Kate wears Alexander McQueen military jacket to Armed Forces Day ceremony

To mark Armed Forces Day in Great Britain on June 25th 2011, Kate Middleton and Prince William attended a ceremony at at Windsor’s Victoria Barracks. The Royal Couple presented medals to members of the Irish Guards.

The event was Kate’s first military role as a member of the Royal Family and we think she dressed the part!  Her ensemble was demure yet serious: very apt considering Kate met with families of the Irish Guards who had been killed in Afghanistan.

Here’s a picture of Kate and William meeting a shy little girl:

Kate’s outfut:

Kate chose a dark navy blue military style coat dress designed Alexander McQueen.

HRH the Duchess of Cambridge wore a navy Alexander McQueen PreAW11 dress in Windsor, England today: http://ow.ly/i/dthd

— Alexander McQueen (@McQueen) June 25, 2011

McQueen confirm Kate wore a Pre-Autumn/winter 2011 “dress”, but have not explicitly written that the coat is their creation too.  I personally think they mean “dress coat”.   Here are a sample of dresses and coats from that collection you can see the similarities:

 

Kate’s coat is doubled breasted, features a high collar, epaulets and is adorned with gold buttons.

Kate wore a navy blue hat for engagement.  It almost looks like a beret, in keeping with the military theme.   The hat has a bow embellishment on top.  It has been confirmed that Kate’s hat is by Rachel Trevor-Morgan Millinery.  Here’s a snippet from the confirmation email Rachel sent me:

Kate is carrying the Anya Hindmarch “Marano” clutch bag in blue.  It is made from shagreen (stingray).

Kate has finished her outfit off with a pair of Kiki McDonough citrine drop earrings.

She also wore a charm bracelet that featured her monogram engraved onto a disk.  It’s thought this piece was gift from the Duchess of Cornwall.  Here’s a look at the bracelet from a different engagement:

Kate’s Shamrock Brooch:

The gold and emerald shamrock brooch worn by Kate that was once worn by the late Queen Mother.  It was handed to Kate specially for today by the Princess Royal, the previous colonel to the regiment.  It is my understanding that the brooch belongs to the regiment and has been loaned to Kate.  (Pictured below on a different occasion) –