This afternoon, Kate made her long-awaited debut at Royal Ascot:
She attended with husband William. The palace kept their attendance quiet right until the last minute. Royal Correspondent Emily Andrews announced the surprise yesterday evening via Twitter. Royal fans predicted the couple would make an appearance to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday.
The Queen is an avid Royal Ascot supporter and attends the races every year. It’s said to be her favourite week in the racing calendar:
“Since first attending in 1947, she’s been an enthusiastic participant in the biggest flat-racing week of the year, as a racehorse owner and breeder and simply as a fan of the sport, arriving amid the famous pomp and circumstance of the horse-drawn carriage procession down the course.”
A little more information and history about the event:
The Royal Ascot is the centrepiece of Ascot’s year and dates back to 1711 when it was founded by Queen Anne. Every year Royal Ascot is attended by Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family such as The Prince of Wales, arriving each day in a horse-drawn carriage with the Royal procession taking place at the start of each race day and the raising of the Queen’s Royal Standard. It is a major event in the British social calendar, and press coverage of the attendees and what they are wearing often exceeds coverage of the actual racing. There are three enclosures attended by guests on Royal Ascot week.
This year, William and Kate took part in the carriage procession, riding with Wentworth Beaumont and his wife. You can view a short video of their arrival below:
It's wonderful to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to #RoyalAscot this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/p6xBSEAGW5
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) June 15, 2016
This year, the Countess of Wessex and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark attended too:
(Note: If you love Sophie the Countess of Wessex’s outfit, check out my friend blog for details).
Later, William and Kate presented the Duke of Cambridge Stakes trophy to winning jockey Mickael Barzalona.
Today’s appearance rounds off an action-packed week for Kate! Last Thursday she attended the SportsAid SportsBall, then on Friday she attended the National Service of Thanksgiving. On Saturday, she took part in the Trooping the Colour parade.
Sunday was The Patron’s Lunch and on Monday, she attended Garter Day. Yesterday, she visited the U.S. Embassy in London AND attended a Garden Party in Belfast all in one day! Phew!
Kate’s outfit at Royal Ascot:
Knowing that Royal Ascot is famous for its fashion, Kate didn’t let us down. She opted for a white lace dress by Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.
It’s D&G’s Cotton Blend Lace Dress. You may recall she first wore to the Royal Windsor Horse Show back in May?
At the time of writing, the dress retails for $3,597 on Net-A-Porter.com. It has 40% off it’s full price of $5,995 USD. Here’s how it’s described on their website –
Dolce & Gabbana’s white dress is a romantic choice for special events or brides. This exquisite design is crafted from pretty cotton-blend lace with sheer sleeves, a nipped-in waist and tiered, swishy skirt. It comes with a smooth satin slip for coverage. Complement the midi length with heels.
Kate sported a new hat for the race meet today. It’s the Una hat by Jane Taylor millinery.
Jane Taylor describes the £1,050 hat as an “elegant mesh saucer discs with angular printed feather, & twist detail”.
Jane Taylor sells the hat in two colours, ‘Ivory Parkin’ (worn by Kate) and ‘Sinamay Black’. They can also provide the hat in other colours, if required.
Kate’s clutch bag is an old favourite. It’s the L.K. Bennett Natalie Box Clutch in Raffia. The bag is no longer available to buy.
The company do sell a similar bag in other patterns and designs if you’d like to copy Kate’s look today.
Click to view:
USA/Canada | UK/International
Kate’s shoes ought to feel familiar to our regular readers. They’re the Gianvito Rossi 105 pumps in Praline. Kate now owns four pairs of these heels in different colours!
She first debuted them at a Garden Party earlier in the year. The shoes are available to purchase in a range of sizes at the following places:
- Gianvito 105 suede pumps -$675 / £450 at Net-A-Porter
- Gianvito 105 suede pump – $670 / £450 at My Theresa
(You’ll notice some retailers give the shoes a different colour name. Gianvito Rossi has confirmed to another blogger that they’re all the same shade).
Finally, you may have noticed Kate added a little bling to her outfit today. She’s wearing a new pair of pearl earrings.
At first, we thought they were from Kiki McDonough, as Kate fans spotted a similar pair on Pinterest from two years ago. However, Kiki have since confirmed this is not the case. They remain a mystery for now!
Kate’s Royal Ascot outfit is reminiscent of the white and nude ensemble she chose for the Epsom Derby in 2011 (see below). In fact, Kate even carried the exact same clutch bag back then!
Steal Kate’s style:
If you love to copy Kate’s style, you’ll love these earrings from Carissima. The 9ct gold, Amethyst and Pearl Teardrop earrings cost only £35.99 (they’re reduced from £109). Aren’t they’re a great likeness? Shop them at Amazon. (Found by Natasha)
Our second “RepliKate” is from Office (below, right). The nude suede shoes are a dead-ringer for the Gianvito Rossi 105s Kate sported today (left), but only cost a fraction of the price at £65. Shop them at Office. (Kindly shared by Kate’s Closet)
Memh – not liking the hat much – esp the way she tweaked the brim to give it a tipped down point – it looked much better on the model pulled down lower on the head and not worn like a pearcher like Kate has it today. The dress is nice and good thing it’s longer than what she wore to the derby a few years back.
Did Princess forget her slip?
? Not impressed.