Kate Middleton, Britain's new Princess of Wales, made a strong impression on the people of Boston last week with large crowds gathering to watch her comings and goings during a three-day visit to the city with Prince William to attend the 2022 Earthshot Prize awards.
During the short but busy trip, the princess showcased a strong sample of her famous style, echoing in-part Princess Diana's celebrated formula for stateside dressing.
From powerful pantsuits to a dramatic rented evening gown, here, Newsweek rounds up every fashion moment from Kate Middleton's Boston visit.
Arrival at Logan International Airport
After touching down on American soil on November 30, Kate made her first fashion impression of her trip at Logan International Airport, appearing in a deep purple pantsuit from one of her most trusted design houses, Alexander McQueen.
Kate is a big fan of this style of pantsuit, wearing three other variations of the McQueen ensemble already this year.
The princess styled her suit with a soft navy turtleneck blouse and black suede heels. For her jewelry, Kate wore a pair of sapphire and diamond drop earrings that had formerly belonged to Princess Diana.
Diana owned a number of earrings in this style as they matched her sapphire and diamond engagement ring, and she wore them repeatedly when visiting the States.
'Welcome to Earthshot' at Boston City Hall
For the first event of the trip, being welcomed to the city of Boston by Mayor Michelle Wu and then attending the "Welcome to Earthshot" launch event, Kate wore a custom plaid midi dress from the quintessentially British brand, Burberry.
With this, the princess paired a dark green Alexander McQueen tailored coat and a green handbag from luxury leather goods manufacturer Mulberry.
Celtics in Chanel
The final event of William and Kate's first day in Boston saw the couple attend a Celtics game at the TD Garden arena where the team beat out the Miami Heat 134 to 121 points.
For the game, Kate made her third outfit change of the day, settling on a vintage blazer from the French fashion house of Chanel. The princess has increasingly worn vintage pieces and debuted this blazer at a London charity visit in October. Recycling and reusing fashion pieces fits in line with Earthshot's sustainable ethos, one which the royal displays regularly throughout the year.
Celebrating Boston
Kicking off day two of their U.S. visit, William and Kate spent the day learning about Boston's eco-initiatives that make it a leading city in the country for the development of sustainability technologies.
For a visit to Greentown Labs and the non-profit Roca Inc, Kate wore a second pantsuit of the trip, this time by designer Roland Mouret, in a plumb color with a light pink pussybow blouse beneath.
Accessorizing this look, the princess wore matching suede closed pumps and carried a quilted handbag with gold hardwear from Chanel.
Winter Weather at Boston Harbor
Later in the second day, the royals wrapped up warmly to meet with public organizations in Boston Harbor to hear about the city's environmental work.
Alongside William, who wore a thick navy coat, Kate wore a longline brown pea coat from Alexander McQueen with matching scarf, gloves and suede boots.
Beneath these layers, Kate wore an orange knit dress by American designer Gabriela Hearst who is also a favorite of sister-in-law, Meghan Markle's.
Early Years Development at Harvard
The third and final day of William and Kate's Boston visit was started with a solo engagement for the princess who visited Harvard University's campus to meet with faculty members of The Center on the Developing Child.
Kate herself is passionate about children's development, having established the Royal Foundation's Centre for Early Childhood in July 2021.
For this engagement, Kate wore a custom houndstooth printed dress by one of her most trusted designers, Emilia Wickstead.
The mid-length design with statement collar and long sleeves is an adaptation of the "Miles" dress from Wickstead's ready-to-wear line and Kate accessorized it with a cornflower blue handbag from Mulberry.
The Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony
The center-piece event of the royal's first U.S. visit in eight years was the 2022 Earthshot Prize awards ceremony hosted at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway.
Earthshot, Prince William's spearheaded prize awarding grants to scale up eco-initiatives, attracted a host of A-list celebrities to its second awards show, including Billie Eilish and David Beckham.
For the event, many speculated that Kate would re-wear an evening dress from her extensive collection following the example she set herself in 2021. But to the surprise of many royal watchers, the princess turned out in a brand-new dress, which was later revealed to have been a rental costing just $91.
The show-stopping green Sabina dress by designer brand, Solace London, won the praise of the fashion press for its simple but flattering line, but also for the accessories Kate paired with it.
The royal decided not to carry a handbag for the event, instead all focus was turned to her glittering diamond and emerald choker necklace which had been given by Queen Elizabeth II on lifetime loan to Princess Diana as a wedding present in 1981. The necklace dates back to the 1910s, when it was given to Queen Mary, but is most well known for being worn creatively by Diana on her forehead during a 1985 visit to Australia.
The necklace was returned to the queen after Diana's death in 1997 and could have been loaned to Kate by Queen Elizabeth or, if more recent, by King Charles.
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.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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
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