Royal Expert Says Princess Catherine Often Pays “Subtle Tribute” to Princess Diana Through Her Fashion Choices—But Puts Her Own Spin on It

There have been times when the current Princess of Wales has very blatantly paid tribute to her late mother-in-law, the former Princess of Wales, Princess Diana—what immediately comes to mind are the outfits she wore to introduce each of her three children to the world, which mirrored outfits worn by Diana when introducing her own sons to the public. There is a myriad of other examples of Kate paying obvious tribute to Diana, and some are more subtle; royal expert Rebecca English said, per OK, that Kate “doesn’t make a big point of it,” referring to constantly blatantly paying tribute, as she did when her children were born.

“I don’t think they set out to be compared, if those comparisons are made,” English said. “It’s very flattering. She obviously wears a lot of her [Diana’s] jewelry, so there’s always a tribute to her there in that way, but I think she wears it—she wears it lightly.”

The inevitable comparisons went to another level when Kate became Princess of Wales on September 9, 2022, a title so closely associated with Diana. Her next stop—again, may it be in the far distant future—is to become Queen, when Prince William ascends to the throne. At King Charles’ Coronation in May, Kate had what English called “a real—on a fashion level—stop in your tracks moment at the Coronation, when she got into Westminster Abbey,” she said of Kate’s Alexander McQueen look. “She just looked like a Queen-in-waiting to me. It was so elegant, so polished, so regal. I thought ‘She’s got it.’”

At Trooping the Colour the next month, designer Amanda Wakeley thought Kate’s look channeled Diana: “The suit that she wore to Trooping the Colour this summer, honestly, that could have been out of Diana’s wardrobe,” she said.

Wakeley worked with Diana during the beginning stages of her career, and Diana loved her work. “I was very lucky,” Wakeley said. “It was early days of my career, and I remember thinking ‘Gosh, I’ve got the Princess of Wales coming.’ I remember thinking before her appointment, ‘Gosh, there’s going to be sniffer dogs in here and security and all the rest of it,’ and the doorbell goes and it’s Diana on the doorstep on her own. She’d driven herself lowkey and yet fun. We had a real laugh.”

Per The Daily Mail, Wakeley, speaking on the “Palace Confidential” podcast, added of Diana that “she was informal, a little bit cheeky, a little bit gossipy, wanted the latest sort of fashion gossip and she was just one of the girls,” she said. Wakeley added that Diana was also “incredibly encouraging” to her as a fairly new designer. 

Kate, of course, channels Diana every day, as her engagement ring once belonged to her late mother-in-law. Of the sapphire-and-diamond sparkler, “It is a family ring, yes,” William said during his and Kate’s 2010 engagement interview. “It’s my mother’s engagement ring. So I thought it was quite nice because obviously, she’s not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all—this was my way of keeping her sort of close to it all.”

William told interviewer Tom Bradby that Kate will forge her own path within the Firm, and Kate has always openly shared her respect for Diana. “Obviously, I would have loved to have met her, and she’s obviously an inspirational woman to look up to,” Kate said. William quickly added “There’s no pressure though. There’s no pressure. Like Kate said, it is about carving your own future. No one is going to try to fill my mother’s shoes. What she did was fantastic. It’s about making your own future and your own destiny and Kate will do a very good job of that.”

Thirteen years on, she continues to do just that. “She wears it as hers,” Wakeley said of Kate wearing jewelry formerly belonging to Diana, like her engagement ring. “It’s not a pastiche of how Diana would’ve worn it. It’s very much she’s owning her look—which is a wonderful look.”