Carole Middleton stuns in her daughter Kate Middleton's Me+Em dress for the opening of Royal Ascot 2022

Has Carole Middleton raider her daughter's closet for the annual racing event?

Kate Middleton and Carole Middleton wearing the same Me+Em dress
(Image credit: Future/Getty Images)

Carole Middleton has been spotted wearing the same dress famously worn by her daughter, Kate Middleton, during a royal tour of Scotland in 2021. 


Like mother like daughter, Kate Middleton and Carole Middleton both have a classic, elegant style, so it's no surprise that there's some outfit crossover from time to time.

Kate Middleton's dresses are among the most coveted of each season, with the Duchess opting for crowd-pleasing brands like Rixo, The Vampire's Wife brand, and Alice Temperley. And now it looks like mum Carole is taking a leaf out of her daughter's book with her vibrant pink look for the first day of Royal Ascot 2022

Whether she raided her daughter's closet or invested in the dress herself, is unclear, but both mother and daughter bring their own unique style and flair to the look. While Duchess Catherine accessorizes her look with elegant heels and a thin waist belt, Carole's look is more flamboyant in accordance with the occasion, teamed with a matching pink waist tie and the kind of intricate, statement headpiece we'd expect to be worn for the opening day of Royal Ascot. 

The dress is unfortunately out of stock online but was previously on sale for $695. It's also available in a black and midnight navy colorway, which has also sold out on the ME+EM website

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L) meets five year-old Mila Sneddon, a cancer patient who featured in an image from the Hold Still photography project which showed her kissing her father Scott through a window whilst she was shielding during her chemotherapy treatment, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland on May 27, 2021

(Image credit: Getty Images)

There's a sweet story behind the first time Duchess Catherine wore this dress back in 2021. 

The Duchess of Cambridge was meeting Mila Sneddon, a five-year-old girl and cancer patient who featured in Catherine's Hold Still photography exhibition. During a phone call prior to the engagement, Mila told the Duchess that pink is her favorite color and so she promised to wear it when they met. 

Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton attend day 1 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 14, 2022 in Ascot, England

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Catherine switched out the fabric belt the dress comes with in favor of a skinny waist belt to complete the look, while her mum Carole kept the original belt as part of the look.

Carole attended the first day of Royal Ascot alongside Catherine's dad and her husband, Michael. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge weren't in attendance, instead opting to attend a memorial service for the five-year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Lauren Hughes

Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine.