Prince William and Kate Middleton Send Subtle Message With Matching Outfits, Style Experts Say
Prince William and Kate Middleton visited the opening of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital dressed in matching outfits. Prince William joked that the coordinating clothing was due to “wardrobe chaos,” but style experts share the subtle message the Prince and Princess of Wales conveyed with the fashion choice.
William and Kate wore coordinating outfits to a recent appearance
Prince William and Kate sported matching outfits during the visit, with William wearing a green sweater and blue blazer and Kate wearing a blue and green tartan jacket over a navy dress as well as Princess Diana’s sapphire earrings.
While meeting with healthcare workers, staff, and patients, someone commented on the matching outfits. “Yes, I know, it was slightly like wardrobe chaos this morning,” William was heard saying to a woman who said they “coordinated,” according to a report from The Mirror.
Interestingly, King Charles wore a tartan kilt during his visit to Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire the same day.
The coordinating outfits bring to mind Meghan Markle’s claim in the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. She said she wore neutral-colored clothing and avoided wearing the same colors as other royal family members.
“To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same color as Her Majesty if there’s a group event,” she said. “But then you also should never be wearing the same color as one of the other more senior members of the family.”
Style expert notes Prince William and Kate Middleton’s coordination ‘says everything that needs to be said’
Three style experts weighed in with their thoughts, telling Express the significance of William and Kate’s fashion choices.
Molly Elizabeth Agnew, founder of Eternal Goddess Fashion Publication explained, “Blue and green are colors heavily associated with peace and calm, whether we consciously register that or not. These muted winter tones don’t scream in our faces, they are relaxed and, most importantly, down to earth.”
She added, “This is a color combination we’ve seen Kate lean quite heavily on in recent months, wearing a stunning tartan dress from Burberry during their visit to Boston.”
The couple’s color coordination sent a message of unity, according to Agnew. “Kate and William will no doubt be leaning on each other for support currently, and their styling team will have made a conscious effort to show their unity through their clothing choices.”
She added, “Fashion is a wonderful tool to speak without words, and matching like this says everything that needs to be said. They’re showing themselves as a team.”
Experts explain the meanings behind their color choice
Megan Watkins, the head stylist at SilkFed, weighed in with additional details about the meaning behind Kate and William’s matching color choices. “Blue and green are both colors of nature and symbolize peace,” she said. “On an individual level, green can represent new beginnings and blue can represent calmness.”
Watkins continued, “The colors are deep in color and quite regal in nature, which suggests the prince and princess are determined to carry on with their duties as per the usual routine, despite the current media storm surrounding Prince Harry and the royal family.”
According to Watkins, the matching outfits convey unity, noting, “the timing of this following Prince Harry’s book release does seem to suggest the couple are putting on a united front.”
Bella Hignett, the founder of Bella Hignett Styling, echoed the idea of “trying to present a united front wearing those colors” and said the choice was “all very carefully thought through.”
She called the choice “carefully curated togetherness,” adding, “But safe and non-ostentatious, just like them. Not giving too much away.”
Hignett also touched on the meaning of the colors. “Green usually represents security, love, and growth, and has been worn a lot by royals over the course of history to present calmness and stability,” she said. “Blue represents authority (blue blood etc.), trust, intelligence and loyalty. A lot of politicians wear navy suits when they are delivering important speeches and messages.”
She added, “This all reminds me so much of Princess Diana who wore clothes to such a powerful effect. Clothes can subtly say so much.”
