Kate Middleton looked sleek and stylish in a striking green dress by Andrew Gn at Trooping the Colour on Saturday. The Princess of Wales chose an eye-catching green ensemble for the King’s Birthday Parade, no doubt in tribute to the Irish Guards, the regiment she assumed patronage of earlier this year.
Kate rode in the carriage procession alongside Queen Camilla.
The Princess’s three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, sat opposite.
Don’t they look immaculate!
Louis as he spots a photographer overhead:
It was Kate’s first Trooping the Colour as The Princess of Wales.
A first for the new Duchess of Edinburgh too, sat here alongside Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence:
Their spouses all took part in the procession on horseback:
It’s the first Trooping The Colour under the reign of His Majesty King Charles III.
For more than 260 years, Trooping of the Colour has marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign. This year, the grand tradition took place on Saturday 17th June, showcasing regiments of the Household Division. His Majesty, King Charles III, presided over the event, continuing his mother’s legacy.
The parade commenced at Buckingham Palace and proceeded down The Mall to Horse Guard’s Parade.
Here, the royals disembarked from their carriages to watch the Trooping the Colour Ceremony.
About the ceremony:
The King is greeted by a Royal salute and carries out an inspection of the troops. After the massed bands have performed a musical ‘troop’, the escorted Regimental Colour is carried down the ranks.The Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry then march past His Majesty, and The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, rank past. The King rides back to Buckingham Palace at the head of his Guards, before taking the salute at the Palace from a dais. The troops then return to barracks.
Household Division
The Princess of Wales, stood next to Queen Camilla, watching on:
A gorgeous shot of the Princess watching the ceremony, having taken her seat:
This year’s Trooping the Colour was a dazzling display of military precision, horsemanship, and fanfare, involving over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians that culminated in an RAF fly-past, watched by members of the Royal Family from Buckingham Palace balcony.
The fly-past:
I think Louis enjoyed himself:
Ah… siblings!
Since tying the knot with Prince William in 2011, Kate has attended 11 Trooping the Colour parades in total. Kate’s fashion has become a highlight of the event for us fans.
For her first appearance, the then-Duchess chose a white Alexander McQueen coat dress paired with a black hat by Sylvia Fletcher for Lock & Co. Alexander McQueen has become the Princess’s most-worn designer at the event over the last decade. She’s also favoured bespoke outfits from Erdem and Catherine Walker.
Let’s take a good look at Kate’s outfit from this year’s Trooping now.
Kate Middleton’s Green Outfit At 2023 Trooping the Colour:
Kate’s all-green ensemble was truly fit for a princess!
The elegant coat dress is by Andrew Gn, a Chinese-Japanese designer who was brought up in Singapore, educated in the UK and now operates from Paris.
Specifically, the Princess wore look 68 from the designer’s Spring/Summer 2023 lookbook—see below. (Thank you to Middleton Maven for finding the exact piece.)
The elegant coat dress features contrasting trim along the closure, collar, hem and cuffs of the garment, which I expect is satin? The garment also has four matching breast and hip pockets. Ornate buttons decorated with coloured stones finish the pockets and front placket.
It also comes in black:
I had a chat with Susan from What Kate Wore earlier, who pondered if Kate’s team found the coat dress while researching for designers connected with Singapore ahead of this year’s Earthshot Awards. The awards will take place in Singapore in November—it’s a sound theory, I think.
I expect the garment should be available to buy in one way or another, as it’s from Andrew Gn’s main lookbook, it’s not a bespoke creation just for the Princess. But at present, I cannot find it online to buy. You might have to contact Andrew Gn’s team to enquire.
We’ve not seen the Princess wear Gn’s creations before. The SS23 collection is bright, which clearly appeals to Kate’s current aesthetic. I could see her in that red suit! Or perhaps the floral gown (with the neckline modified)?
May I recommend visiting Gn’s about page to see the photographs of his Salon in Le Marais—the decor is sublime!
Kate’s matching wide brim hat is by Philip Treacy—we’ve seen the Princess wear this milliner’s creations time and time again!
