Kate Middleton Is ‘Every Inch the Polished Princess’

The Princess of Wales made a perfectly “polished” appearance at the annual Buckingham Palace diplomatic reception hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla on Tuesday, showing that even for royals it’s “chic to repeat” outfits on more than one occasion, a celebrity stylist has told Newsweek.

Kate attended the reception—hosted each December at the palace for the world’s ambassadors and diplomats posted to Britain—alongside Prince William and the king and queen.

For the occasion, the princess made a glittering show, wearing a pink sequin and crystal embellished evening gown crafted by one of her most trusted designers, Jenny Packham. She topped the look with a wealth of heirloom diamonds from the royals’ private collection, including art deco Cartier earrings formerly owned by Queen Elizabeth II, and Princess Diana’s famous pearl and diamond tiara.

The look is notable in Kate’s 2023 wardrobe, as it is an exact repeat of the outfit worn earlier this year for the royal wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and Princess Rajwa.

Kate has often been praised for her stylish wardrobe recycling and has often worn pieces years (sometimes decades) apart.

“It’s most definitely the year for recycling previous royal outfits as once more Kate Middleton proved it’s ‘chic to repeat,'” celebrity stylist and royal fashion expert, Miranda Holder, told Newsweek of Kate’s reception appearance.

“The stylish princess stepped out at the annual diplomatic reception looking every inch the polished princess in a Jenny Packham floor-length soft pink gown, decorated with the customary blue sash and cross of the Royal Victoria Order and the brooch and yellow ribbon of the Royal Family Order.”

Holder noted that the look was a “refreshing mood change” from the “considerably more reserved formal look” that Kate wore for the state banquet held in honor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in November.

“Kate, who always exudes glamour, sparkled even more than usual in her sequin dress with lavish crystal embellishments,” Holder added. “Her favorite Lover’s Knot tiara adorned with tear drop-shaped pearls providing even more drama and height to an already striking ensemble. The finishing touch were the Greville Chandelier earrings—a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth which had debuted along with the rest of the outfit at the Jordanian royal wedding reception in June.”

The diplomatic reception was highly anticipated in Britain as it marked the first public engagement undertaken jointly by the king, queen, William and Kate since public attention was drawn once more to a race scandal linked to the revelation made by Meghan Markle in 2021 that “concerns and conversations” about the skin color of her unborn children were raised by unnamed members of the royal family.

In November, a Dutch translation of the book, Endgame, by Omid Scobie appeared to reference Charles and Kate as royals connected with the conversations, which had been later discussed in a letter exchange between the King and Meghan following the Oprah Winfrey interview.

Scobie initially put the inclusion of names in the Dutch version down to a translation issue—which has since been denied by the translator who worked on it—and said that he didn’t include the names in his final manuscript. Scobie did not specify if the names were accurate.

Buckingham Palace has not issued any comment regarding the book or its claim. Newsweek has previously contacted the palace as well as HarperCollins for comment.

An official photograph of the royal party at the reception on Tuesday featured on a number of British newspaper front pages on Wednesday morning, with a number of titles interpreting it as a “show of unity.”

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

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