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Behold Kate Middleton’s Hair Transformation from 2005 to Today

Ever since Kate Middleton began dating Prince William in college, we’ve been obsessed with her shiny, beautiful hair. Just like us, the Princess of Wales has made quite a few tweaks to her look since then. Here, a complete timeline of Kate Middleton’s hair.

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2005: The Blowout, Version 1

On the day of Princess Catherine and Prince William’s official graduation from St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, she showed off the prototype for what would become her signature hairstyle.

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2010: The Iconic Hairdo Is Born

When announcing her engagement to Prince William, the soon-to-be royal introduced a more polished version of her go-to look: a sleek bouncy blowout with rounded ends and an occasional slight curtain bang.

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2011: Here Comes The Bride

Few things are more iconic than her deep brown color and laid-back bridal half-up-half-down ’do at her 2011 wedding to Prince William at Westminster Abbey in London.

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2012: Natural Hair Don’t Care

The Duchess of Cambridge and Cornwall accompanied her husband on a Diamond Jubilee tour, representing Queen Elizabeth in Singapore, Malaysia, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands in 2012. During a visit to Tuvanipupu Island, she showed off her natural curls on a low-key canoe ride.

kate middleton hair bangs
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2012: She Bangs

In the early days of her pregnancy with Prince George, the Princess of Wales drew attention away from her nascent bump by rocking curtain bangs and longer than usual tresses.

kate middleton hair prince george birth
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2013: Prince George’s Arrival

Duchess Catherine looked radiant with long straight locks upon welcoming her firstborn, Prince George, outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital on July 23, 2013.

kate middleton hair princess charlotte birth
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2015: Charlotte’s Big Debut

To introduce Princess Charlotte to the world, the Princess of Wales stuck to her go-to sleek bouncy blowout. She and Prince William offered the world their first glimpse at the little princess outside the Lindo Wing on May 2, 2015.

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2017: A Fake Bob

She stunned us all when she wore her hair pinned up in a faux bob at the Remembrance Sunday service in November 2017.

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2018: A Real Bob

It seems that Princess Catherine must have liked her temporary bob, since the Duchess of Cambridge and Cornwall opted to actually cut her hair into a curly bob before Prince Louis’s arrival. Spoiler alert: It looked amazing.

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2018: Back To Chocolate Brown

After Prince Louis’s arrival, she returned to her oldie but goodie go-to—a chocolate brown mid-length blowout—from late 2018 onward.

kate middleton hair caramel hue
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2019: Rich Caramel Brown

When Princess Catherine stepped out in sparkly Cinderella pumps at an Action on Addiction dinner event, we couldn’t help but notice her usually chocolate brown hair had a lighter, caramel tint to it and even more volume than usual.

kate middleton hair highlights
Ben Stansall/WPA Pool/Getty Images

2019: Sun-kissed Summer ’Do

The Duchess of Cambridge and Cornwall debuted her brighter new look with (gasp!) highlights at the King's Cup Regatta. It appears she swapped out her usually chocolate brown locks for a new honey brown color with a shorter version of her bouncy-layered blowout.

kate middleton bangs
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2020: The Bangs Are Back

After donning highlighted, relatively long locks for the latter half of 2019, Princess Catherine switched things up and returned to her medium golden-brown roots. At a UK-Africa Investment Summit reception at Buckingham Palace in late January 2020, the Duchess of Cambridge and Cornwall debuted freshly cut bangs and pumped up the volume on her signature curls.

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Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

2020: Hello, Lob

For the 2020 royal tour of Ireland, the Princess of Wales opted to cut her hair even shorter for a straight-up lob. She also freshened up her curtain bangs and enriched her color with what appears to be an auburn gloss.

kate middleton hair
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2021: Fancy Updo

When she traveled to Scotland, she stepped out in a rare updo. Her hair was intricately pinned in a half-up half-down style, while the rest cascaded down her back in tight curls.

kate middleton hair transformation
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2021: Barely-There Waves

During a visit to Cornwall in June 2021, the duchess debuted a brighter hair color for summer. Instead of uniformed curls, Princess Catherine styled her locks in barely-there beach waves.

kate middleton hair
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

2022: Current Status

Princess Catherine has maintained her signature hairstyle and color. During an outing in October 2022, the royal sported tighter curls that fell in layers down her back.

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greta

Senior Editor

Greta Heggeness is a California-based editor at PureWow and has been writing about entertainment since 2015. She covers everything from awards shows to exclusive celebrity...