Prince William and Kate Middleton stepped out for a glamorous date night without their three kids last Wednesday night to attend the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and, unsurprisingly, Kate's red carpet look was a highlight of the event.
The Princess of Wales opted for a regal look that felt simultaneously classic and modern, walking the carpet in an emerald green, velvet Talbot Runhof gown that Net-A-Porter described as a "sumptuous emerald velvet that looks richer or lighter depending on how the light hits it."
While the look had the kind of polished perfection that seems like it would take weeks of planning to pull off, the gown's designer apparently only found out of the dress would be worn by the royal about 30 minutes before Kate hit the red carpet.
"Two hours later, our name and our dress have been posted worldwide, so we are very thankful to her," Adrian Runhof, the co-founder and designer at Talbot Runhof, told People. "We think she is great, we respect her and it’s a great honor for us that she picked this dress, that she obviously liked it enough to buy it and select it for the event last night."
Although the brand is no stranger to working with celebrities (Selena Gomez, Helen Mirren, and Oprah Winfrey are all reportedly fans), Runhof told People that he believes Kate purchased the velvet gown, which has been in Talbot Runhof's collection for several seasons at this point, through a department store—and not specifically for this event.
"I think she bought it a few seasons ago and found it in her wardrobe and thought, 'Why don’t I wear this? It's so beautiful,'" he said, adding that the royal looked "impeccable" in the dress.
Kate Middleton attending the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall on November 19, 2025 in London, England.
"We focus on making beautiful dresses, that’s what we do. I think the dress spoke to her," the designer said of why Kate may have chosen the gown. "I doubt she knows who we even are, but she fell in love with it, and maybe that’s how it should be."
While Runhof told People that the secret to the brand's dresses are their "feminine and flattering fit," he said the dress Kate chose has another major perk—comfort.
"The best thing is that it’s a wonderful stretch velvet, so it feels as comfortable as a pair of pajamas!" he said of the gown.
A dress that looks like that and feels as comfortable as pajamas? Sounds like the definition of "fit for a queen" (or princess).