Kate Middleton chose sleek tailoring for her visit to the University of East London in Stratford on Wednesday.
The Princess of Wales looked polished in her camel-coloured Roland Mouret suit, which she accessorised with caramel-coloured shoes and gold jewellery. (Full outfit information further down the page.)
The outing marked the launch of ‘Foundations for Life: A Guide to Social and Emotional Development‘, a new online resource from the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
The Princess wrote the foreword to the guide herself:
While our society often focuses on academic or physical milestones, research consistently shows that it is our earliest relationships, experiences and environments which lay the foundations for our future health and happiness. The quality of our connections – with ourselves, with others and with the world around us – shapes how safe we feel, how we relate, and how we process experiences throughout our lives.
The Princess of Wales
At the University, Kate met Vice Chancellors and Further Education College Chief Executives from across the UK who have committed to embedding the guide within their teaching and training programmes.
She also spent time with children and families that were taking part in brain development research.
Let’s look at her outfit now.
The Princess’s outfit:
The Princess opted for a neutral ensemble in Roland Mouret’s signature ‘Sand’ shade.
She wore the brand’s single-breasted Cady blazer with a pair of matching wide-leg trousers.
The blazer’s sculpted shoulder and clean peak lapel give the look some structure, while the wide-leg trousers add length and movement—they’re quite relaxed compared to the sharper jacket.
Note: I have recoloured those images in Photoshop. They were originally burgundy.
This isn’t the suit’s first outing. The Princess first wore the tailored separates in 2023 for her engagement with Streets of Growth (below), the East London charity supporting young people affected by violence and exploitation.
In September 2025, she wore the suit to meet the Jordanian Royals (pictured below).
The Princess also owns the suit in burgundy and grey. She’s worn both colourways on a number of occasions.
The Princess wearing the burgundy version of the suit earlier this year:
It’s not possible to buy the sand-coloured suit at the time of writing. However, Roland Mouret currently stocks the same suit in khaki green satin crepe—as pictured below—on the brand’s UK site. The trousers retail for £450, and the jacket is £695.
On the US site, the blazer comes in mulberry purple velvet for $950. It’s $650 for the coordinating trousers.
Underneath the blazer, the Princess wore a cream blouse—or a bodysuit designed to look like a blouse. Middleton Maven suggests this piece from Roland Mouret.
It’s certainly a possibility. The 100% silk bodysuit features a soft, draped shawl collar with a deep V neckline. It retails for £450 / $750 at MyTheresa.
Kate’s turned to Roland Mouret for years—we first spotted her wearing the label in 2011, just weeks after the Royal Wedding. Alongside the architectural gowns she’s chosen for receptions and film premieres, the Princess has increasingly relied on the designer’s sharp tailoring, particularly when wishing to project a more modern, executive-style image.
Let’s move on to Kate’s shoes now. Regular readers will recognise them instantly: They’re the Ralph Lauren’s ‘Celia’ pumps in ‘Gold’. They seem to be a favourite at the moment. She’s worn them multiple times since last summer.
The warm tan colour picks up the golden undertones of the suit and ties the whole look together.
The classic pointed-toe court shoe features a 4″ heel and a padded, branded leather insole. Each pair is made in Italy. They originally retailed for $675. Kate debuted them in 2020.
As you’d expect, six years on, Ralph Lauren no longer stocks the Celia pump. The brand’s Lindella II style is a good alternative if you’re looking for something similar.
Kate turned to Daniella Draper for her gold jewellery today. The British jeweller has become a firm favourite of the Princess.
Kate wore three pieces from the brand. She debuted the ‘Midnight Keeper’s Heart’ trio diamond charms in gold, which she wore suspended from her ‘Mini Cupid’ gold hoops. A closer look:
The heart charms are crafted from 9ct gold and feature three small sparkling diamonds. They retail for £1,210 with the three diamonds.
They also come plain or set with just one diamond.
Kate wore the heart charms on her 9ct gold ‘Mini Cupid’ hoops. She debuted the hoops during her 2020 visit to the Republic of Ireland.
They’re designed with an organic, slightly irregular shape for a relaxed feel.
If you’d like to buy the hoops, they’re available on Draper’s site for £215.
She finished the look with the jeweller’s ‘Fixed Alphabet’ necklace in gold, featuring the initials of her three children — G, C and L for George, Charlotte and Louis.
The necklace features up to six initials suspended from a fine gold chain, which is made from 9ct recycled gold.
The gold ‘initial‘ necklace starts at £220 (the cost increases for longer chain lengths and additional initials).
The necklace is the emotional centrepiece of the look. For an engagement focused on early childhood and the foundational importance of family relationships, a necklace bearing her own children’s initials is a quietly perfect choice—and I am sure it will have been an intentional choice.
Next week:
The Princess will visit Reggio Emilia in northern Italy for two days (13-14 May) with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
It’s her first overseas work trip since October 2023, and since her cancer diagnosis.
The visit will be a high-level fact-finding mission, with Kate spending two days meeting educators, parents, children, and civic and business leaders to see Reggio Emilia’s internationally respected approach to early childhood education in action. The approach places relationships, environment, and community at the heart of a child’s development, with nature considered the “third teacher” alongside parents and educators.
It’s an approach that aligns closely with Kate’s own long-held convictions about nature and the importance of the early years.
The trip marks the next step in expanding the Centre’s Shaping Us Framework, launched in February 2025, by learning from leading global approaches.
As a Kensington Palace spokesperson put it, “The Princess is very much looking forward to visiting Italy next week and seeing first-hand how the Reggio Emilia approach creates environments where nature and loving human relationships come together to support children’s development.”
I’ll be back next week with full coverage of the Italy trip, of course—if not sooner. I suspect we might see the Princess at tomorrow’s Buckingham Palace Garden Party.
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