional. On that stage, there was only one person you were looking at, and it was Kate. Over the last year, there has been a military element coming through in her style, and it really felt like a statement uniform to me and the color was striking and completely unmissable,” says the fashion director ofThe Telegraph.
“The late Queen used to say shehad to be seento be believed, and you would have been able to see Kate from a mile away! Especially with the big bold hat, there was no element of that outfit where they were pairing it back at all — it was all big, bright and bold. There was no mistaking who was being put forward as the star of the family,” she adds.
The padded shoulders of the cape coat created a dramatic effect, and Holt likens the overall statement to Kate “finding her armor.”
The ceremonial welcome for the President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade on November 21.Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images
“She knows the world is watching and for visiting presidents, a big part of their visit is seeing her and William because they are the future of the royal family,” she tells PEOPLE. “So that’s a lot of pressure so she needs her clothing to bolster her for these moments. Often it’s a lovely coat dress she wears, and she has been criticized for sticking to that silhouette, so maybe she is just ready to experiment a bit.”
“She transformed then back to classic English rose Kate again, not this bold military Kate so it’s almost like this chrysalis, having all these layers,” Holt says of the unexpected style switch.
Prince William and Kate Middleton with Choo Kyungho, Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister, second right and Park Jin, the Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, right, at Buckingham Palace on November 21.Kin Cheung - WPA Pool/Getty
Kin Cheung - WPA Pool/Getty
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Speculating on the deeper meaning of Kate’s shifting style, Holt pointed to how her royal role and place in the family has changed since becoming the Princess of Wales following Queen Elizabeth’s death last year.
“I think we are at a moment with Kate where she can’t be the same thing all the time because she does have these conflicting roles. With Princess Diana, we used to see everything from really casual to power tailoring to big ball gown moments — because when you are the Princess of Wales, that’s what your role involves," Holt tells PEOPLE. “She is second from the top, and I think it’s really hard to strike that balance.”
Kate Middleton, the President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on November 21.Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty
“Sometimes she will have to let the King take precedent. Sometimes she needs to appear very relatable talking to mums about parenting, and then you have to go and greet the president of a foreign nation and have this dignitary role. It can seem confusing, but she has to morph between them, and it does feel jarring," she says.
“It is in a way showing that as a woman she is doing all of these jobs, the ultimate example of multitasking, the many uniforms of all the roles she is embodying,” Holt says.
Kate Middleton Fitzalan High School as she celebrates the beginning of Black History Month on October 3.Chris Jackson/Getty
source: people.com
