Kate Middleton mixed high street and high-end fashion for today’s visit to Wimbledon.
The Princess of Wales, in her role as Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, made her first appearance at this year’s Championships wearing a striking cobalt-blue suit by luxury designer Gabriela Hearst.
She paired the two-piece set with a simple knit top from H&M, a pair of earrings from a small British business and sunglasses that retail for less than £100. (Click to skip to the fashion deep-dive.)
Kate began her Wimbledon visit by surprising dedicated tennis fans in ‘The Queue’.
Some members had been waiting since the early hours of the morning for the chance to secure tickets.
She met volunteer stewards, posed for selfies and chatted with children, asking if they were tennis fans.
Naturally, several well-wishers also congratulated her on completing the Three Peaks Challenge earlier in the week.
She helped to hand out tickets, telling lucky attendees to “have a fun time.”
For those unfamiliar with Wimbledon, “The Queue” is one of the tournament’s most iconic traditions. Unlike many major sporting events, the Championships still reserve tickets each day for people willing to queue in person, often overnight. It’s become part of the tournament’s identity, with a famously friendly atmosphere that feels quintessentially British.
The Princess headed to Court 18 where she watched British star Arthur Fery take on Finland’s Otto Virtanen alongside former player Tim Henman and All England Club Chair Deborah Jevans.
The trio watched Fery win four sets, securing a place in the third round of Wimbledon for the first time.
The Princess also watched a Ladies’ Singles game. She took to Court 1 to watch Great Britain’s Katie Swan take on the United States’ Madison Keys, alongside former tennis players Andy Murray and Anne Keothavong.
Sadly, Swan lost the second-round match in straight sets.
Before the visit ended, Kate met children from Shine Camera Club, part of SHINE Merton, a charity that teaches photography to children from disadvantaged backgrounds to help build confidence, creativity and self-expression.
The young photographers spent the day documenting the Championships, with the Princess viewed their work.
A lovely video from the visit. Some of those photographs are brilliant!
Of course, Kate has long been a keen amateur photographer. Her interest in photography is said to have been nurtured by her grandfather, Peter Middleton, during her childhood.
A few video highlights from the day:
The Princess has been a regular at Wimbledon, both as a tennis fan and as patron of the AELTC since 2016.
Now, let’s take a closer look at her outfit today.
Kate’s outfit:
The Princess looked summer-ready in a blue Gabriela Hearst suit.
She wears the designer’s ‘Stephanie’ blazer and ‘Vesta’ trousers, both in the ‘sapphire’ colourway. (Shown here at Net-A-Porter.)
The suit is new to us but actually comes from a past season collection.
The jacket and trousers are both made in Italy from a wool-silk-linen mix fabric—a considered choice for a summer engagement. Linen keeps the suit breathable and cool, wool adds structure, protects against wrinkling and is temperature-regulating, while silk provides a subtle, soft sheen and gives an elegant drape.
The jacket is double-breasted with two rows of buttons and a peak lapel. It also features angled side flap pockets.
FWRD.com listed it for $2,190 USD / £2,097 before it went on sale for $701 / £743.
The Vesta trousers are a wide-leg flared style with a floor-skimming hem and a high-rise waist.
They retailed at Net-A-Porter for $1,090 (approx £816 GBP) before going on sale for 50% off.
Both the jacket and trousers are widely sold out—but MyTheresa does stock the suit in a darker ‘navy’ blue this season. Net-A-Porter sells the Stephanie blazer and Vesta trousers in various colours, too.
Thank you to both Gabi and KateMiddletonStyled for the suit ID.
Kate’s worn a steady stream of Gabriela Hearst pieces over the last five years or so. I suspect that in addition to beautiful tailoring and timeless designs, Kate’s attracted to the designer’s strong commitment to using natural fabrics and her reputation for responsible luxury.
