British royals know the power of a suit—strong silhouettes, quietly striking colors and prints, impeccable construction. There’s a vast visual history of Princess Diana’s tailored moments. Kate Middleton—Catherine, Princess of Wales—continues to add to her own compendium of supremely styled suits.
The Princess stepped out for a day of duties on Thursday (October 2), heading to Lincolnshire to the RAF Coningsby for her first royal engagement at the station. Catherine is the Royal Honorary Air Commodore, a role she took over from Prince William in 2023. It’s one of several military roles that she holds, also serving as Colonel of the Irish Guards, and Royal Honorary Air Commodore of the Air Cadets.
And so the Princess dressed for the action-packed occasion, looking polished in Bella Freud’s Earl suit with its gray Prince of Wales check (a sweet nod to her husband). She wore the same suit just a few weeks ago on a visit to the Marina Mill in Kent, continuing her impressive streak of actually using her closet to its fullest. The royal also wore a fine knit gray Alexander McQueen sweater, a navy belt, and suede navy Gianvito Rossi pumps. On jewelry: she wore a Cartier Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch, diamond and sapphire cluster earrings (gifted to her by her husband), and her Royal Air Force wings brooch pinned to her lapel.
Across the day, Catherine met with aviators and cadets, and learned about the essential airspace. A peak moment was when the princess performed a “lap of death” in a flight simulator—the suit, then, was a sensible choice. However, Kate did not account for the children dressed up in their own princess gowns who came along to meet her.
“Where is my dress? If I had known…” she lamented to the young girls in their sparkly costumes and swishy skirts. “I’m sorry I didn’t wear my dress today. Thank you for coming to see me.”
