All the Times Kate Middleton Has Dressed Like Princess Diana

In May 2025, Kate attended the naming ceremony for HMS Glasgow, wearing a navy Suzannah London coat‑dress that paid homage to the nautical Catherine Walker outfit Diana wore in Liverpool in May 1993.

It also could have been a reference to Diana's 1988 Trooping the Colour look.

Kate's Royal Ascot outfit in 2022—a black-and-white polka dot dress by Alessandra Rich—nodded to the look Diana wore to the same event in 1988.

Kate took a page out of Diana's style playbook for a February 2023 rugby match, wearing a red and white houndstooth coat that looked similar to a suit her late mother-in-law once wore in October 1991. Kate's bespoke topper was designed by Catherine Walker, while Diana's ensemble was designed by Moschino.

Attending the St David’s Day Parade in March 2023, Kate chose a red coat and black hat that evoked Princess Diana's look at a Christmas appearance.

During a royal visit to Jamaica in 2022, Kate's dramatic green ballgown was a sartorial nod to a similar green ballgown that Diana wore in 1981.

The then-Duchess of Cambridge appeared at day 9 of the 2022 Wimbledon tennis championships wearing a prim polka-dotted Alessandra Rich dress and black and white spectator pumps, which echoed a blue and white polka dot dress by Catherine Walker, which Princess Diana wore multiple times in the mid 80s.

At James Bond premieres decades apart, both royal women chose metallic gowns. Left, Diana in at A View To A Kill premiere in 1985, and right, Kate at the No Time to Die Premiere in 2021.

Kate replicated her late-mother-in-law almost exactly with a cobalt boxy blazer and matching pleated midi skirt (from Zara and Hope respectively) by pairing it with a brown clutch from Metier for an appearance in Scotland on May 24, 2021. The only notable difference in their looks: Princess Diana wore her 1992-version of the outfit with blue pumps instead of camel suede.

A patterned dress Kate wore to a July 2020 engagement nodded to a dress that Diana was photographed in at Kensington Palace in 1985.

Skiing in Klosters, Switzerland decades apart, both Diana and Kate wore red ski jackets. (Diana in 1986 and Kate in 2005.)

Kate channeled a look that her late-mother-in law wore in 1984 for her second day of engagements on a solo trip to Denmark on February 23, 2022. The gun metal gray cashmere and wool coat has black cuffs and lapels and was designed by one of Kate's dress go-tos: Catherine Walker. To complete the look, the she added black gloves, a black bag, and black stilettos.

The black-and-white dress Kate wore to Garter Day in 2019 echoed a similar dress Diana wore to VJ Day Commemorative events in 1995.

On October 15, 2019, Middleton chose a green tunic coat designed by Catherine Walker, which she paired with Maheen Khan cream trousers, as well as a patterned green scarf from Satrangi reminiscent of a kelly green dress that Princess Diana wore on her trip to the region.

Diana is seen here in a red tartan skirt suit by Caroline Charles in 1985; Kate appears in an A-line Emilia Wickstead skirt at a Christmas party for military families in London on December 4, 2018.

While visiting the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in 2017—which had recently transformed into a White Garden dedicated in the memory of Princess Diana—Kate paid subtle tribute to the late royal, wearing a floral dress that evoked the dress Diana wore to her wedding rehearsal in 1981.

Diana at London’s Goldsmith’s Hall in 1981 wearing a strapless black gown with a ruffle at the bodice; Kate in a similar look in black velvet at the Sun Military Awards in 2011.

Diana in a royal blue dress with pin-tucked sleeves while visiting New Zealand in April 1983; Kate in a Jenny Packham dress while visiting the Imperial War Museum on October 31, 2018.

Diana in a Pepto-pink polka dotted dress in Perth in 1983, and Kate in a similarly hued Alexander McQueen dress coat at Trooping the Color in 2017.

Princess Diana leaving the hospital with newborn Prince Harry in 1985; Kate leaving the hospital with newborn Prince Louis in 2018.

Princess Diana in a gray coat with a velvet collar; Kate in gray glen check blazer by Smythe over a black turtleneck and jeans for an event in October 2018.

Princess Diana in a classic short sleeve pink Versace suit and pillbox hat in 1995; the then-Duchess of Cambridge in a soft pink Emilia Wickstead coat dress for a 2012 garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Diana in purple Versace at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago in June 1996; Kate wearing Issa to celebrate National Canada Day in July 2011.

