Kate Middleton Visits Wales in a Bright Red Coat With a Subtle Nod to Princess Diana

While I can probably count the number of times I’ve seen Kate Middleton wearing trousers on one hand, a cherry red overcoat is a reliable standby for the newly minted Princess of Wales. For her first visit to the country of Wales post-title-change, she exchanged her Alexander McQueen coatdress for a crimson overcoat from LK Bennett worn over black slacks and matching black sweater. 

To let the coat really shine as the star of this look, Kate paired the rest of her all-black ensemble with simple black heels and a chic leather handbag. When in doubt, this princess keeps it simple. 

The statement coat is LK Bennett’s Spencer Red Recycled Wool Blend Snaffle-Detail Coat; she matched the coat’s gold button detailing by wearing simple gold earrings. Kate’s choice of red could be a nod to the red dragon on the flag of Wales. It could be in homage to Princess Diana, who also wore red for her first visit to the country as Princess of Wales, per Express. (Also significant: The coat is named Spencer, which was Princess Diana’s maiden name.) Or it could simply be that Kate knows she looks damn good in red.

Courtesy

Jessica London Long Shawl Double-Breasted Coat

While the bright red coat is obviously the focus here, I’m more interested in the trousers, to be honest. (I’m saying trousers because in the UK “pants” refers to “underpants” and this feels disrespectful somehow.) It was never a hard and fast rule of Queen Elizabeth’s for royal women to stick to skirts and dresses over trousers, but it was a distinct preference. And Kate Middleton, dutiful royal that she is, has always tended to stick to skirts at public outings. Now that there’s a new king in town, are Kate’s pants a subtle signal that she’s ready to break away? I doubt it, but it’d be fun to see.