You can see the back of the hat features a bow decoration and is finished with a button that matches those used on Kate’s coat dress:
I love this attention to detail! Of course, I’m now wondering if somebody from Treacy’s team or the palace contacted Andrew Gn asking for the spare embellished button, or if it came with the dress and they decided to sew it onto the hat! Does anybody else sit and ponder these things? Probably just me!
Kate wore Princess Diana’s sparkling double-drop sapphire and diamond earrings with her green outfit. She’s worn the jewels a handful of times since debuting them at last year’s Trooping the Colour (below).
The earrings were a favourite of the late Princess of Wales. She wore them on many occasions, including to the Met Gala in 1996. Here she is wearing the earrings during a high profile visit to the USA in 1985:
The Court Jeweller describes the glittering gems as “diamond and cabochon sapphire earrings, with a stud and drop design.”
Kate’s gold shamrock brooch is a familiar jewel. It’s by Cartier and has a green gemstone in the middle. The Princess regularly wears it to the annual Irish Guards’ St Patrick’s Day parade (shown below earlier this year).
[T]he shamrock brooch reportedly belongs to the Irish Guards.Per Lauren Kiehna, who runs the site the Court Jeweller, the brooch “is loaned out to royal ladies who are associated with the regiment.”
Despite being a popular piece of jewelry associated with the royal family, its origin story is still somewhat unclear. Some reporters cite Queen Alexandra as the first owner of the brooch, but according to Up the Micks! An Illustrated History of the Irish Guards, a book written by James Wilson, which features a foreword by the Duke of Cambridge, the piece was crafted by Cartier and then presented to Princess Mary, the Princess Royal, by the regiment in 1961.
Town and Country Mag
The Late Queen Mother and Princess Anne have both worn the piece previously.
It looks like the Princess carried her L.K. Bennett Dora clutch with her green ensemble. Here’s Kate carrying the same bag during a visit to Dublin, Republic of Ireland a few years ago:
The vibrant green clutch is made from soft suede, is shaped in a classic envelope silhouette and fastens with a metal press stud. The bag comes with a detachable metal strap, which Kate does not use.
For anybody hoping to add the clutch to your collection, it is still available to buy at L.K. Bennett.
Kate also owns the same bag in Khaki green.
Let’s look at Kate’s green heels now.
I think she’s wearing the Aquazzura Purist 105 in Green (Thanks Gabi for the suggestion).
There aren’t many photos of Kate’s feet at Trooping, so I can’t say for certain, but I think it’s a reasonable ID. The heel is the giveaway. It’s totally covered in green suede, bar a small cutout at the top. That matches with the Aquazzura pair. The fully covered suede heel is quite distinctive. Aquazzura often use this design feature in their shoes—Kate’s other, regular brands do not (Emmy, Jimmy Choo, Gianvito Rossi). The inside of their heels tend to be trimmed with beige leather to match the sole.
The sleek suede shoes have a minimalist silhouette with a pointed toe. The tall stiletto heel measures 105mm. The shoes are made in Italy from calf leather and suede.
Need to add them to your shoe collection? Find them at Aquazzura and FarFetch.
That’s all for now. Did you enjoy the Princess’s Trooping the Colour look? Were you a fan of the green colour? I loved it. What a fantastic departure from her usual pastel looks at this event.
Would like to see a picture of Catherine from head to toe taken from a front view.
These are the only ones I’ve found.
Fantastic, beautiful refined and confident elegant!
Prinses Catherine made the Irish stand out!
And successfully combining it with the saffier blue jewelry, those historically laden pieces. Not too much , just the right amount.
And Charlotte; beautiful , and I also loved the choice for a longer skirt. I’m sure it made her feel more princessy ,as my kids would have at that age, and more selfconfident. So good Catherine is empathic for all those small but important details.
Queen Camilla, her outfit looked beautiful, with an fashionable black hat. But she looked insecure, not happy in her outfit. Why?
