Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla Were a ‘Unit’ In This Bold Fashion ‘Exchange’
Queen Camilla and Kate Middleton did more than participate in hosting South Korea as part of a state visit. The queen and Princess of Wales also demonstrated just how closely they work together on their outfits. Ahead, how Queen Camilla and Kate’s patriotic outfits, complete with tiaras, signaled an “exchange,” per a commentator.
Camilla and Kate ‘cemented how synchronized’ they are with King Charles and Prince William while welcoming South Korea
“Flag dressing” is a thing for royals. On Nov. 21, 2023, Queen Camilla and Kate, alongside their husbands, King Charles III and Prince William, welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.
They did so with a symbolic choice of clothing, according to Bethan Holt, The Telegraph’s fashion director. The four royals sported nods to the South Korean and Union Jack flags by wearing red, white, and blue.
Kate wore head-to-toe red and Camilla navy blue. King Charles the Prince of Wales color-coordinated, wearing blue and red ties, respectively.
“I think it definitely cemented how synchronized the four of them are,” Holt told People. “There is a real sense of them being a unit together, and the flag dressing really underlined that.”
Camilla showed off a ‘new kind of regal’ at the state banquet for South Korea with a red velvet gown
Holt then turned her attention to the nighttime event, a state dinner at Buckingham Palace. Queen Camilla and Kate both wore tiaras — more on those ahead — and, per the commentator, it was the former’s try at “regal” that stood out.
“Kate looked stunning,” she said of the 41-year-old’s white gown. “But Camilla really went bold in that red velvet gown. I think Kate looked incredibly regal in the day; I think Camilla looked like a new kind of regal in the evening. You could feel this kind of exchange going on between them, which I think is really interesting.”
As for tiaras, Kate sported the Queen Mother’s Strathmore Rose tiara, one that hadn’t been worn publicly since the 1930s. Queen Camilla also had a tiara first. She wore the Burmese Ruby tiara for the first time.
“That was Camilla’s big fashion moment in the evening, although obviously, everyone was talking about Kate’s tiara,” Holt said. “So that did take away from it a little bit. But for the most senior royal woman to be in such a fashion look, it felt like a departure, definitely.”
“I feel like Camilla is dressing the part,” she added. “But I don’t think she has any ambitions to be kind of a bold fashionista, the center of attention, whereas Kate knows this is part of her role.”
Kate, Camilla, and the rest of the royal family put on a united front via fashion at the 2022 Christmas concert
The South Korean state visit marked far from the first time Queen Camilla and Kate stepped out publicly with coordinated outfits. Perhaps the most memorable example over the last year came in December 2022.
White taping Together at Christmas, the annual holiday carol concert hosted by Kate at Westminster Abbey, the two women, along with other royals, matched in burgundy or white.
The sartorial united front contrasted a claim Kate’s sister-in-law made just days earlier in Netflix’s Harry & Meghan docuseries. Meghan Markle explained she dressed in neutral colors in an effort to not “stand out” or inadvertently match another senior royal, which she called a no-no.
“To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same color as Her Majesty [Queen Elizabeth II] if there’s a group event,” the Duchess of Sussex said. “But then you also should never be wearing the same color as one of the other more senior members of the family.”
