For the royals, the annual Trooping the Colour is always a family affair. With Princess Kate Middleton deciding to attend this year after a retreat from public life following her cancer diagnosis, the event was even more meaningful. So were the mother-daughter coordinating outfits she and her daughter, Princess Charlotte, wore in a show of family unity in front of the cameras.
Princess Charlotte and Princess Kate arrived at Buckingham Palace together early in the afternoon on Saturday, June 15, for King Charles III's birthday festivities. The pair coordinated outfits, but not in a copy-and-paste, identical fashion. Kate Middleton chose a white ribbon dress by Jenny Packham, featuring contrasting navy bows and a Philip Treacy hat in the same palette. By her side, Princess Charlotte wore almost the inverse: a navy dress with white ribbon detailing.
Where mom Kate Middleton left her bows to one exaggerated embellishment on her knee-length dress's collar, Princess Charlotte doubled up on ribbons. Her hair was pulled into a half-up, half down style with a white bow fastened at the back. Meanwhile, the front of her dress featured a sailor collar with a matching white bow tied to the center.
In terms of footwear, mother and daughter also took a similar, but not quite the same, approach. Kate Middleton wore a pair of white pointed-toe pumps with a high heel, fit for a woman at the head of the family. Princess Charlotte also wore white footwear—in the form of dainty, doll-like Mary Janes. A closer look at both their outfits was made available through a behind-the-scenes video posted on the official Prince and Princess of Wales Instagram account.
Working with stylist Natasha Archer, Middleton's choice to coordinate with her daughter likely came with intention. Last year, Princess Kate wore a brilliant green dress while Princess Charlotte dressed in white and red. For her first appearance in six months—and after a difficult journey with cancer treatment—it's poignant that Kate and Charlotte would so closely reference one another through their dresses.
The family coordination wasn't left to only Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte. Prince George and Prince Louis continued the navy and white theme with suits and white shirts, plus royal-blue ties. Prince William was the only member of the family who dressed outside the palette: As per tradition, he wore his full, formal military uniform.
While Prince William processed into Buckingham Palace on horseback, Princess Kate joined her three children in a glass carriage. Reports says that spending time with Charlotte, George, and Louis was a main reason for Kate Middleton to surprise the world and attend this year's Trooping the Colour.
Instances of seeing the whole family together again will be rare moving forward: Princess Kate said in a statement that her health has made "progress," but she still expects to spend several more months in treatment. As such, summer appearances—with or without color-coordinating, mother-daughter outfits—will be limited in her return to royal life.
