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The Princess of Wales' ethereal fashion moment on the red carpet of a London charity event has gone viral on social media, with fans praising the royal in a new TikTok video.
Kate attended the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall near Kensington Palace on November 30, accompanied by Prince William and visiting European royalty, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her husband, Prince Daniel.
The royal party's arrival was highly anticipated as it marked the first public appearance by William and Kate amid revived interest—prompted by the release of a bombshell book by biographer Omid Scobie—in an ongoing royal race scandal over a remark before the birth of Meghan Markle's first child about potential skin tone.
Meghan had first made the "concerns and conversations" public in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, sparking a wave of anti-racist backlash against the monarchy. A Dutch translation of the book, Endgame, named King Charles as making the remark during a conversation in which Kate Middleton was present.
Scobie denied naming the royals accused of taking part in the conversation in his book, attributing the Dutch version's inclusion of names to a translation issue. He did not specify if the names were accurate.
So far, Buckingham Palace has not issued any comment regarding the book or its claim. Newsweek has previously contacted the palace as well as HarperCollins for comment.
As a media storm surrounding the race scandal took place, William and Kate made their appearance at the charity performance, with Kate stepping out in a new navy blue evening gown designed by London-based brand, Safiyaa.
The royal wore the label's "Destiny" model, which featured an embellished neckline, exaggerated shoulder shaping and dramatic, floor-length, split sleeves.
Uploaded to TikTok by user, royal_secrets24, on December 1, the full drama of Kate's chosen outfit for the occasion was highlighted in footage showing the trailing split sleeves being caught by the wind at the venue.
Captioned "goddess" the video shows Kate standing while Crown Princess Victoria was met by organizers, her sleeves being caught by the wind surrounding her.
The clip has been viewed over 600,000 times on the social media platform so far and gained in excess of 24,000 likes and over 250 comments, many of which have praised the royal and her style.
"Wow! Goddess is a very fitting description of Princess Catherine right now," wrote one TikTok user.
"Stunning fairytale princess in that dress," posted another, with a further comment reading: "I love the dress. I wasn't sure at first, until now, especially the long sleeves."
Kate's Royal Variety Performance dress, with its statement sleeves, comes as the princess has streamlined her aesthetic in recent months, taking a more business-like approach to her overall style.
Celebrity stylist and royal fashion expert Miranda Holder previously told Newsweek that Kate's wardrobes have experienced a mature "evolution...leaving her more casual and carefree student days long behind as she's embraced more sophisticated designer looks in monochrome."
But, as with the statement sleeves of the royal's Safiyaa gown, Holder noted that "occasionally, we get a glimpse of the previous, fun-loving Kate with an outfit that surprises us."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly 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