It’s time for a parade of stunning looks.
Kate Middleton has wowed royal fans with her elegant outfits for the reigning monarch’s annual birthday parade, Trooping the Colour —and her looks just keep getting better.
Unlike Royal Ascot, where the Princess of Wales mixes up designers each year, the mom of three almost exclusively wears Alexander McQueen for the summer event, where the royal family travels through London in carriages before gathering on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Although the princess has taken a break from public duties while she goes through cancer treatment, she confirmed that she will attend Trooping the Colour 2024, marking her first public appearance since revealing her diagnosis. In anticipation of the moment, we’re taking a look back at all of her looks through the years, below.
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2011: Alexander McQueen
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Fittingly, the newly married royal chose her wedding dress designer, Alexander McQueen, for her first Trooping the Colour appearance in June 2011. Middleton gave off bridal vibes in the double-breasted white coat, which featured tiered ruffles at the hips.
She added a black saucer hat and wore her hair down in her signature bouncy blowout for the event, which took place less than two months after she married Prince William at Westminster Abbey.
2012: Erdem
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For her second Trooping the Colour appearance, the then-duch*ess of Cambridge wore a pale blue-gray dress by Erdem, with the custom design featuring a folded-over collar and tonal floral embroidery.
She topped off her look with a matching blue ribbon-trimmed hat by Jane Corbett and Links of London drop earrings, and although she ditched McQueen in terms of her dress, she did carry a gray clutch by the designer.
2013: Alexander McQueen
The pregnant princess showed off a maternity look for Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday parade in June 2013, wearing a pastel pink Alexander McQueen coat dress with a Peter Pan collar and pearl-trimmed buttons.
The royal re-wore the pink Jane Corbett hat she wore to a Buckingham Palace garden party in 2012 and accessorized with Annoushka pearl drop earrings ($480) and an Alexander McQueen clutch.
While many royal fans thought her choice of attire hinted at a little princess, she went on to give birth to Prince George a month after the event.
2014: Alexander McQueen
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The new mom debuted yet another McQueen look in 2014, wearing a pale blue jacquard skirt suit by the designer. The jacket featured an interesting notched collar and a quirky detail in the pattern, with the British designer’s signature skull design visible on the front of her blazer.
She added a new floral-trimmed hat by Jane Taylor and debuted a brooch featuring two rows of pearls. While the rest of her outfit was new, Middleton carried the same clutch she brought to Trooping in 2012 and 2013 and re-wore her Annoushka pearl drops hanging from diamond-studded gold Kiki McDonough hoops ($892).
2015: Catherine Walker
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Middleton departed from her usual Alexander McQueen looks in 2015, wearing a blue silk Catherine Walker coat dress for Trooping the Colour just a month after giving birth to Princess Charlotte.
The three-quarter sleeve style featured a white floral pattern and covered buttons, and she wore it with aquamarine and diamond drop earrings and a white Lock & Co. hat trimmed with curled feathers.
Prince George also matched with his mom in blue, wearing the same romper his father, Prince William, wore to his own Trooping the Colour debut in 1984.
2016: Alexander McQueen
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It was back to the familiar for the princess in 2016 when she wore the same white Alexander McQueen coat dress she sported to Princess Charlotte’s christening to celebrate the toddler’s first Trooping the Colour appearance.
The custom piece featured a fit-and-flare skirt and folded-over collar, and while she might have worn an old outfit, Middleton gave it a fresh look with a new floral-trimmed hat by Philip Treacy and oversized Balenciaga pearl earrings.
Meanwhile, Princess Charlotte wore a sweet pink dress with a matching hair bow and shoes as the family celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday (and her viral “green screen” coat).
2017: Alexander McQueen
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She switched things up with a bubblegum-hued dress to enjoy the pomp and pageantry in 2017, wearing a long-sleeved pink Alexander McQueen style with a paper bag waist and pleated skirt.
Middleton matched with Princess Charlotte — who wore a pink floral dress — in her candy-colored look, accessorizing with a Jane Taylor hat and a pair of diamond drop earrings belonging to Queen Elizabeth.
The royal loved her Trooping look so much she went on to wear a berry-colored version of the dress to Princess Eugenie’s wedding the following year.
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2018: Alexander McQueen
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The royal wore — you guessed it! —Alexander McQueen for her eighth Trooping the Colour appearance in 2018, debuting a bespoke baby blue dress for the occasion.
The puff-sleeved dress featured a square neckline and banded waist, and she teamed it with a statement-making blue hat by Juliette Botterill trimmed with blue and white flowers.
She sparkled in blue topaz earrings ($4,140) and a matching necklace ($1,592) by Kiki McDonough while Meghan Markle —who married Prince Harry several weeks before the event — went for a pastel pink off-the-shoulder look at her first Trooping.
2019: Alexander McQueen
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While it was Prince Louis who stole the show during his Trooping the Colour debut in 2019, Middleton made an equally statement-making display at Queen Elizabeth’s birthday celebration.
She wore a chic yellow McQueen dress featuring peplum detail at the waist, marking the first time she’d worn a color other than blue, pink or white to the annual event.
The princess paired the v-neck style with the yellow floral hat she wore to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, accessorizing with a diamond cross pendant and Queen Elizabeth’s Bahrain pearl earrings.
2022: Alexander McQueen
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Middleton returned to a familiar look during Queen Elizabeth II’s 2022 Platinum Jubilee, repeating a white Alexander McQueen coat dress that gave similar vibes as the one she wore to her first Trooping the Colour 11 years before.
She wore the same flared coat she sported at a 2021 G7 Summit event with Queen Elizabeth and Camilla, the then-duch*ess of Cornwall, switching up the ensemble with a navy-and-white Philip Treacy hat and sparkling jewels that belonged to Princess Diana.
The royal wore her late mother-in-law’s dazzling pair of diamond-and-sapphire drop earrings for the first time, pairing them with a matching pendant Middleton had previously worn.
And the rest of the family got into the blue-and-white spirit, too, with Prince George wearing a navy suit, Princess Charlotte showing off a pale blue dress and Prince Louis rocking his dad’s old sailor suit.
2023: Andrew Gn
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The princess chose a new-to-her designer in 2023, wearing an emerald green dress by Andrew Gn featuring embellished blue-and-green buttons marching down the front. Her choice of a Singaporean-born designer held special meaning, as Prince William’s Earthshot Prize ceremony was held in the country that year.
She accessorized with a matching Philip Treacy hat that was trimmed with one of the same buttons from her dress and Princess Diana’s diamond-and-sapphire earrings as well as another sentimental touch, adding the gold Cartier shamrock brooch that belongs to the Irish Guards — the regiment she became honorary colonel of in December 2022.
While the mom of three’s family didn’t opt for a full matching moment that year, Louis and George coordinated in navy blazers and red ties while Princess Charlotte wore a smart white sailor dress trimmed with a red bow.
