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Kate Middleton Recreates Princess Diana’s Iconic Outfit for Trooping the Color — 37 Years Later

Kate Middleton turned heads with her outfit choice for Trooping the Color on June 14. The Princess of Wales looked chic in a stunning sky-blue coat dress by her favorite designer, Catherine Walker. Her ensemble brought back memories of the 1988 Trooping the Color, when her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, wore an eerily similar outfit. Diana’s green and white dress, also designed by Walker, bore an uncanny resemblance, with bold detailing down the front and at the cuffs.

On Saturday, Middleton paired her beautiful blue outfit with a matching hat by Juliette Botterill. She completed the look with nude high heels and plush drop earrings, wearing her silky hair in a chignon. As reported by Hello! magazine, her dress was known as the 'Bria' and the website describes the design as "a deep aquamarine wool coatdress with ivory contrast lapels and cuffs." For her part, the late Diana's 1988 blue-green coat dress came with white lapels. Prince Harry, then a toddler, matched his mother with aqua-colored suspenders. Similarly, Princess Charlotte also twinned with Middleton. According to People magazine, Charlotte wore a complementary, paler aqua look with her hair pulled back in braids. 

Middleton's outfit also mirrored Diana's February 1992 trip to India. According to Marie Claire, Diana was photographed wearing a similar turquoise and white Catherine Walker suit during a visit to New Delhi. The late Princess had also embraced a similar aesthetic in August 1986, when she visited the Royal Hampshire Regiment, wearing a cream jacket with a turquoise pencil skirt and a matching hat.

Commenting on Middleton's fashion choice for King Charles' big day, fashion expert, Rebecca Bowyer, meanwhile, told the Daily Express, "With King Charles and Princess Kate both undergoing health challenges, this can be perceived as a beautiful tribute to the charity and the vital work they do. It’s subtle, but it’s deliberate in projecting a united front of support."

Middleton has honored Diana's fashion legacy numerous times in the past. For the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 8, Middleton recreated one of Diana's polka dot dresses for a service at Westminster Abbey. Diana had worn a similar polka dot dress during Royal Ascot Day in 1988. She has also taken inspiration from her mother-in-law's 'Sloane Ranger' look, donning a Smythe blazer and chic ankle boots during a visit to PACT. Diana, a popular 'Sloane Ranger,' had worn her classy outfit during a 1985 visit to a children’s hospital. Middleton also looked like a spitting image of Diana when she recreated her light blue polka dot dress at St. Mary's Hospital after giving birth to Prince George in July 2013. The People's Princess had worn a similar green polka dot dress while debuting her newborn son, Prince William, in 1982.