Since her diagnosis and recovery from cancer, the spotlight has been on Kate Middleton even more than usual. This has meant that, in recent months, there has been the usual attention to what the future Queen wears.
But Kensington Palace has now decided there isn’t enough focus on what the 43-year-old does. Keeping that in mind, they have announced they will no longer be sharing what she is wearing ahead of time.
Instead, they have said they want to focus more on the “substance” of her duties. A source informed The Sunday Times: “There is an absolute feeling that it [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing. She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting.
“There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public and she gets that. But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No. The style is there, but it’s about the substance.”
Whilst the statement is new, the feeling that too much attention is paid to Kate Middleton’s outfits is thought to have been there for a while. A close friend told the same publication in 2022that the future Queen was finding all the attention to her attire a bit annoying.
They remarked: “When she goes to the Bond premiere or is at Trooping the Colour, of course she puts on the ‘uni-form’ of the role. But what was enormously frustrating and difficult for her, especially in the early days, was she was going out and doing the work she was interested in and was hugely important to her, and people just talked about what she was wearing.”, reports CambridgeshireLive.
This raises questions about the future of Princess Kate’s Royal engagements and whether there will be a shift in the relationship between Kensington Palace and the media as changes unfold. Additionally, this situation could strengthen the bond between Princess Kate and King Charles, who has been increasingly active with Royal visits while also undergoing cancer treatment.
Historian and author Dr Ed Owens, speaking to Us Weekly, speculated that Princess Kate and the King might draw on their shared experiences to support each other’s progress, as reported by the Express. He commented: “Knowing that Catherine is available, supporting William and also supporting the monarchy, is, I think, really important to [Charles] right now.”
Reflecting on their rapport last year, another Royal commentator noted: “They are two patients going through a common health experience. They are bound to have a close connection.”