On the 21st of November 2023, the Prince and Princess of Wales officially welcomed the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, and First Lady Kim Keon Hee to Great Britain.
The royal couple played a key role in the ceremonial welcome alongside King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Horse Guards Parade, followed by a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace for a private lunch.
For the important diplomatic event, the Princess of Wales chose an eye-catching ensemble in scarlet red by Catherine Walker. Her outfit featured a knee-length dress paired with her ‘Beau Tie’ coat, both worn under a cape coat (similar).
The Princess complemented her layered look with a matching wide-brim felt hat, a custom design by Jane Taylor, in a matching shade of red.
Kate accessorised her outfit with her Miu Miu bow-embellished suede bag and a pair of red suede pumps from Gianvito Rossi.
Kate completed the look with Princess Diana’s Cabochon Sapphire Drop Earrings.
Carly, nice write-up on a very controversial fashion statement! I hope you are doing well these days.
I’ve been hoping Kate would branch out sartorially, but this ensemble had me scratching my head. While this shade of red looks really good on her, was this a good choice for the event? I don’t think so, because it pulled focus from the visitors and also the King and Queen Consort.
That said, the cape is awful. That’s a lot of fabric for Kate and I think it looks terrible. Although using it along with the underlying coat to show the bow is clever, it’s just too much. I think if this cape was shortened to waist length and worn over the coat, it might work though. And, while I like a strong shoulder I wonder why all these shoulder pads! We know the underlying coat has shoulder pads, does the cape too?
And finally, the dress worn under the coat is short, it’s above the knee. There are photos on the Web showing her leaving the car she was in and showing a lot of leg. Really not appropriate for a State Visit.
The hat and hairstyle are nice!