The relationship between Prince William and Zara Tindall has always reportedly been a strong one, and it seems to have only grown from strength to strength as the royal cousins and their respective families rely on one another for support.
William and Zara are close in age. Along with Zara’s brother, Peter Phillips, the three are the oldest grandchildren of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. In recent years, William has also developed a strong bond with Zara’s husband, Mike Tindall.
Mike even revealed his cheeky nickname for Prince William recently, and it’s the kind of name only someone close to the Prince of Wales could get away with giving him.
However, this hidden detail from the Christmas Day walkabout at Sandringham suggests that Kate Middleton and Zara also have developed an exceptionally close bond, too.
As the Princess of Wales stepped out for the traditional Sandringham Christmas church service and walkabout, she decided to swap Christmassy colours and styles for an eye-catching all-blue outfit.
It’s been dubbed a “smart move” by the Princess for many reasons, and one is that the bright hue feels inspired by the late Queen Elizabeth II’s ultimate style hack – that wearing bold colours made her easier to spot.
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Kate’s outfit included a royal blue coat from Alexander McQueen, in a near identical style to a forest green coat from the designer the Princess wore during her overseas visit to Boston in 2022.
Underneath the sleek, flattering coat, Kate appeared to be wearing a navy high-neck jumper or dress. The Princess accessorised with one of her go-to choices, her Emmy London blue suede clutch and her Gianvito Rossi navy suede boots.
The Princess of Wales also wore the late Princess Diana’s stunning sapphire earrings, which she debuted for Trooping the Colour earlier in the year.
However, what many might have missed, was that the final flourish in Kate’s outfit, an interesting blue headpiece, appears to have been borrowed from Zara, who first wore the exact same accessory back in 2019.
The Bow and Arrow cocktail hat from Juliette Botterill Millinery is described as a Peachbloom felt hat, trimmed with a stylish bow and two arrow feathers. It doesn't appear to be available for sale or commission on the designer's site anymore.
Kate has actually worn the same style in black before, for the 2023 Welsh Guard's Parade.
This exact same hat in the same shade was worn by Zara for the 2019 Cheltenham races.
At the time, the designer posted a photo of Zara on social media with the caption, “Zara Tindall looking beautiful in teal and navy on Day 1 of @cheltenhamraces. Wearing bespoke #juliettemillinery ‘Bow and Arrow’ cocktail hat teamed with @guinealondon coat.”
As the hats are custom made, and there has been no similar post of the designer claiming the Princess commissioned her to craft her Christmas Day accessory, it would seem that Kate simply borrowed Zara’s to complete her gorgeous, blue ensemble.
It’s just one example of the special bond between the two families.
Not only did Zara and Mike’s daughter, Mia, hold Prince Louis’s hand for the walkabout, in touching moments caught by fans and the media on the day, both Mike and Zara were seen embracing and joking around with Prince George at separate parts of the day, with the future King looking relaxed around the pair.
