The Duchess of Cambridge’s name might be synonymous with the coat dress – the hybrid fashion item that brings a certain degree of polish to the royal’s public-facing looks on even blustery days – but Kate has also amassed a collection of chic outerwear that is worth a closer look.
Thanks to longstanding relationships with Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen and Said Cyrus, the man behind Catherine Walker & Co, Kate’s edit of custom coats ranges from crisp military styles to mannish double-breasted versions and caped fancies in a smörgåsbord of wearable hues. Coats have become her secret weapon (along with that glossy blow-dry), painting a picture of a woman who remains pulled together regardless of the weather, or the particular royal duty she is navigating.
When tasked with visiting Sweden’s National Association for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Health in 2018, Kate wore a ’60s-style houndstooth Catherine Walker coat that signalled a level of self-assuredness in the face of sensitive conversations. For the 75th anniversary of the RAF Cadets in 2016, the Duchess pinned an Air Cadets Dacre brooch onto a sky-blue McQueen coat that honoured their work without looking overdone.
Kate’s coats also reflect the personality behind the public figurehead. To meet the Queen’s Scouts in 2013, the mother-of-three walked the lawns of Windsor Castle wearing a joyful Mulberry coat with flower-shaped buttons that nodded to her love of nature. At the 2018 Christmas Day church service at Sandringham, when all eyes were on Catherine and her new sister-in-law, the Duchess of Sussex, she pinned an oak leaf brooch to her berry-coloured Catherine Walker button-up. The fauna represented the Middleton family’s coat of arms, and brought a slice of Kate’s history to another much-documented moment for the monarchy.
Recently, Kate has added several new coats to her wardrobe, from a grey princess coat, again by Catherine Walker, for a solo visit to Copenhagen to an emerald green military style by contemporary couture label Laura Green London for a St Patrick’s Day parade.
Here, 13 of the Duchess of Cambridge’s most elegant coats that show her deftness of touch when it comes to commissioning expert tailoring.
Alexander McQueen
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Kate’s bespoke utility-style McQueen coat brought a calming presence to New Zealand’s Blenheim War Memorial, to the D-Day 70th-anniversary events at Normandy in 2014, and then, pictured here, to the 75th Anniversary of the RAF Air Cadets in 2016. The belted style with large pockets and pleated back certainly verges on dress-coat territory, but with Burton’s design expertise, the precisely crafted piece looks fresh.
Sportmax
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Blackpool witnessed Kate wearing a favourite moss-green Sportmax coat in 2019, which she had worn a handful of times before to church services at Sandringham. The royal often belts the style, which is slightly more boxy than her usual custom pieces, for a more fitted effect.
Alexander McQueen
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The smile of a woman whose bespoke McQueen coat is a thing of excellence. Worn here on a trip to Bradford in 2020.
Hobbs
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One of Britain’s best high-street ambassadors, the Duchess – seen wearing Hobbs at Erik Nielsen Whitehorse airport in Yukon – proves once again that well-crafted fashion does not have to cost the earth.
Mulberry
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A memorable caped Mulberry coat that proved peppy colours have mood-boosting qualities.
Catherine Walker
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Eponine London
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Dressy outerwear by a Kensington-based brand which Kate can be credited with single-handedly putting on the map.
Mulberry
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Kate was utterly spring-like in April 2013, as she met the Queen’s Scouts wearing a Mulberry coat adorned with playful posy buttons.
Catherine Walker
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Pictures of the Fab Four at the 2018 Christmas church service at Sandringham went viral, and Kate looked the part – plus a touch festive – in a berry-coloured Catherine Walker coat and a matching Jane Taylor headpiece that spawned thousands of online searches for Alice bands.
Massimo Dutti
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Alexander McQueen
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Another investment purchase from Kate’s beloved McQueen. A 2020 trip to Wales saw the royal put on a positively festive demeanour in an elegant postbox-red double-breasted coat, worn over an Emilia Wickstead tartan skirt and with a matching scarf positioned neatly over one shoulder. The Duchess first wore the peppy outerwear during the unveiling of portraits from her Hold Still community photography project in Waterloo in October the same year, and no doubt we will see her in the cheering button-up again during similarly seasonal appointments in 2021.
Catherine Walker
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The Duchess showcased quintessential royal style for a solo visit to Copenhagen in February 2022, opting for a grey princess coat by Catherine Walker featuring black lapels. She accessorised the chic outerwear with a matching black Mulberry bag, Gianvito Rossi pumps and pearls.
Catherine Walker
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Never one to be afraid of a block colour, the Duchess wore a cobalt blue coat dress by Catherine Walker for the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in March 2022.
Laura Green London
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The Duchess debuted an emerald green military-style coat by contemporary couture label Laura Green London – a new brand for the royal – for a St Patrick’s Day parade in Aldershot in March 2022.
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