Kate Middleton leaned into blue monochrome with this year’s outfit for Christmas day service in Sandringham.
The Princess of Wales appeared with her family, wearing a navy Alexander McQueen coat, a Juliette millinery hat, and matching Gianvito Rossi heeled boots. She carried an Emmy London clutch. But the most striking part of her outfit was her sapphire and diamond earrings, which were the late Princess Diana’s. Kate wore her hair half-up, half-down, so the earrings were shown prominently.
Kate held hands with her daughter Princess Charlotte in some photos. Charlotte complemented her in an olive green coat.
Princess Diana in the earrings
Kate and her husband Prince William shared a photo of their children on Instagram today and passed along a personal message. “Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, from our family to yours! W & C,” they wrote.
Earlier this month, royal reporter and Endgame author Omid Scobie spoke to ELLE.com about how Kate has been changing her image. “I think Kate’s in a really interesting position because in many ways, she’s the last main attraction in terms of the guaranteed crowd-puller, the guaranteed front page, the attraction within the royal family when it comes to all the glamour and mystique and mystery that comes with the Firm,” he started. “She does a good job of maintaining that, too. We still know very little about her, we don’t really know her thoughts or feelings on much beyond the early years, but I think that we have seen an evolution in Kate.”
He added that shift is visible in both her style and attitude at events. “With Kate, we’ve seen these small changes in her character and her approach to work but also just in her demeanor, her confidence, even her appearance,” he said. “I’m no style expert particularly with royal style, but we have seen a change even in her working wardrobe.
“We have seen an evolution in her on all fronts, but I also feel that there’s a huge amount of pressure on her moving forward … being kind of the last shiny thing in the royal family. That’s a huge amount of pressure for someone who has, so far, carried out much less engagements than any other member of the royal family. Who, although we don’t ever say it, is technically a part-time working royal.
“She’s only human, so are the expectations too high for her? It’s going to be very interesting to see how that plays out over the years ahead as the children get older and William and Kate take footsteps closer towards their time as king and queen,” he finished.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.