Diana in a scarlet and gold flecked dress in 1981, and Kate wearing a red and gold dotted halter dress at the Chakravarty Cup in 2006.

Diana in a graphic frock and a white jacket while visiting Wales in 1993; Kate in a printed dress and an ochre coat the day before her wedding in 2011.

The late Princess of Wales in an orange suit with a black belt while visiting Liverpool in 1995, and the then-Duchess of Cambridge wearing a red suit with a black belt in 2001.

Princess Diana wearing a teal dress coat in New Zealand in 1983, and Kate Middleton wearing a teal Emilia Wickstead dresscoat on Palm Sunday in New Zealand in 2014.

Diana wearing a gray pinstriped suit dress with a pussybow blouse while visiting Italy in 1985. Kate in a similar a pussybow blouse paired with a sporty olive green outfit on a visit to Canada in 2016.

Princess Diana dressed in a lavender skirt suit while visiting Washington D.C. in 1997 and Kate wearing lavender Emilia Wickstead while attending the Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit on October 9, 2018.

Diana attending a premiere in April 1993 wearing a structured midi-length blazer dress; Kate wearing cream Alexander McQueen for Princess Charlotte's christening in 2015.

Princess Diana in blue and green tartan with a lace collar and cuffs at the Bute Highland Games in 1987 and Kate wearing green and blue tartan Alexander McQueen in 2012.

Diana wearing a tan outfit with a matching feather plume fascinator on her first official visit to Wales in 1981 and Kate wearing a gold coat and fascinator at the wedding Laura Parker Bowles and Harry Lopes in 2006.

Diana visiting Westminster in June 1990 in a shocking pink skirt suit with black buttons, and Kate in the same color dress coat (complete with the button detailing) while pregnant with Princess Charlotte in March 2015.

Diana in an emerald Jasper Conran suit in 1983, and Kate in the same hue at a St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2014.

Princess Diana wearing a classic red suit at the launch of the HIV/AIDS Charity London Lighthouse’s New Appeal; Kate in a modern take on the look at the opening of the Global Academy in support of Heads Together in April 2017.

Princess Di wearing a royal blue admiral blazer with gold buttons while visiting Oxford in 1990, and Kate Middleton wearing an admiral-style Alexander McQueen dress coat at the Irish Guards Medal Parade in 2011.

Diana wearing a draped blue silk gown while pregnant with Prince Harry in 1984, and Kate wearing drapey Jenny Packham at the premiere of James Bond Spectre in 2015.

Diana in a blush brocade Catherine Walker look while in Indonesia in 1989, and Kate in a blush floral dress while touring Singapore in 2012.

Diana wearing a blue dress with lace overlay in Cardiff in 1995, and Kate wearing cobalt Erdem with lace detailing in Canada in 2011.

Diana in a sleek white suit with a peplum top at the Royal Ascot in June 1986; Kate wearing a peplum Alexander McQueen dress.

Princess Diana in dark velvet sailor dress with a white collar and red bow at Buckingham Palace in 1980; Kate in a cream and navy nautical-inspired Alexander McQueen sweater dress in Canada in 2011.

Diana wearing an ivory and gold Emanuels gown at a dinner at the German Embassy in London in 1986; the then-Duchess of Cambridge in white and gold at an official dinner in Kuala Lumpur during the Diamond Jubilee Tour in September 2012.

Diana in a Sandra Rhodes dress while visiting Japan in 1986; Kate wearing a sequin-covered Jenny Packham gown at the 2011 ARK Gala.

Diana wearing an Ivory gown in 1988, and Kate in her wedding reception dress in 2011.

Princess Diana in pastel blue Catherine Walker to Easter Services in April 1987; Kate wearing double-breasted Matthew Williamson while visiting Pembroke Refinery in Wales in November 2014.

Diana wearing a green polka dotted dress to present Prince William on the day after his birth in 1982; Kate wearing a blue polka dotted dress to present Prince George after his birth in 2013.

Diana in a white and gold Catherine Walker admiral dress during a visit to Surrey in 1987; Kate in nautical Alexander McQueen while visiting Bletchley in 2014.

Diana in a red coat with a whimsical black hat (dainty netting included) in Sandringham on Christmas Day in 1993; Duchess Kate at the Sovereign’s Parade at the Royal Military Academy in Berkshire in the same red-coat-black-hat combination.