Kate Middleton arrived in style on the Isle of Bute on Thursday, wearing an earthy brown-and-green palette for a series of engagements celebrating the island’s community and volunteers.
The Princess of Wales wore a classic country-inspired look centred around a new trench coat from Burberry (similar), which she paired with an olive-green roll-neck, brown jodhpurs, and a statement embroidered belt.
Her Kiki McDonough 'Lauren Leaf' earrings provided some subtle sparkle and a nod to nature. She also debuted a pair of as-yet-unidentified brown suede ankle boots.
As the weather turned wet, Kate added her green tweed baker-boy cap thought to be from The House of Bruar.
William and Kate began their visit in Rothesay, Bute’s largest town and the place from which their Scottish titles derive. (In Scotland, the pair are known as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay.)
The couple’s first stop was Bute Shinty Club, where generations of islanders have taken part in one of Scotland’s oldest traditional sports. Similar to field hockey, shinty is played using a curved wooden stick and a small leather ball.
The two royals met members of the club’s senior and youth teams, along with volunteers and former players, before venturing inside the community-built clubhouse. Here, they viewed photographs documenting the club’s history dating back to 1907.
As you'd expect from a sporting engagement, William and Kate took to the pitch and tried their hand at the sport.
Kate put her hand to her mouth after she almost hit a bystander with the ball. Oops.
Later, she admitted: “I was a bit worried I was going to take someone’s teeth out.”
During the visit, she remarked on the importance of sport: “It’s fantastic for the community to have sport. It’s so good for bringing people of all ages together.”
Next, the pair headed to Ettrick Bay on Bute’s western coast to join volunteers for a beach clean. They worked alongside Beachwatch Bute, collecting litter from the shoreline, and spoke with volunteers about the group’s work to protect and preserve the island’s coastline.
The pair got their hands dirty, stopping to fill their bags—recycled from farm-feed packaging—with debris that had washed up on the beach.
Kate wasn’t precious about the task. She turned down the offer of gloves, telling volunteers that she “does this all the time”.
One lucky child found a message in a bottle moments before the royal visit. William said he hoped the message was “nice”—and not a call for help from somebody stranded on an island!
Later in the visit, the pair were shown a tractor and trailer used by the charity. William was given a quick tutorial before taking the wheel, while Kate sat beside him in the cab, laughing.
The engagement formed part of the day’s wider environmental focus. Bute is home to vulnerable habitats, including remnants of Scotland’s Atlantic Rainforest, an internationally important ecosystem made up of ancient coastal oak, birch and hazel woodland.
The third and final engagement of the day took place in Port Bannatyne, a coastal village and Victorian marina approximately two miles from Rothesay.
Here, the couple visited the Anchor Tavern and Hub, a community-owned pub and meeting space operated by the Port Bannatyne Development Trust.
Local residents formed the trust after the Anchor faced permanent closure following the COVID-19 pandemic. The community raised the funds needed to buy and reopen the property as a shared local asset.
Today, the Hub hosts weekly music sessions and wellbeing activities, while also serving as a trailhead for walkers and cyclists. The trust has since purchased the neighbouring shop and leases the space to a local bakery.
At the Anchor, William and Kate chatted with the pub’s regulars and some of the volunteers who keep the community venture running.
William praised the model, which relies on a large team of volunteers to remain financially viable, while Kate described what the residents had created as “special”.
A meet and greet followed before the pair departed the island. They met residents who had gathered outside the pub and posed for lots of selfies.
The visit marked William and Kate’s first official trip to the Isle of Bute and followed their visit to the Scottish islands of Mull and Iona last year.
Let's move on to the fashion overview now.
Kate's outfit in Scotland:
The Princess chose a practical ensemble for her visit to Bute—a put-together look that worked for meeting the public but pulled its weight during the more rugged moments, like climbing into a tractor in the rain.
The olive-green and chocolate-brown palette felt perfectly suited to the move into autumn.
Country dressing appears to be an easy go-to for the Princess—and perhaps the look in which she feels most comfortable.
Let's quickly take a look at each piece she wore, starting with that trench coat. As you can tell by the lining, it's a Burberry piece.
It's likely from a past season. I spotted a fairly similar design at Net-A-Porter for £1,895, but it differs in colour and length (below). It's the closest match we have at the moment. Kate's is either from an older season or it is bespoke.
We have not managed to identify Kate's green ribbed roll-neck sweater as yet, unfortunately.
Her brown slim trousers have been found, though! They're from the British brand Holland Cooper.
Described as 'Jodhpur Jeans' on the company's website, they feature sculpting seams and gold HC-branded hardware. They retail for £99. At the time of writing, they remain available in all sizes and in regular, petite and tall lengths.
Kate added pattern to the outfit with the Guadalupe Belt from Maison Hôtel. The design combines floral jacquard with brown leather and a Western-style silver buckle.
Obtaining the belt seems to be hit-and-miss—it's mostly sold out but currently available on the company's website in XS for £119.
(For those in the UK, I quite like this embroidered belt from FatFace as an affordable alternative at just £29.50.)
Let's move on and look at Kate's green hat. It might feel familiar to our regular readers; we believe it's from the Scottish country clothing brand The House of Bruar—their Ladies' Tweed Eight-Piece Cap in green herringbone.
The hat, which is made in Great Britain, retails for £69.95 and is still available. It also comes in five other colourways.
Kate's earrings are another repeat wear. They're an old favourite: the Kiki McDonough Lauren Leaf design.
The Princess debuted the versatile gold and diamond earrings a decade ago and has worn them to more than 30 public engagements to date. They're actually among the most-worn items in her jewellery box.
The pretty drop earrings are crafted from 18ct yellow gold and decorated with pavé diamonds. The earrings look like hearts, but they're actually shaped like leaves—a nice nod to nature during an engagement with some focus on environmentalism.
Let's finish with Kate's boots—they remain unidentified, I'm afraid. However, one commenter suggests the Princess is wearing this pair of Chelsea boots from the Paris-based brand Jonak.
A lot of the details match up—but I cannot say for certain. They're certainly a good option if you're hoping to copy Kate's look. RRP £130. They're made in Portugal from soft brown suede.
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