Kensington Palace breaks silence, defends Princess Catherine amid wardrobe controversy
Kensington Palace is doubling down on its wardrobe policy regarding Kate Middleton’s outfits of choice.
The 43-year-old Princess of Wales has been criticized in recent weeks for not wanting to release details about the outfits she wears to public and royal engagements.
Instead, Middleton wants the focus to be on her charitable work and the important causes she supports — not so much about the clothes she’s wearing and who makes them.
For context, Kensington Palace has traditionally shared information about the Princess of Wales’s wardrobe and jewelry — much like Buckingham Palace does for the Queen.
But it has always been Middleton’s desire to focus on what’s important — and less about the clothes.
On Feb. 11, Kensington Palace reiterated its stance in a show of solidarity with the future Queen and clarified that they won’t be changing the policy.
“I have received numerous questions about a story regarding The Princess of Wales’s clothing and how Kensington Palace shares information about her outfits,” the Palace wrote in a statement, per People.
“To be clear, there has been no change in our approach to sharing information about Her Royal Highness’s clothing,” Kensington Palace concluded.
The statement comes more than a week after “a palace source” commented on the policy in an article by The Times, published Feb. 1.
“There is an absolute feeling that it [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing,” the source said, per The Times.
The article in question was titled, “Princess of Wales: Focus on my work not my wardrobe.”
“She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting,” the source continued.
While Middleton understands the role fashion plays in her public appearances, the source claims that the palace doesn’t need to explicitly say what she’s wearing.
“The style is there but it’s about the substance,” the source added.
Middleton initially sparked criticism over outfit details in 2022
The discussion about Middleton’s outfit choices is nothing new to the media — or Kensington Palace, for that matter.
In a 2022 article published by The Sunday Times, one of Middleton’s close friends spoke about the future Queen’s opinion on sharing outfit details.
“When she goes to the Bond premiere or is at Trooping the Colour, of course she puts on the ‘uniform’ of the role,” the source told The Sunday TImes.
“But what was enormously frustrating and difficult for her, especially in the early days, was she was going out and doing the work she was interested in and was hugely important to her, and people just talked about what she was wearing,” the insider added.
While Kensington Palace supports Middleton’s wishes, there’s a growing expectation that they’ll continue to share details about outfits worn at significant events, such as royal tours — according to People.
The Times shared that sentiment and alluded to the State of Qatar’s recent visit to the UK in December.
Middleton, who was in attendance for part of the visit, wore a maroon outfit — a nod to the Qatar flag — with jewelry that belonged to Queen Elizabeth.
Kensington Palace issued details about the outfit at the time, but failed to do so for her two engagements in South Wales the following month.
The good news is fans don’t necessarily need Kensington Palace to release those details because fashion bloggers and social media influencers are known for picking up the slack online.
For example, the site What Kate Wore regularly follows the style of the Princess of Wales and posts updates on what she’s wearing and where fans can find similar outfits.
Just don’t expect those updates to come from Kensington Palace — unless it’s a significant event.