The Princess looks beautiful. There is so much to admire: the shade of green, the great hat and really good up-do.
I think the two hip buttons are fine, but the two upper buttons tend to look busy. Do any of you fashion pro’s have a suggestion?
Elegant, chic… perfectly beautiful!
Loved every single thing about this outfit. Another fashion triumph for the Princess.
lovely article about a lovely woman! my only complaint is about your insecent use of calling her “Kate Middleton”.
her name is Catherine, for goodness sakes!
Catherine, Princess of Wales.
she hasn’t been Kate Middleton for over a decade…. and reportedly has never cared for the name Kate to begin with.
please give her the respect that she has most assuredly earned through hard work and limitless grace – by referring to her by her correct name
It was a lovely except for one glaring error. You can’t be HRH Princess of Wales and Kate Middleton at the same time. Kate Middleton no longer is a legal name for Catherine since she married Prince William. The family’s last name is Wales. Thank you.
I loved Queen Camilla’s outfit. Striking but elegant. I agreed with a comment that she looked ill at ease, but one has to remember the Lady is in her 70s, and I doubt the carriage ride was cushioned luxury for mature bones.
I agree with these ladies. Her name is Catherine, Princess of Wales! Show some respect. It makes you look the fool…
I like this dress, the buttons are amazing. The shade of green is beautiful! That gold shamrock is gorgeous. I hope she wears this dress again sometime soon.
Not a fan of the shoes though, and I think the hat is too big.
My favorite royal of the day is Louis. He is so adorable with his antics. LOL
This entire outfit is perfect for Catherine’s figure, the event, and her job. It’s beautiful. Wish she’d gone with those gorgeous boots on the model, but the pumps are more suitable.
Camilla has back problems, so her back may have been protesting at the carriage ride.
Princess Catherine looked beautiful as usual. I love her look in whatever she wears. She is always a Lady. And so composed. She and William are wonderful parents and they have three beautiful children. I love them all!
Not a fan of the green for the event. I like it and the hat but not for this event. She threw off the family photos—she should have worn white or navy. It throws off the whole symmetry of the family picture.
Love the Princess of Wales’ outfit, but her makeup is overdone and heavy, particularly her eyebrows. She would look lovely with just a lighter touch around the eyes and some lipstick. That’s it. She doesn’t need blush.
Stunning as always
@karenr the designer’s choices of accessories are really cool and I like the original collar and cuff that I guess Kate had deleted. The tailoring is FAB.
Although I like her in green, I’m not sure if I were in her position I would have worn this color today for the family balcony photos. It’s pulling attention from the King and Queen.
“Queen Camilla” looks “Ill at ease” because she knows she shouldn’t be sitting next to the princess but rather waving amongst the other onlookers! She’s a huge part of the divorce between Princess Diana and Charles. The Queen should have kicked her out the front door never to be seen again.
Not Kate’s best look. It would have looked great on Queen Elizabeth or Camilla. More of a style for an older woman.
Hincarli,
A p.s. question;
On the picture with prinses Catherine waving ( and prins Louis saluting) you can see inside the sleeve, white buttons? You think they are for the white cuffs you see on the pictures from the designer?
So may we conclude she got those too for another occasion?
Also since the fabric and color from hat and dress are spot on equal, there must have been contact between hat and dress maker.
And for me as a foreigner, the buttons look from afar a bit like the English flag in blue tones. I thought that was yet another smart think from the princes.
Hi,
Good spotting. I hadn’t spotted the buttons actually, but saw a photo on Instagram showing them and asking the same thing. I bet the coat must have come with the ruffles. I assumed they were from a blouse under the coat!
I ALSO thought the buttons looked like the British flag! Honestly thought they were at first!
Initially was jarred by the green and the way it stands out from everyone else – but that is exactly what any Queen and Princess ought to wear.. .They are meant to be the color of the family, the outfit is perfect. Love the way it stands out, practically in the photo where both Camilla and Catherine are facing the camera titled “watching on.” Absolutely stunning, a true Queen in the making.