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Each year, a special royal pageant takes place at Windsor Castle to celebrate England's oldest order of chivalry, the Order of the Garter.
Known as Garter Day, the event gathers together members of the country's highest-ranking order, where membership is the personal gift of the sovereign. This means that the appointments are made by the king or queen, not the government.
Male members of the order are known as "knights companion," while female members are "ladies companion." The number of knights is limited to 24 (not including members of the royal family or lady companions). The order was founded in 1348 by King Edward III, who made England's patron saint, St. George, the patron saint of the order.
The home chapel of the order is St. George's Chapel, which was built in its honor and is at Windsor Castle, known as a venue for royal weddings and funerals.
This month marks the Garter Day of King Charles' reign. On June 19, he will be joined by Queen Camilla; his son Prince William, the Prince of Wales; his brother Prince Edward; and his sister, Princess Anne. They will form part of the walking procession from the castle to the chapel for a service of thanksgiving.
The service is also attended by other members of the royal family, including the spouses of royal knights and ladies companion. Kate Middleton, now the Princess of Wales, first attended in 2008, three years before her marriage, to watch Queen Elizabeth II install William as the 1,000th knight of the garter.
Royal watchers have come to anticipate Garter Day as an annual opportunity to see the members of the House of Windsor at their fashion best. Members of the order are dressed in the historic medieval style, robes and hats, while those in the congregation dress to impress.
Here, Newsweek looks at some of Kate's top Garter Day fashion moments.
2008
Kate's first Garter Day appearance was not as a member of the royal family but as William's girlfriend. She was invited as his personal guest to watch his investment into the Order of the Garter by his grandmother.
The future princess arrived at St. George's Chapel with Prince Harry. For the occasion, she wore a conservative dark-colored suit with a small-scale white polka-dot print. Kate paired her look with a wide-brimmed hat topped with sculpted feathers and pearl jewelry.
William and Kate were engaged two years later, in 2010, and married in April 2011. Kate made her first Garter Day appearance as a royal that year.
2014
In 2014, Kate had refined her royal wardrobe with a more streamlined aesthetic, including sleek coat dresses in a style loved by Princess Diana.
For Garter Day, the princess wore an ice blue, highly tailored coat dress by Scottish designer Christopher Kane, with a matching blue hat from London-based hatters Lock and Co.
2016
In 2016, Kate opted for a vivid red ensemble for Garter Da, highlighting a collection of diamond jewelry pieces that included the diamond acorn earrings given to her on her wedding day by her parents.
The wide-lapelled coat dress in a fit-and-flare silhouette was designed by Catherine Walker & Co., the design house behind some of Diana's most famous dresses, including her own iconic 1990s coat dresses.
2019
Garter Day this year saw Kate take on an increased role, entertaining two European queens (Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and Queen Letizia of Spain) as they watched their husbands take part in the Garter procession.
For the event, Kate wore a coat dress from Catherine Walker & Co. to strike the right fashion note, this time in a straight-tailored silhouette with accented back lace piping highlighting the collar and princess seam work.
She wore a sculpted black hat and matching accessories to complete the look, together with heirloom pearl and diamond earrings that had been a wedding present to Diana in 1981.
2022
Kate returned to her favorite blue color palette when putting together her outfit for Garter Day in 2022, the first since a two-year break during the COVID pandemic and the last of Elizabeth's reign.
The princess wore an open-collar coat dress designed by the house of Alexander McQueen, with a covered belt and flared skirt.
The princess paired her look with a fascinator hat embellished with blue roses from Juliette Botterill and shoes from Aquazzura, Meghan Markle's favorite luxury footwear designer and now one of Kate's.
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