Did you notice Kate Middleton's subtle nod to Prince William during her solo outing?

Even the simplest of royal outfits often contains a lot more meaning than it first appears and the Princess of Wales’s ensembles often speak volumes. From choosing a piece made by a designer based in a country she's visiting or an item in the colour of a specific flag, so much thought goes into her style.

Sometimes the details are a little more obvious, like Kate’s adorable personalised necklace which she’s been wearing a lot recently. It features G, C and L initials for her children, but this wasn’t the only nod to her family in her outfit at Sudbury Silk Mills.

She undertook a solo engagement there on 11th September and wore a gorgeous monochrome checked blazer with matching trousers and a black T-shirt. Apart from giving us some autumn outfit ideas, her choice of print could be seen as a special nod to Prince William.

This two-piece set wasn’t any old check, it was a Prince of Wales check. The iconic pattern has a mix of small and larger checks creating a criss-cross design and although it used to be traditionally black and white, nowadays it can have other tones like green or blue in it.

King Edward VII started wearing it a lot when he was Prince of Wales and popularised it, hence the name (it was originally known as Glen Check, Glen Plaid or Glen Urquhart Plaid). Many others went on to wear this pattern, including King Charles - who is Britain’s longest-serving Prince of Wales - as well as Princess Diana.

Kate’s recent outfit suggests that she’s a fan too and as her husband is the current Prince of Wales and she is Princess of Wales, it’s a very appropriate choice for her. It was a low-key homage to him and was made even more significant because of the nature of her visit.

The Princess visited Suffolk and Kent to celebrate creativity, skills and community and got to see craftsmanship at the heart of the British textiles industry, from hand-printing to weaving. Prince of Wales check is a famously British design and so Kate’s suit also paid tribute to this.

This isn’t the first time she’s stepped out in a Prince of Wales check blazer. In 2022 Kate wore one when she visited PACT (Parents and Children Together) and then re-styled the same jacket for her appearance on Mike Tindall’s The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast alongside Prince William and Princess Anne in 2023.

This pattern might well feature in quite a few people’s autumn capsule wardrobes too and Kate tends to prefer the very neutral versions of it, typically black, white or grey. She styles Prince of Wales checked blazers with equally neutral staples like her black T-shirt for her visits to Suffolk and Kent.

A few days earlier on 8th September she joined Prince William to commemorate the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s passing. The Prince of Wales was reportedly scheduled to visit the Women’s Institute in Sunningdale alone but according to the Daily Mail, sources have claimed the Princess wished to join her husband to commemorate Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

Kate is understood to have had a close bond with her - something Prince William remarked upon in his statement after her death.

“I have had the benefit of The Queen's wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade. My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives,” he declared.