Kate Middleton Fashion Mishaps That Stunned Royal Fans

Stiletto heel + grate = awkward moment. And Kate Middleton found that out the hard way a couple of times. The royal has fallen victim to the heel stuck in a grate snafu at least twice in public, with the first happening back in March 2013. When the now Princess of Wales attended a St. Patrick's Day parade in England, she had to adjust herself after her black velvet shoe got wedged in the small gap. Luckily, Middleton managed to free herself, but we're guessing this was pretty awkward with all eyes on her.

The same thing then happened again in February 2018 when she wore a similar pair of black heels (these were slightly higher, though) while opening a treatment center in England. That time, Middleton was literally stopped in her tracks in her stylish court shoes while greeting well-wishers, including one person with an awkward royal history of his own. Middleton chatted with the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Jonathan Douglas-Hughes, who'd previously tripped while meeting the now Princess of Wales and her husband William, Prince of Wales. "I reminded her [about the fall]. My wife told her that she would ensure I didn't do it again. Then she caught her heel. [Middleton] said, 'Oh... do the same as you!'" he said after the event (via People), proving this royal knows how to poke a little fun at herself. Even after a literal fashion misstep.

Unfortunately, Kate Middleton's visit to Canada wasn't the only time she had a fashion accident involving a sudden gust of wind. She almost suffered another major wardrobe malfunction when her polka dot dress blew up in a big way in May 2013. Making this one even more embarrassing? This dress gust actually happened at the wedding of her friends William van Cutsem and Rosie Ruck Keene in Oxfordshire, England. Super awks.

But she still wasn't safe from those pesky gusts even after that. In April 2016, she had yet another dress issue when she almost went full-on Marilyn Monroe. While on a royal tour in India, the wind lifted the skirt portion of her white Emilia Wickstead dress as she walked alongside her husband and leaned towards a monument. Luckily, Middleton managed to prevent the skirt from flying up so high it revealed all, but this was certainly one of her closest shaves when it came to accidentally flashing her undergarments to the world.

The Gucci blouse blunder wasn't the only time Kate Middleton appeared to confuse the direction of her garments. Again in 2019, she wore an off-the-shoulder cream dress by designer Barbara Casaola backwards while attending an Addiction Awareness Week Gala Dinner in London.Though the dress itself was gorgeous and elegant, it stunned royal fans because it looked as though she'd worn in back to front.

You see, she wore the zipper at the front with the metal tag sitting on her chest. And with most dresses having a zipper either at the side or at the back, that had many people believing she'd accidentally sported the sophisticated gown backwards. Many fans flooded to social media to point out the mishap, too as we're not exactly used to seeing royals with zippers on the front of their dresses rather than the back. However, some websites selling the dress did actually show it with the zipper at the front rather than the back, so we can probably forgive the royal for this potential mistake. But, to be fair, it's arguably not customary for royals to have such exposed zippers on their garments.

Just over a decade before her creased dress debacle, Kate Middleton caused a stir when she was visiting the Solomon Islands for a cultural celebration — but accidentally wore a dress by a designer from the Cook Islands. It's usually customary for the royals to choose outfits by a local designer for such occasions, which is why this dress choice hit a few headlines.

Kensington Palace issued a statement about the furor, claiming that Middleton and Prince William (who also wore an outfit that originated from the Cook Islands, several thousand miles away) both believed their outfits originated from the Solomon Islands when they put them on. "We saw they weren't the same design of the traditional clothes we were told would be gifted, so we checked with the Solomon Islands government to ensure the right ones were worn. We were reassured the clothes were correct, and so the Duke and Duchess wore them to the event," the statement read. "It was not learned until later in the evening that the clothes weren't from the islands." The statement also confirmed that the royal couple's intention was made clear to anyone who may have been offended by the choice. "It was understood that the Duke and Duchess intended to wear traditional Solomon Island clothes and this was appreciated. No offense was caused," the spokesperson added.

Kate Middleton had some fashion watchers scratching their heads in April 2011 when she decided to wear a predominantly black outfit to a wedding. She and Prince William attended Harry Aubrey-Fletcher and Louise Stourton's big day, and she paired a Libelula velvet coat dress with a plunging sheer mesh top and black fascinator. There's no doubting she still looked chic, but the whole look was arguably a misstep for a spring wedding. And clearly a few people thought so. One person wrote on Instagram of the look, "Way too daring for a wedding." Daily Mail questioned if the outfit was the most appropriate the royal could come up with, while Today even declared, "Royal Scandal Alert." Yikes.

Although it arguably has become more socially acceptable for guests to wear black to western weddings, black hasn't traditionally been worn to such celebratory occasions. As wedding etiquette expert Elaine Swann explained to Brides, "In many instances, especially here in the United States, wearing black to a wedding has been seen as a fashion faux pas because typically the color black is associated with mourning." And the royals especially have taken that to heart, as black is part of their somewhat strict dress code after a member of the royal family passes away. So, overall, we're filing this one under a rare fashion misstep for the usually so stylish star. Especially when she must have had so many other options at her disposal.

How could we talk about Kate Middleton's fashion mishaps without discussing one of her most iconic looks of all time? But iconic for all the wrong reasons. Of course, we're talking about that notorious sheer lace strapless dress she wore during her school days. The year was 2002, and Middleton was asked to walk the runway as part of a charity fashion show at St. Andrews University. The see-through black number featured a turquoise stripe at the top to cover her chest, but she had to pair it with black underwear to cover her modesty. The now senior royal even set the look off with pieces of string fixed into her hair. Actual string.

This dress, naturally, couldn't be further from the sophisticated looks we've seen Middleton in more recently, and is arguably one of her most talked about looks ever. But, luckily, she's proven she knows how to laugh off a fashion mistake. Even one as big as this. In 2013, she returned to her former school for an anniversary charity event and joked about how, erm, far from elegant the dress was. Speaking to a fellow attendee at the event, Middleton said (via Harper's Bazaar Australia), "I hope you weren't involved in the fashion show. You never know what you are going to be asked to wear!" The dress was actually auctioned off in 2011, and brought in £78,000 (that's around $61,000 today!).

Kate Middleton is no stranger to some exposure, but we're guessing this isn't the kind the royal family's publicists are after. While attending the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor and George Gilman in July 2008 (she sure loves a wedding, doesn't she?) the star showed a little bit more than she bargained for. Snaps show Middleton walking with a friend outside The Queens Chapel in London and accidentally exposing the silk slip under her patterned blue dress. Something that's not exactly very royal.

We have to admit, she pulled it off like a pro and managed to smooth the outer part of her ensemble back down before the outer part of the dress rode up too high. But we can't help but feel like this was probably a bit of an embarrassing moment for the young Middleton as she was just starting to get used to a life associated with the royal family.

Many of Middleton's fashion mishaps have largely been down to things outside of her control, such gusts of wind or unfortunate creasing.   However, during a royal visit to Sweden in January 2018, Middleton made a mishap that was completely in her control. She wore a blue velvet dress that totally overwhelmed her pregnant body and didn't fit with the elegance of the event.

The Erdem gown had a high neck and velvet bands about her neck and middle, with trumpet sleeves. It's probably safe to say the majority of users on X were not fans of the design, which kind of went against her usual chic and minimal style. "Kate is in another Erdem dress made from furnishing fabric (and why the black shoes?)" one person questioned on the social media site. "I thought the first Erdem dress ghastly....now this! Yikes!!" another tweeted. No wonder she's clearly since returned to her signature style!