10 Royal Fashion Rules Kate Middleton Follows—And Occasionally Breaks

Wear hats at formal engagements—but only until 6 p.m.

Look at historical photos, and you’ll notice that hats were a bigger feature in everyday fashion than they are today. While it’s no longer general etiquette to wear a topper while out and about, the royal family have kept the tradition alive. “There was a rule that stated ladies could wear hats from the morning at 6 am until 6 pm.,” former royal butler and etiquette expert Grant Harrold told Hello! In 2025. This time limit is set because at 6 p.m., royals would traditionally change into a tiara (if married) or lose their headwear completely.

Queen Elizabeth II was a known lover of hats, wearing them during the majority of her public appearances. In contrast, Middleton and Queen Camilla tend to reserve hats for special engagements. “On general visits, they tend not to wear them, but on more official occasions, they will,” Harrold added elsewhere in the Hello! interview.

Only wear a tiara if you’re a married royal.

If a royal is single or engaged, you won’t spot them in a glittering tiara at the next diplomatic reception. The bejeweled headpieces are only for married royals, signifying their marital status similar to how a wedding band would, per Vogue Australia. Thus, Meghan Markle and other royal brides have enjoyed their first tiara moments on the day of their ‘I do’s,’ regardless of the length of their engagement and what white-tie events they’ve attended previously.

Keep hemlines and necklines modest.

Royal women are expected to keep skirt and dress hems close to the top of the knee, while necklines should avoid revealing cleavage. “It’s all about being modest, elegant and not risking a scandal or causing a media fuss,” etiquette expert and former royal staffer Laura Windsor explained to Reader’s Digest in 2024.

This royal fashion rule is one that several figures have skirted. For example, Middleton has worn dresses with thigh-high slits on multiple occasions, including at a 2016 movie premiere. Markle similarly donned a Reformation dress with a high slit during a 2018 royal tour with Prince Harry, per People.

The same year, the Princess of Wales stepped out in a (re-worn) teal Jenny Packham gown with a V-neck and sheer lace back while attending the Tusk Conservation Awards with Prince William—pushing the envelope, although many royal watchers were quick to point out Elizabeth’s penchant for off-the-shoulder and strapless gowns in her youth.

Wear bright colors to stand out in a crowd.

Middleton often wears bright hues, following the example set by the late Queen Elizabeth. It’s not an official fashion rule, per se, but a guideline many royals have since embraced. In her lifetime, the queen made a habit of wearing bright, bold ensembles so that fans who flocked to catch a glimpse of the monarch could more easily spot her in a crowd.

Her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, explained in the documentary The Queen at 90 (per People), “She needs to stand out for people to be able to say ‘I saw the Queen.’ Don’t forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the Queen’s hat as she went past.”

That’s not to say Middleton never rocks a chic neutral or a muted hue. Her wardrobe is balanced between subtle and standout colors.

Black clothes are reserved for funerals—and always pack a black outfit when traveling.

It’s one royal fashion rule Princess Diana loved to break, while Middleton prefers to follow it: black clothes are only for funerals, mourning periods, and somber engagements like Remembrance Day, per Reader’s Digest. To that end, when traveling, it’s important to pack a black suit or dress in the event of an unexpected loss.

Diana, of course, loved a black dress—her famous ‘revenge dress’ is the definitive LBD. She also wore the dark hue at a 1981 fundraising concert (which doubled as her and then-Prince Charles’s first public engagement), per People, reminding the world that rules are made to be broken.

Middleton has brought black outfits out on non-mourning occasions, albeit less frequently. In March 2025, she broke a non-royal fashion rule by pairing a black turtleneck with a navy blazer. The princess completed her look with black pants, boots, and leather gloves.

Stick to neutral or light-colored nail polish instead of bright colors.

Queen Elizabeth loved Essie’s Ballet Slippers. Princess Diana was rarely seen without a French manicure during her royal tenure. Kate Middleton tends to go for light tones or skip nail polish altogether—with a few notable exceptions. Although there’s no official royal fashion rule barring colorful and glittery polish, Elizabeth once more set a trend by example due to her own preference for elegant, pale-pink nails. 

As InStyle previously noted, the rest of the family still (mostly) follows the late monarch’s lead. Exceptions include Middleton’s red nails at the family’s 2023 Easter celebrations and Meghan Markle’s black nails at the 2018 British Fashion Awards. Middleton first defied this unofficial rule on a smaller scale back in 2017, rocking a bright red pedicure. It’s a look she’s repeated on various occasions—making this the one royal fashion rule she often disregards.

Wear pantyhose with dresses and skirts.

Pantyhose used to be a style staple for women, but are now considered optional for the general public (as of approximately 1995, per The New York Times). For royals, however, the old standard of fashion reigns. Queen Elizabeth swore by nude-color nylons, never appearing without them in public. Her granddaughters-in-law, Middleton and Markle, followed suit for appearances with the Queen and at other formal events. Yet they’ve both defied the rule, either ditching hose entirely or going for a darker color (the Princess of Wales is partial to black tights). 

For Markle, the pantyhose tradition was “inauthentic” to her personal style. “I had to wear nude pantyhose all the time,” Markle recalled in an August 2025 conversation with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang. “Let’s be honest—that was not very myself.” During her “The Circuit” segment, the Duchess of Sussex further explained, “That felt a little bit inauthentic, but that’s a silly example. But it is an example of when you’re able to dress the way you want to dress, you’re able to say the things that are true, and you’re able to show up in a space really organically and authentically—that’s being comfortable in your own skin.”

Opt for hats over fascinators—even at Ascot.

According to a 2023 Vogue feature, a sign outside the Ascot’s Royal Enclosure explicitly forbid fascinators—headbands or headpieces featuring decorative embellishments like netting, bows, feathers, beads, and faux florals. “A headpiece which has a solid base of four inches or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat,” the rules continued. Theoretically, fascinators aren’t posh enough; that hasn’t stopped Princess Beatrice and her sister, Princess Eugenie, from blurring the line between hat and fascinator.

Hats used to be encouraged for every public outing (reflecting societal norms as much as royal ones), but contrast the late queen’s hat collection with Middleton’s, and it’s clear the toppers aren’t as prevalent among younger royals. Reader’s Digest suggests special events like weddings and the Royal Ascot call for them, while other occasions leave room for individual discretion. Middleton broke this unwritten rule in 2018, donning a fascinator in lieu of a hat at Princess Eugenie’s wedding (perhaps a nod to the bride’s predilection for them).

Keep your coat on while in public.

Per Reader’s Digest, it’s royal protocol to keep one’s coat on in public settings. Removing a layer of clothing in front of others is traditionally seen as “unladylike,” hence why Middleton is often seen in her coat throughout the course of an outing. If a change in the weather (or a chance to show off a stunning dress) demands the removal of her coat, she’ll usually wait until there’s a private space to shed her outerwear.

No wedge heels.

Various sources have reported on Queen Elizabeth’s supposed dislike for wedge heels, from Vanity Fair to Vogue Australia. There’s no official royal ban on them, however. Middleton ditched the style whenever appearing with the Queen, but she’s worn wedges on several other occasions, including at the 2019 “Back to Nature” Festival and during a royal tour of Australian and New Zealand in 2015.