Yesterday, the Princess of Wales presented the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design at an event held by the British Fashion Council.

The recipient was rising star Patrick McDowell, who said he was delighted to receive the award from ‘an amazing advocate of British fashion [who] flies the flag for British fashion. She also looks incredible and is a real style icon’.

And so she did – and she is – but out of respect for the Princess, we’re not rushing to tell you exactly what she was wearing.

If you remember, Kensington Palace announced back in February that it would no longer reveal details of Kate’s outfits, as it has done routinely in the past. This was to shift the focus away from what she wears to concentrate on the causes she supports.

Still, this was a British fashion event, so . . . her outfit was a £1,340 willow green trouser suit from Victoria Beckham’s Spring/Summer collection, worn over a £565 Knatchbull cascade silk blouse.

The shoes were £635 pumps by Ralph Lauren and the earrings were Bahrain pearl drops given to her by the late Queen – apt given the award was in her honour.

We’ve seen a lot of the Princess dressing up in recent days (hooray!). There were all the VE Day celebrations, of course: the dark purple Emilia Wickstead coat dress for the military parade; the Alessandra Rich cream polka dot dress for the Service of Thanksgiving, both of them rewears.

Before that, she arrived to celebrate her wedding anniversary on the Isle of Mull wearing her signature off-duty-in-the-country uniform of tweedy jacket, skinny jeans and walking boots – all familiar and previously worn.

Kate Middleton seen arriving at 180 Strand on Tuesday wearing a £1,340 willow green trouser suit from Victoria Beckham’s Spring/Summer collection

Kate seen wearing the dark purple Emilia Wickstead coat dress in 2022 at the Horse Guards Parade (left) and again on VE Day earlier this month (right)

The Princess of Wales pictured wearing the Alessandra Rich cream polka dot dress for the Order of the Garter Service in 2023 (left) and again for the Service of Thanksgiving in May (right)

Kate wore the same skinny jeans whilst taking part in the Big Help Out in 2023 as she did to celebrate her wedding anniversary on the Isle of Mull in April

And on Monday, at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, Kate posted a short film titled Spring, with her appearing to be in the same outfit. It was hard to tell – blink and you missed her – because the purpose of the video was to celebrate the benefits of nature for mental health.

The message since her return to the royal front line after her cancer treatment has been: don’t make me a clothes horse, never mind a fashion icon. Those days are gone.

Kate is a young mother who has been through a lot in the past few years and we all understand that priorities shift. But that’s not to say yesterday wasn’t an air-punching moment for fashion fans.

While agreeing to try not to obsess over Kate’s choice of outfits, we can’t help but be thrilled she’s gone for something fresh off the rail of a home-grown, internationally lauded, slick and polished designer like Victoria Beckham.

And we can’t help hoping that Kate woke up yesterday after all the headlines about Brooklyn Beckham’s estrangement from his family leaving Victoria brokenhearted and thought: I think I can do some good here. Spread a little joy, and put a spring in my step, too. I know how it feels to have a family member on the other side of the world giving you sleepless nights, so my support might have added meaning. Let’s bring some fashion balm to this problem! Put away the Alexander McQueen trouser suit retread – I’m going full new season Brit glamour with Victoria Beckham. 

Even if the support for Victoria is pure fantasy, this was still a good day for fashion. It felt back to normal and almost a relief – because there are a couple of problems with Kate trying to blend into the fashion background.

Princess Catherine pictured wearing the same black and white tartan dress at a visit to University College in 2021 and again during a visit to Corgi, a textiles manufacturer, in January

The Princess of Wales seen wearing a cream blazer and skirt ensemble at the Platinum Party at the Palace in 2022 and again at VE Day celebrations in May

First, since Diana came along, oozing star quality and looking as good as it gets, there’s been a glaring vacancy for a beautiful princess with a figure to die for who can wear clothes that spark delight.

Second, at 43, Kate looks too good to waste all that fashion-wearing potential. It’s always a joy to see someone with natural poise and elegance carrying off clothes we civilians could only dream of wearing – and if that person happens to be the future queen, then tah dah!

Is it wrong to want to copy Kate? Is it shallow to crane your neck to see what she’s wearing? Does it stop us from paying attention to her good work? I would say ‘no’ to all of the above.

If Kate’s clothing choices caused a bump in the fortunes of a British designer, or a British high street label, and eager buyers could rewear them like Kate, that’s a very satisfactory outcome.