At Trooping the Colour, the Princess of Wales wore a baby blue coatdress similar to one Diana wore to an Easter service event in 1987
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Kate-Middleton-Princess-Diana-061326-b428020ac2524c3aa36efa0c1f347e7c.jpg "Catherine, Princess of Wales during Trooping The Colour on June 13, 2026 in London, England. Diana, Princess Of Wales, With Her Son, Prince William And Her Nephew, Peter Phillips, On Their Way To Easter Service.")
Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Kate Middleton wore a baby blue Catherine Walker coatdress to the Trooping the Colour on June 13
- People online noted similarities to Princess Diana’s 1987 Easter service outfit, which matched young Prince William’s outfit
- Experts have said Kate often uses fashion to honor Diana, with Prince William supporting these subtle tributes
Kate Middleton is channeling her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.
The Princess of Wales, 44, wore a baby blue coatdress with a matching hat for Trooping the Colour on Saturday, June 13 — evoking comparisons to a design worn by Diana in the 1980s.
Kate’s coatdress, designed by Catherine Walker, featured light blue buttons with white trimmings on the edges of her lapels and pockets to match her hat, which featured a light blue outer rim with a white center.
She rode in a horse-drawn carriage through London alongside her three children with Prince William: Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8.
Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
People online were quick to point out that her outfit for the event was extremely similar to one Diana wore to an Easter service event in 1987.
Diana wore a light blue coatdress with similar white trimmings on its lapels and pockets. She paired it with a white undershirt with matching white gloves and white heels. She also wore a light blue hat with a white band.
Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty
She matched with a young William, who wore a similar light blue coat-style outfit at the time. The mother-and-son duo could be seen walking hand in hand as they made their way to church.
This isn’t the first time that Kate has paid tribute to her mother-in-law through her wardrobe. She previously donned a polka-dot printed dress at Royal Ascot in 2022, channeling Diana's polka dot look at the Epsom Derby from 1986.
"I think we have seen lots of examples where the reference is very intentional and I think that Kate uses fashion to pay tribute to Diana in a very positive way," Bethan Holt, Fashion News and Features Director of The Daily Telegraph, told PEOPLE.
Holt also pointed out that William suggested the idea for Diana's charity gown auction in 1997, noting that the new Prince of Wales "has always been very conscious of his mother as a style icon."
Credit: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty
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"I think that William and Kate between them might have decided that actually on some occasions it's a really nice thing for Kate to reference the fact that Diana is still a fashion muse today and to do that through her own clothes," she said.
