Kate Middleton has started the coronation weekend on a stylish note, debuting a new pair of towering high heels in a style closely associated with sister-in-law, Meghan Markle.
Kate attended an official luncheon on Friday given at Buckingham Palace for the governors general and prime ministers of the Commonwealth realms, hosted by King Charles with senior members of the royal family.
The event kicks off a long weekend of celebrations connected with King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation which will take place on Saturday at Westminster Abbey.
Kate appeared in a monochrome mid-length dress accentuated with a contrasting belt which she also appears to own in an all-black variation, worn during a walkabout at Windsor Castle with Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
Accessorising her outfit on Friday, which then saw the royal take part in a walkabout outside Buckingham Palace, the princess wore a pair of Queen Elizabeth's diamond-and-pearl earrings and a pair of black Aquazzura high-heeled pumps, not previously worn to a public event.
The style of shoe, the Aquazzura "bow tie pump," is a firm favorite of sister-in-law, Meghan, the duchess having worn them in a number of variations throughout her time as a working royal. Black suede was the color Meghan wore the most often worn, similar to the pair Kate wore on Friday.
This is not the first time that Kate has worn Aquazzura, with the princess owning a number of the fashion label's designs. In 2021, Kate wore a pair of the "bow tie" pumps in nude suede during a visit to Cornwall with world leaders gathered to attend the G7 summit.
Since then, the princess has worn a number of the house's styles, usually in the highest heel height it makes. These included the white leather with gold accented "Cece 105" pumps worn during the royal's tour of the Caribbean in 2022, and the "Love Link" slingbacks worn for the Garter Day celebrations at Windsor Castle a few months later.
Aquazzura first entered the radar of royal fashion watchers in 2017, when Meghan Markle wore a pair of the label's "Matilde" laced pumps for her engagement announcement to Prince Harry at Kensington Palace.
The shoes were quickly added to the fashion wish-lists of a number of fans, contributing to what was labeled as the "Meghan effect"—the economic power her patronage had on the fashion industry. Most famously, the similarly labeled "Kate effect" is often reported on when the princess wears a new outfit.
The fashion links between Kate and Meghan became an increasing topic for discussion following the breakdown in relations between their husbands and families, leading up to Harry and Meghan's split from the monarchy in 2020.
In 2023, this was brought into clearer focus by Harry, who alleged in his memoir, Spare, that one of the reasons his wife and sister-in-law never bonded was because Kate was concerned Meghan wanted to use her style contacts.
Of a meeting between the brothers and their wives to discuss the issues that were building between them, Harry wrote: "Meg then acknowledged the tension among the four of us and ventured that it might go back to those early days when she'd first joined the family—a misunderstanding that had almost passed without notice. Kate thought Meg had wanted her fashion contacts. But Meg had her own. They'd got off on the wrong foot perhaps?"
Neither Prince William nor Kate commented publicly on the book or its claims, in line with a similar blanket "no comment" stance adopted by Buckingham Palace.
One of the most highly anticipated aspects of the upcoming coronation will be the style choices made by members of the royal family.
It has been reported that Queen Camilla has opted for the designer Bruce Oldfield to make her coronation dress. This important commission comes after Oldfield and Camilla have spent a number of years collaborating on some of her most high-profile dresses.
Oldfield was championed early in his career by Princess Diana, who owned a number of his designs from the 1980s through to the 1990s.
Details of Kate's potential coronation outfit are as yet unknown.
Though Prince Harry will be in attendance at his father's crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, his wife will not.
Amid the ongoing family tensions highlighted by Harry and Meghan's recent media releases, an announcement in April read: "Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6th May. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet."
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.
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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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