Kate Middleton Just Repeated a Blazer Last Worn When She Was Dating Prince William

The pair were in Wales just ahead of St. David’s Day, a Welsh holiday that is honored annually on March 1, when Kate stepped out in not just one, but two royal repeats to mark the occasion. The first (a vibrant red Alexander McQueen coat) is one the princess has worn a handful of times since 2020. Still, it’s the second look—Kate’s brown tweed jacket—that made me do a double take: The look has been in her closet for almost 20 years.

It’s true: Kate last wore this particular piece—which is a Ralph Lauren design, according to Vogue—in 2007. Now, a bit of royal math. Kate and William graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 2005. They announced their engagement in 2010. This particular blazer was worn in March 2007 as Kate made a rare and headline-worthy appearance alongside her then-boyfriend Prince William to attend the Cheltenham Horse Racing Festival. Oh la la.

At the time, the outing was a big deal. It also occurred shortly before a significant bump in their romantic path. In April of that same year, William and Kate opted to take a brief pause from their royal courtship, which William himself described during their engagement interview as a need to give each other “just a bit of space.”

Back to the blazer: Kate opting to wear it again 18 years later is not only sustainable, it is a fun nod to the longevity of their royal relationship and all that they’ve endured. It’s also quite fun to think about the more youthful side of their romance with a throwback to their dating days when—let’s be honest—there was a lot less pressure on the destiny of ultimately wearing the crown.

That said, it is interesting to see Kate wear something so nostalgic in the wake of a wobble—and rare statement—from Kensington Palace about the Princess of Wales’s fashion. Following a piece published in the Sunday Times on February 1 that spoke about Kate’s supposed wish to shift the focus away from her wardrobe to her work, the palace opted to clarify, stating to People: “The comments that appeared in the article were from me, not the Princess of Wales... To be clear, there has been no change in our approach to sharing information about Her Royal Highness’s clothing.”

Perhaps the choice to dig so deep into her closet is the Princess of Wales’s subtle nod that she has the ability to do both: Generate headlines about the cause and the clothes. Here, here.