9 Times Kate Middleton Channeled Princess Diana's Iconic Style With Her Outfits

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If you're a long-time fan of the British family, then you've probably noticed something unique about how Kate Middleton dresses. Yes, Middleton can turn a pantsuit into a sleek fashion moment, and she totally nailed the butter yellow trend at Wimbledon in summer 2025, but that's just Kate showing she knows a thing or two about fashion. More unusual is the fact that she often dresses similarly, if not almost exactly, like Princess Diana.

While it makes sense that Middleton would want to pay homage to Diana, who passed away in 1997 at age 36, it turns out that there's a push by the royal family for Middleton, as well as Meghan Markle, to take style cues from Diana. In his 2023 book, "Endgame," Omid Scobie wrote (via Marie Claire), "It had been known for someone to go back and pull images of Diana at a certain place or time for ideas ... While finding a trend untouched by Diana's iconic style is almost impossible, the huge amount of effort that goes into channeling her exact look sometimes goes beyond the pale. During the past 13 years, Diana cosplay has become a royal staple."

Whether this is 100% accurate or stretching the truth, Middleton does often channel Princess Di, and she does so beautifully. Princess Diana was an icon in so many ways, someone who left this world too soon. Seeing Middleton emulate Diana's style through clothes and accessories is a way to keep her memory alive.

As part of their 2011 royal tour of Canada, Kate Middleton and Prince William stopped in Charlottetown to visit the Province House on July 4. For the event, Middleton wore this adorable nautical-inspired knit dress by Alexander McQueen. Not only was this look a perfect example of the 2024 timeless sophistication trend, because nautical themes never go out of style, but Princess Diana wore a similar sailor-inspired dress while attending a wedding for her former roommate Carolyn Pride in 1982.

In August 2017, Kate Middleton visited the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, which had recently been transformed into the White Garden in honor of Princess Diana. For the event, Middleton wore a beautiful, long-sleeved floral Prada dress that was cinched at the waist, creating a billowy effect across the bust. The dress also included a high neck that was topped off with the iconic pussybow. Middleton completed the outfit with beige heels. Decades before, in July 1981, Princess Diana wore a very similar floral dress — although the colors were quite different — for her wedding rehearsal. Like Middleton, Diana kept her shoe choice simple, opting for beige flats.

When Princess Diana first presented Prince Harry to the world in 1984 from the steps of the hospital, a tradition for the royal family, she wore a red coat with an exposed white peter pan collar. More than 30 years later in April 2018, Middleton also wore red, with a white lace peter pan collar, when she introduced Prince Louis to the world. It wasn't the first time Middleton chose to wear something similar to Diana when exiting the Lindo Wing with a new baby in tow. In 2013, Middleton wore a blue polka dot dress after giving birth to Prince George, similar to the green polka dot dress Diana wore after having Prince William.

Let's be honest: houndstooth is a difficult print to pull off for most of us. It's big, loud, and in some cases, straight-up gaudy. However, for a 2018 royal visit to Sweden, Kate Middleton wore this white and red houndstooth coat by Catherine Walker that's actually not a total eyesore. Almost 30 years before in 1990, Princess Diana wore a red and white houndstooth jacket by Moschino, along with a black and white houndstooth skirt, while attending Princess Eugenie's christening. Considering how gorgeous both women look in this print, it's almost enough to inspire us to embrace houndstooth.

Like Princess Diana back in the day, Kate Middleton wears a lot of royal and cobalt blues. And just like Diana, she looks absolutely extraordinary in these colors. For a trip to Scotland in May 2021, Middleton wore this winning monochromatic outfit that consisted of a double-breasted blazer from Zara and a pleated midi skirt by Hope. In 1992, Diana wore an identical outfit while visiting Nottingham with her sister. In fact, the only difference between these two looks was that Diana wore cobalt blue shoes as well, while Middleton opted for brown suede pumps by Gianvito Rossi.

Although we've seen Kate Middleton lean into the polka dot renaissance before, her outfit for the Order of the Garter event in June 2023 was especially reminiscent of the classic polka dots Diana wore to the Royal Ascot in 1988. And it's not just about the black and white print. Both dresses are long-sleeved with vertical ruching around the waist and a hem just below the knee. If that weren't enough, both Kate and Diana wore the same two-tone pumps. The only differences between the dresses were the cuts of the neckline and the size of the polka dots, Middleton having opted for smaller ones.

In June 2023, for the annual Trooping the Colour event, Kate Middleton chose to wear this Kelly green fitted dress with just the right amount of blue embellishments across the bust and down the front. She completed the outfit with a matching wide-brimmed hat and, as usual, looked stunning. For Trooping the Colour 1988, Princess Diana also wore Kelly green with a matching wide-brimmed hat. While these two looks differ in design, it's safe to assume that Middleton choosing this color for Trooping the Colour was no accident.

Although London is about 50 miles inland, that hasn't stopped Kate Middleton, and Princess Diana before her, from leaning into nautical looks. In fact, a quick trip down memory lane will show that Diana really had a thing for sailor-inspired outfits through the 1980s and '90s. In May 2025, while visiting the HMS Glasgow, Middleton decided to match the occasion by wearing a navy coat dress with white trim by Suzannah London. From the waist up, the ensemble was almost identical to the two-piece Catherine Walker outfit Diana wore in May 1993 for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. If there's a royal equivalent to next-level method dressing, this was it.

For Trooping the Colour 2025, both Kate Middleton and Princess Charlotte's outfits had a special meaning. Kate's gorgeous aquamarine coat by Catherine Walker was clearly a nod to Princess Diana, who wore a blazer and skirt of the same color, also designed by Catherine Walker, during her trip to the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo, Egypt, in 1992. Although Charlotte's aquamarine dress wasn't as rich in color as Middleton's, it was still clearly an intentional choice to wear a shade very much linked to her grandmother.