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Kate Middleton displayed her flair for diplomatic dressing in Edinburgh on Wednesday as she supported King Charles III at his coronation celebrations at St. Giles' Cathedral, wearing a shade of blue which paid tribute to the Scottish national flag.
Kate, alongside Prince William, Charles and Queen Camilla, attended the event, held to officially present the king with "Honours of Scotland", informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels.
For the occasion, Kate followed her established trends when dressing for a royal event. This included re-wearing items from her vast royal wardrobes. The princess wore a striking bold blue wool coat-dress, designed by the house of Catherine Walker & Co., cut along men's tailoring lines, with contrasting velvet collar and lapels.
"Kate stunned in patriotic Scottish blue at the Coronation today, but while the vivid color of her Catherine Walker ensemble made her stand out from the crowd, it was actually an understated choice, being a repeat item she had worn before," celebrity stylist and royal fashion expert Miranda Holder told Newsweek of the look.
The coat-dress, Holder suggested, was a fitting re-wear which links to both Kate and Prince William's eco-consciousness.
"Kate is conscious of sustainability in fashion, and is of course a keen advocate of her husband's Earthshot cause," she said, "as well as striking a careful balance between looking elegant and 'royal' whilst not being too ostentatious or 'showy' in today's economically-challenged climate."
The coat-dress was first worn publicly by Kate in 2022 for the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, and was this time updated by accessorizing the look with a beret style asymmetrical hat featuring a sculpted element echoing a feather.
The choice of coat-dress is most notable for its color being so closely aligned to Scotland's national flag, known as the Saltire. The flag features a bold white diagonal cross against a ground color of deep blue.
This is not the first time that Kate has matched her outfits to pay tributes to the flags of countries where important events are taking place. Often the princess will wear a national color when arriving at the destination of an overseas tour, most recently displayed during her visit to the Caribbean in 2022.
Scotland is an important country in the life of Kate and Prince William, who, when visiting it, are referred to by their principal Scottish titles of Duke and Duchess of Rothesay.
The couple met while studying at St. Andrews University on the country's east coast in the early 2000s. They have spent a number of holidays at the royals' Balmoral estate, including spending summer breaks at the castle with their children and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Accessorizing her outfit on Wednesday, Kate also leant on one of her other style formulas, which sees her utilize items of historic royal jewelry in her outfits for important events.
The princess chose items connected with two of the recent British monarchy's most famous female figures, Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana.
Kate wore a necklace that was loaned to her by the late queen, and that had also been loaned to Diana during her lifetime, which comprises stands of pearls with a stylized diamond center ornament.
The princess wore this necklace to both the funerals of Prince Philip in 2021, and Queen Elizabeth in 2022.
Kate also wore a pair of diamond and pearl drop earrings that had been given to Princess Diana as a wedding present in 1981, and also a stacked pearl strand bracelet, also from the late princess' collection.
During Wednesday's ceremony at St. Giles' Cathedral, Kate and William took part in the monarch's procession down the aisle and sat with the king and queen among the congregation of 600 invited guests.
Though the service is not a coronation, with Charles and Camilla having taken part in theirs back in May at Westminster Abbey, it marked the monarch's presence in Scotland with the presentation of the late 15th century crown once worn by Mary Queen of Scots.
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