Why Kate Middleton Doesn’t Want the Palace to Share Her Outfit Details Anymore

Kate Middleton’s public-facing engagements in 2024 were few and far between amid her cancer battle, but each rare appearance garnered a flurry of attention from royal watchers eager to see the princess (and her latest imitation-worthy outfit). As both a mom of three young kids and a senior royal, the Princess of Wales has mastered the art of balancing elegant coat dresses with effortlessly casual day-wear. Her traditional yet chic outfit formula has inspired everyone from her daughter Princess Charlotte and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh to former first daughter Ashley Biden. However, as Kate amps up her official engagements in 2025, she reportedly wants Kensington Palace to stop sharing details about what she’s wearing with the public.

According to The Sunday Times UK, Kate hopes to move away from her reputation as a fashion trendsetter in order to prioritize her work–a notably different approach from sister-in-law Meghan Markle, who has called her style choices “one of the most powerful things [she] can do.” The publication cited a palace source, who revealed that Kate feels like her projects are overshadowed by the attention on her wardrobe.

“There is an absolute feeling that it [her work] is not about what the princess is wearing,” the insider shared, adding, “She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting.”

As a result, Kensington Palace–Kate and William’s official correspondence with the public and the media–will no longer publicly share details of her outfits. “There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public and she gets that,” the palace insider added. “But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No. The style is there, but it’s about the substance.”

Kate’s decision is a shift in royal protocol, as both Kensington and Buckingham Palaces regularly share her and Queen Camilla’s sartorial choices for public-facing events with select outlets, according to The Sunday Times UK. Markle has also opened up about the moment she realized the “power” of the clothing designers she chose to represent after a Strathberry bag she wore in 2017 sold out in just 11 minutes.

Revealing that becoming a part of the royal family “completely changed” how she approaches her style, Markle told The New York Times, “Times where I know there is a global spotlight, and attention will be given to each detail of what I may or may not be wearing, then I support designers that I have really great friendships with, and smaller, up-and-coming brands that haven’t gotten the attention that they should be getting.”