After spending last summer tending to her health, it was a meaningful moment to see Kate Middleton return to royal business as usual by Prince William’s side at a Buckingham Palace garden party, held earlier this week. The Prince and Princess of Wales both dressed to impress with William in a top hat and Kate Middleton wearing the very same butter yellow Emilia Wickstead dress she wore to Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Still, it was Kate’s choice of fascinator—and the timing of wearing it—that most caught my eye.
Did Kate Middleton Just Extend an Olive Branch to Meghan and Harry During Her Garden Party Appearance?
It’s all about her hat
Published May 22, 2025
•7:26pm
WPA Pool/Getty Images
WPA Pool/Getty Images
The Philip Treacy headpiece, with its elegant and matching butter yellow blooms, was also a royal repeat, but the occasion she most famously wore it to before was Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s royal wedding. (For reference, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrated seven years of marriage on May 19.)
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Now, Kate has worn the fascinator since their royal wedding, too—after all, the Princess of Wales is renowned for her art of the royal repeat, like with her Emilia Wickstead dress. But the timing is curious and quite possibly intentional? It’s no secret the royal family has long used their clothing to send a message, whether that means highlighting up-and-coming U.K. designers or nodding to a hidden message. (Remember Princess Diana’s choice to wear the sheep sweater at the same time she found herself struggling to fit in?)
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Given the fact that the garden party fell just one day after the Sussex’s anniversary, you’d think Kate (or at least someone on her team) would have known that royal comparisons would be drawn. According to Prince Harry via his recent interview with the BBC, we know that the family—at least Harry and King Charles—are not currently on speaking terms. Could Kate’s choice of hat be a nod to the past that also subtly expresses an optimism for their royal relationship in the future? TBD.
Either way, we’re consistently huge fans of the royal rewear—and the effort that Kate makes to demonstrate that, yes, an outfit, but also a hat, can in fact be worn more than once.