Uruguayan-born Hearst launched her eponymous label in 2015 and has won major industry awards over the last decade. Her brand has become one of luxury fashion’s leading modern labels. She credits her upbringing for shaping her philosophy that clothing should be made to last for generations, not seasons. In addition to the Princess, Hearst’s clothing is worn by Jill Biden and Angelina Jolie.
Let’s go from high-end to high street now, by moving on to look at Kate’s white top.
It’s believed to be an H&M piece—this off-the-shoulder style:
Kate first wore the white tee a decade ago for a visit to the Eden Project, pairing it with patterned trousers and a navy blazer. She also memorably wore the top during her Covid-19 vaccination in 2021 (shown below).
She’s also styled the versatile piece with tailoring on two further occasions, making today its fifth public outing.
The garment originally sold for $34.95 in the USA.
One of the things I enjoy most is seeing her pair an affordable high street piece with much more expensive designer items. We’ve seen her style H&M earrings costing around £15 with a £1,000 Preen dress, and today she teamed a modestly priced top with a luxury Gabriela Hearst suit.
Founded in Sweden in 1947, H&M has grown into one of the world’s biggest fashion brands. The retailer sells accessible, everyday trend-led clothing at affordable prices and has stores in more than 70 markets worldwide.
Speaking of accessible, let’s look at Kate’s double-drop gemstone earrings next. They’re not from the royal vault, but from a company called Carousel Jewels.
Kate wore their ‘Stella‘ design with moonstone and lapis lazuli gemstones. The blue and white echoed the colours of her outfit beautifully.
The earrings feature oval cabochons set in sterling silver with a 22ct matte gold finish. Each pair is handcrafted using ethically sourced gemstones.
If you’d like to own a pair, you’re in luck. They retail for £170 ($232) from carouseljewels.com. At the time of writing, the earrings have sold out following Kate’s appearance, but customers can still pre-order a pair, with delivery estimated to take five to six weeks.
Kate debuted the pretty earrings on Easter Sunday in 2023. She wore them publicly for a second time during a visit to the V&A East Storehouse in 2025, making today their third public outing.
Kate also owns a second pair of earrings from the brand, featuring aquamarine gemstones.
Founded in 2021 and based in East Sussex, Carousel Jewels is a small British ‘conscious’ jewellery brand. The company places sustainability at the heart of its business, using ethically sourced gemstones, plastic-free packaging and planting a tree for every order. Iy also donates a portion of its monthly revenue to Sea Shepherd, a marine conservation organisation, supporting marine conservation projects around the world.
Let’s move on to Kate’s sunglasses now. The Princess brought back her Ralph Lauren cat’s-eye sunglasses to watch the tennis.
She wears style number RA5305U in the colour ‘Black Havana’.
Kate debuted the sunglasses in public at Wimbledon last summer, wearing them to both the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Singles Finals.
They’re currently available from LensCrafters for a very affordable $53 (reduced from $106), as well as Sunglass Hut for £96.
Sticking with Ralph Lauren, Kate finished her outfit with another piece from the American fashion house: the Celia pumps in ‘Gold Brown’.
Crafted in Italy from calfskin leather, the pointed-toe pumps feature a sleek four-inch heel. They originally retailed for $675.
The tan heels have become Kate’s neutral shoe of choice in recent years. She’s paired them with everything from tailored suits to elegant dresses in shades of olive green, red, lilac and, of course, cobalt blue. Today’s outing marks the 15th time we’ve seen her wear the shoes in public. She first debuted them in 2020.
Although Ralph Lauren has since discontinued the Celia, the brand offers the similar Lindella II pump in a slightly darker tan shade, making it a good alternative if you’re looking for something similar.
I think it’s fair to say that the Princess is a fan of Ralph Lauren—it’s a familiar name in her wardrobe. She’s worn many of their pieces over the years, including sweaters, jackets, skirts, dresses and more.
Ralph Lauren is one of the world’s best-known luxury fashion brands. Founded in 1967 by the American designer, the company today produces everything from tailored clothing and eveningwear to accessories, fragrances and home furnishings.
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