Inside Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla’s Fashion ‘Exchange’: They’re a ‘Unit Together’

Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla take turns to shine!

Kicking off a state visit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee, Kate dazzled in head-to-toe red as she joined her husband Prince William, King Charles and Camilla to greet their guests at the Horse Guards Parade on Tuesday morning.

Wearing a structured red tailored cape in bright red, the bow of a perfectly matching dress (previously worn at her 2021 Christmas service) by Catherine Walker & Co. peeking through the robe, it was the daytime equivalent of wearing a ball gown; it required attention.

Camilla’s choice of a demure navy wool dress and matching jacket with chic frayed edges by Anna Valentine and a feather-detailed Philip Treacy beret hat was a much more discreet look given her status. However, the combined look of both women was actually a flag-dressing feat, perfectly nodding to the Taegeukgi symbol on the South Korean flag which is both red and blue.

King Charles, Queen Camilla, Kate Middleton and Prince William welcome President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee on November 21, 2023.

Chris Jackson – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Additionally, Charles and William in their navy blue jackets and white shirts (along with red ties for William and blue for Charles) proved the perfect finishing touch to the South Korean flag. “I think it definitely cemented how in sync the four of them are,” Bethan Holt, fashion director at The Telegraph, tells PEOPLE, adding, “There’s a real sense of them being together, and dressing for the flag really accentuated that.”

Accessorized with red high heels, a matching wide-brimmed hat and a red clutch bag, Kate’s monochrome and striking look also ticked many boxes. The cape was designed to go around her existing dress with a bow detail that marked the field for re-wear, it certainly caught the attention of photographers, making her outfit more than any other. It was also a practical choice of outerwear given the cold winter weather.

Kate Middleton attended the reception of the President and First Lady of South Korea on November 21, 2023.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

However, when it came to the evening’s event, a state banquet held at Buckingham Palace where 170 guests gathered for a decadent dinner where Charles mentioned K-pop stars Blackpink and BTS during his speech, Camilla’s look probably got more attention. “Kate looked stunning, but Camilla was daring in that red velvet dress,” Holt, author of The Queen: 70 Years of Magnificent Style States.

“I think Kate looked incredibly regal that day; I think Camilla looked like the new royal in the evening. You could feel that kind of exchange between them, which I think is really interesting,” explains Holt.

Queen Camilla at a state banquet in honor of the President of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol on November 21, 2023.

YUI MOK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

While Kate dusted off the Queen Mother’s Strathmore tiara, which had been in the vaults for nearly a century, Camilla was also the first to pull out a tiara wearing the Burmese ruby ​​tiara, which was repeatedly worn by the late Queen Elizabeth II. “It was Camilla’s big fashion moment of the night, although obviously everyone was talking about Kate’s tiara, so it was a bit of a departure from that, but for a woman in the highest position in the royal family to be in such a fashion look, it felt like a departure, definitely .”

Kate Middleton at a state banquet in honor of the President of South Korea on November 21, 2023.

Yui Mok-WPA Pool/Getty

It is not the first time that Camilla and Kate have joined forces in the name of tailoring symbolism. For Charles and Camilla’s historic coronation in May, the royals worked with the esteemed Royal School of Handiwork to get the floral embroidery on their gowns just right.

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While Camilla’s opulent ivory dress was made by her long-time friend Bruce Oldfield and Kate’s by her favorite designer Alexander McQueen, both dresses featured roses, thistles, daffodils and shamrocks to represent the four nations of the United Kingdom. “Kate and Camilla participated together,” royal embroiderer Chloe Savage told PEOPLE exclusively at the time, adding, “The whole floral theme, if you look at Camilla’s train, her custom-made State Dress, it’s full of embroidery.”

Although Kate has made bold colors a big part of her daywear, and dramatic gowns a staple when it comes to state banquets (she wore a similar Jenny Packham dress in 2022), compared to Camilla’s more conservative choices, it’s not something Holt thinks will be a problem. in the future. “I feel like Camilla dresses the part, but I don’t think she has any ambitions to be a bold fashion girl, in the limelight, and Kate knows that’s part of her role.”

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Source: HIS Education