Kate Middleton: Has She Learned Not to Care About Stuffy Royal Traditions After Horrific 2024?
Kate Middleton is likely looking forward to a new start in 2025. It was almost one year ago that the Princess of Wales entered the hospital for a scheduled abdominal surgery only to reveal a cancer diagnosis and step out of the spotlight for the better part of six months. Thus, she has a new outlook on the life she’s created with Prince William and has reportedly learned not to care about the stuffy royal traditions that have dominated the House of Windsor for decades.
Kate Middleton has put some stuffy style traditions on hold
A new year has reportedly brought a new outlook for Kate Middleton. After enduring almost a year of battling an undisclosed type of cancer, there appear to be more important things on her mind than sticking to some stuffy traditions.
Royal commentator Daniela Elser said to News.com.au, “This was the year that, style-wise, Kate stopped giving a f***. It’s not just what Kate wears when she’s on royal duty that has morphed, but more broadly, how she chooses to present herself to the world.”
Elser wrote that after a video released in March 2024, where Kate released a statement about her cancer diagnosis and treatment, Kate’s style had undergone a clear shift. “How did she choose to portray herself? As just a woman in jeans, sneakers, and a blazer.”
She continued that Kate sent a clear message, that she was not “a princess relaying a message down from high unto the masses but a mother, wife, sister, and daughter choosing to make herself vulnerable and to share her journey with the public.”
“Has Kate simply learnt not to care? To not care about protocol and tradition? Is she finally able to simply be her own woman?”
This shift was evident not only in her March video clip but a June photograph that accompanied another health update. By September, Kate donned flowy dresses for a video alongside Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. There was not a tiara in sight, and Kate played to her strengths as a real person instead of the future queen.
Kate still adheres to royal tradition when necessary
This shift to a more relaxed style doesn’t mean that Kate Middleton doesn’t adhere to royal tradition when necessary. For her first public event of the year, Kate wore an upcycled white Jenny Packham dress. On Remembrance Sunday, she wore a military-inspired coat dress by Catherine Walker and Queen Elizabeth’s pearl and diamond earrings.
But Daniela Elser believes that the public will see more informal Kate moments than the more traditional looks she donned in years past. The royal reporter states, “The arc of her style is now tending towards the increasingly informal. The slight stuffiness, the squareness of only a couple of years ago has been replaced with an unbuttoning, a casualization, and a dressing down that carries a world of unspoken meaning.”
Kate Middleton may have shifted her style, but she continues to adhere to one rule
Just because Kate Middleton has shifted her style away from traditional royal fashion doesn’t mean that she will misrepresent the crown. The United Kingdom’s future queen continues to use the tips and tricks she’s utilized for over a decade in the public eye to keep her style current without being wasteful.
Kate is a huge fan of repurposing fashion. She will add different accessories to a previously worn outfit, or modify it in a more current way to show her commitment to sustainability.
One favorite is a blue Stella McCartney shift dress. She’s donned it at least four times, wearing a sweater, different shoes, and accessories to alter its overall look.
Kate has also favored re-wearing coats by Alexander McQueen, and dresses by Catherine Walker. For her first public event after battling cancer, Trooping the Color, the princess wore a white Jenny Packham dress she previously donned at a coronation event for King Charles III.
For the June 2024 ceremony, Kate accentuated the sleek white and black dress with a color-blocked ribbon and a wide-brim hat by Philip Treacy. She accessorized with white heels, pearl earrings, a brooch, and a black clutch.
Kate Middleton will reportedly continue to appear on behalf of the royal family for official events. However, she continues to follow her doctor’s advice regarding returning to work on a modified schedule.
