Kate Middleton, and the mystery of the two coronation dresses

But how, just her? Kate Middletoni.e. the Princess of Walesor the great champion of the recycling in couture version, she who is appreciated all over the world for her modern habit of wearing the same dress over and over againjust her: here she is quietly having two dresses made for the coronation of her father-in-law King Charles III?

We never expected it (or maybe we did). Nevertheless…

So it would seem. The doubt is legitimate, judging by what we can see with our own eyes from the official group portrait taken by photographer Hugo Burnand and released following the coronation ceremony of King Charles III. Kate is there, to the left of Queen Camilla, between her William and the very elegant Sophie of Edinburgh: she is radiant in her embroidered white dresssigned Alexander MCQueen, with the controversial crown of gold and silver leaves also embroidered, perhaps not precious, but highly symbolic.

Yet something doesn’t add up. It will be years and years of Sharpen your vision on Puzzle weekbut the most attentive did not miss a not insignificant detail.

If the dress worn for the coronation ceremony, even if covered by the cloak in the colors of the flag of the United Kingdom, was evidently round-necked, the one worn for the official portrait instead has a slight V-necklineperfect replica of another dress – this time black, but always signed by Alexander McQueen – worn by the princess in 2019 at an official reception.

So we are faced with two almost identical variants of the same dress, made to prevent any possible accident – I don’t know, an ice cream spilled on her by little Louis on the car ride to Westminster? A gravy stain obtained by grabbing a morsel before the ceremony? Anything can be – and then used in the two different contexts so as not to be “wasted”?

Or it could be that superimposed on the dress during the ceremony there was a cape ton sur tonpromptly shrugged off at the moment of the photo with the bride and groom?

Or again nice photoshop workthanks to which the austere dress worn under the cloak has been made more graceful and even sensual – but above all more suitable for showing off the quirky necklace of Queen Elizabeth II that she wears around her neck, i.e. the George VI Festoon diamond necklace donated to the deceased sovereign by George VI in 1950 – for the photo that will go down in history forever and ever?

When in doubt, let’s not tell King Charles III: someone like him who cares about the environment would not appreciate such a waste. Let’s keep it a secret…

More stories from Vanity Fair that might interest you:

– The triangle at Court? The clue comes from a pair of décolleté with a bow

– All the royal looks at Charles and Camilla’s coronation concert

– Coronation of King Charles III: all about Kate Middleton’s outfit, a real princess with a cape and (almost) tiara

– Coronation of King Charles, Princess Charlotte is a little Kate Middleton in white

– Coronation of Charles III, all the looks of the ceremony

– Coronation of King Charles III, all on the dress of Queen Camilla, paying homage to Elizabeth II (and to nature)