The Christmas season is always a highlight on the royal calendar, bringing festive traditions like Kate Middleton‘s annual carol concert, The King’s Christmas speech and the Royal Family’s walk to church. But one thing royal watchers look forward to each year is seeing what the Princess of Wales will bring out of her ever-stylish wardrobe.
From her early days as a young duchess to her current role as the next Queen, Princess Kate has stepped out in an array of seasonally sophisticated looks. From rich jewel tones that complement Sandringham’s festive backdrop to country-cool coats, the mom of three has become the Royal Family’s Christmas fashion MVP.
Although narrowing it down to just six outfits is a tough task, take a trip down memory lane with Princess Kate’s best Christmas looks ever, below.
2022
The Princess of Wales wore a muted green look for the family’s first Christmas without Queen Elizabeth.
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Princess Kate looked the epitome of British countryside chic in an olive green coat by Alexander McQueen as she took part in the traditional walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas Day 2022. While the royal had worn the coat on three previous occasions, the real magic was that she made it look totally different with her accessories.
The Princess of Wales wore a wide-brimmed Philip Treacy hat trimmed with a jaunty feather, adding a pair of Sezane earrings with dangling blue and green beads. Am I still mad that they’re sold out two years later? Yes. She added slouchy brown boots and a matching clutch for her royal Christmas day outing. As for the coat, an olive green topper is an unexpected color choice that’ll make you stand out in a sea of black outerwear.
Aritizia Wilfred The Only Coat
2016
Brown was in the books for 2016.
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Prince William and Princess Kate chose to spend Christmas Day with the Middletons instead of the Royal Family in 2016, bringing a 3-year-old Prince George and 1-year-old Princess Charlotte to a holiday church service for the first time.
Once again, the princess wore an old favorite coat, but made it look new with some clever styling. She added a burgundy fur collar (thought to be a $23 Asos style, per What Kate Wore) to her chestnut brown Hobbs coat—a piece she’d worn four times previously, including a 2012 Christmas service with the Middletons.
The addition of the fur stole made it look like a different coat entirely, a trick that we can all use to brush up our old favorite pieces.
Free People Jagger Faux Fur Collar
2013
Kate leaned into tartan for Christmas 2013.
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My personal favorite Christmas look of Kate’s was the black watch tartan coat she wore to church in 2013, which was yet another repeat coat. (Are we seeing a pattern here?) We all know plaid screams holiday season, and this style was the perfect choice for the traditional Christmas walk to St. Mary Magdalene church.
Princess Kate walked hand-in-hand with Prince William on the way to the service, showing off the trusty black Aquatalia Rhumba boots that she used to wear on repeat back in the early days of her marriage. Topping the look off with a sweet green beret-style hat, the new mom (Prince George was born that summer) looked happy, glowing and stylish.
Perhaps you could use a black watch coat to give your own winter wardrobe a touch of royal sparkle?
Lauren Ralph Lauren Wool Maxi Reefer Coat
2018
Princess Kate chose a classic coat dress for 2018’s church service.
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Christmas 2018 was a special one as it marked baby Prince Louis‘s first Christmas and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s first married Christmas. While little Louis stayed at home during church, Princess Kate brought out all the stops in a new vintage-inspired look.
She wore a berry red Catherine Walker coat with a twirly skirt and red velvet collar with buttons marching down the front, adding a halo-style burgundy headband to keep the retro vibes going. A glittering diamond oak leaf brooch, maroon gloves, Gianvito Rossi pumps and a matching burgundy Mulberry clutch finished off the ideal festive look.
A good red skirted coat is tough to find, but trust me, you’ll get tons of compliments.
Santinni Kennedy Wool Dress Coat
2023
The princess looked bold in blue for the 2023 church walk.
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Cobalt blue is my favorite color, so I was thrilled to see the Princess of Wales step out in a fabulously bright coat for Christmas 2023. Although the style was a new custom Alexander McQueen piece, it was still a familiar look; Princess Kate’s new coat was simply a different color of a coat she already owned by the designer. Hey, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.
The Princess of Wales kept the blue theme going with a bright Juliette Botterill hat trimmed with a bow-and-arrow accent, and even got her Elvis on in a pair of blue suede shoes (er, boots). The royal added a special touch in the form of sapphire and diamond earrings that belonged to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.
Back to the coat, Kate proved that royal blue can be just as festive as a red or green style—and can carry you well into the new year.
Milly Wool-Blend Single-Breasted Coat
2020
Red tartan was a winner during an unusual Christmas season.
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Christmas 2020 was certainly not normal in any sense of the word, but Prince William and Princess Kate headed out on a royal train tour to try and spread some holiday cheer around the U.K.
Since there wasn’t a traditional church walk that year, my favorite festive look comes in the form of this fabulous red tartan ensemble. The pieces were all repeats—minus her scarf and face mask—with Kate wearing a long red Alexander McQueen coat over a black turtleneck and an uber-festive red tartan Emilia Wickstead skirt.
Even though the maxi skirt, which she first wore for a 2018 Christmas event, was an older piece, she made it look fresh with a different top and coat along with a new tassel-trimmed scarf in the same print as her skirt. She even coordinated her face mask (Emilia Wickstead, naturally) to her tartan ensemble. While a plaid maxi can be somewhat difficult to pull off for us mere mortals, a mini version is, IMO, infinitely more wearable.
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