Trooping the Colour is a highlight of the Royal Family’s summer calendar and unlike last year’s parade, the 2025 event was gloriously sunny. This meant we got to see even more of the Princess of Wales and her children as they travelled by open-top carriage (and not by covered car).
Kate and Princess Charlotte sat side-by-side to travel down the Mall and as soon as I saw them, something struck me. You should never underestimate the amount of consideration that goes into every royal outfit and the Princesses were both wearing turquoise with ivory detailing.
This won’t have been a coincidence and I think the decision to have a mother-and-daughter matching moment at Trooping the Colour signals a return to an old tradition. They abandoned it for several years, but Princess Charlotte has been Kate’s mini-me at the parade surprisingly often.
The first time Prince William and Kate brought their daughter to mark the monarch’s official birthday was in 2016. The future Queen wore a coat dress in the softest shade of petal pink and Charlotte’s outfit and Mary Jane shoes were also blossom-hued.
A year later, the two royals upped the brightness and the Princess of Wales went for a vivid candy pink dress. The then-two-year-old Princess Charlotte wore an adorable bubblegum-coloured dress with puffed sleeves and a scalloped collar.
Just when it looked like they were sold on pink being their go-to tone for Trooping the Colour outfits, in 2018, mother and daughter switched things up and stepped out in soft aqua-blue. This was the last time - until 2024 - that Kate and Charlotte coordinated.
Although the Princess of Wales did have navy blue on her hat in 2022, it wasn’t too similar in colour to Princess Charlotte’s baby blue frock. However, last year the matching looks were back in action in the chicest way.
Kate made a rare appearance at Trooping the Colour amid her cancer treatment and wore an elegant white and navy blue ensemble with a statement bow. Her daughter also went for navy and white, but with the amounts of each shade opposite to her mum’s dress.
After a few years of going for different colours, I wasn’t sure if this was a one-off, so I was excited to see Kate and Charlotte in their turquoise dresses on 14th June. The future Queen’s vibrant coat dress was by one of her favourite British clothing brands, Catherine Walker.
Princess Charlotte’s dress was slightly paler and the neckline was trimmed in white. There was a contrasting white panel at the waist and these details echoed the ivory cuffs and collar on the Princess of Wales’s outfit.
The coordination between the two royals created a lovely sense of cohesion and family unity. It could be seen as a special nod to their bond and perhaps also of Charlotte’s admiration for Kate and her style, as the ten-year-old likely has more of an input into her outfits now than she did as a very young child.
Instead of one particular outfit drawing the eye more than the other, both were in harmony and also worked well with the navy suits and white ties worn by Prince George and Charlotte.
I’m already looking forward to the parade next year and hope that the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte’s renewed love for matching outfits will continue.
