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The Princess of Wales wowed crowds at the Royal Ascot horse races on Friday as she moved away from the muted color tones she has relied on in previous years, instead paying a potential nod to the late Queen Elizabeth II with a vivid red fashion statement.
Kate was instantly visible from a distance as the royals took part in the traditional carriage procession along the Ascot race course, wearing a custom dress designed by the fashion house responsible for her 2011 wedding dress, Alexander McQueen.
The pleated day dress featured a deep v-neckline with pleated detailing and overset sleeves creating a silhouette reminiscent of 1980s shoulder pads. With her dress, Kate wore a hat designed by the royal family's favorite milliner, Philip Treacy, who has made a number of the princess' famous headpieces over the course of her marriage.
For her jewelry, Kate made a deviation from her established fondness for wearing earrings belonging to the late Princess Diana—usually in diamonds and pearls—opting instead for a statement pair made of gold and brass from a favorite mid-range fashion brand, Sezane.
The princess' powerful appearance in a block color made her instantly recognizable among the thousands of racegoers, in a move that echoed the late Queen Elizabeth II, according to royal fashion expert Christine Ross.
"The Princess of Wales seems to be employing one of the late Queen Elizabeth II's sartorial tricks, wearing head-to-toe bold colors in order to be seen more easily," Ross told Newsweek.
"By wearing bright colors, even the furthest seats can say they caught a glimpse of the Princess of Wales. This was a powerful tool used by Queen Elizabeth II, and this shows that both women know the power of their fashion choices."
On Kate's choice of established designers to help her with her Ascot look on Friday, Ross explained: "Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy are both trusted designers for the princess, creating some of her most iconic and most regal looks. This red dress follows the lines of other classic styles we've seen, with the added interest of a voluminous long sleeve."
Kate and Prince William rode to the races in the second carriage of the royal procession, behind King Charles and Queen Camilla who were accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.
With the Wales' were Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Beatrice is the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. The princess and Mapelli Mozzi recently joined William and Kate on a visit to Jordan where the couples attended the royal wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa.
Also in the procession were Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is King Charles' sister-in-law, as well as the king's cousins, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and movie star pal Dame Judi Dench.
Dench made headlines in December when she came out publicly in a British newspaper against Netflix and the creators of hit royal drama The Crown.
In an open letter to the Times of London, the actress called for a disclaimer to be added to each episode of Season 5 of the show, which fictionalized the messy breakup of Charles and Princess Diana in the 1990s.
"While many will recognize The Crown for the brilliant but fictionalized account of events that it is," she wrote. "I fear that a significant number of viewers, particularly overseas, may take its version of history as being wholly true."
Netflix did not bow to the pressure of adding a disclaimer to each episode of the show, but conceded in adding the descriptor to its promotional material that the show was "inspired by real events."
Dench is friends with both Charles and Queen Camilla. The latter meeting the Oscar winning actress at a literary event earlier this month, run by her Queen's Reading Room charity.
Royal Ascot is an annual horse racing event spread over five days which has been patronized by the royal family for over a century. The late Queen Elizabeth II was known to consider it one of the highlights in her calendar and was a successful race horse owner and breeder in her own right.
On June 22, the horse Desert Hero, bred by the late queen, won the King George V Handicap race in the presence of its new owners, Charles and Camilla. The win was Charles' first as monarch.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more