The Internet Agrees: Kate Middleton's Latest Go At Blond Is Her Hottest Color Change Yet
Kate Middleton is traditionally known as a brunette. But the Princess of Wales hasn't been afraid to experiment with lighter hair colors, like the highlighted honey shade she rocked for a September 2026 outing to the Everton Football Club. Honey blond isn't just one of the hair color trends that will be everywhere for Fall 2026; the warm shade is also an elegant complement to her True Summer color palette. "Her transition to a honey blond hue has instantly brightened her complexion, whilst adding depth and dimension to her naturally darker base," hair color expert Seung Ki Baek told The Daily Mail about Kate's new look.
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The lighter color was an immediate hit with fans. "Sorry I can't pretend the new hair colour isn't super hot," wrote one X user. "She looks stunningggggg." Another X user guessed that Kate's recent style update, besides being gorgeous and fashion-forward, might have a surprisingly practical benefit: "It's the easiest way to manage the silver strands of wisdom she is being blessed with. It will look more natural as more silver appears."
Past experiments with blond hair received mixed reviews
Kate Middleton shocked fans in September 2025 when she debuted a significantly blonder hair color than ever before. In fact, Middleton's blond hair transformation had many wishing she would go back to brunette. Online commenters felt the mid-tone blond failed to flatter her natural features. "The colour washes her out and does nothing for her complexion," wrote one Reddit user. Shortly thereafter, Middleton toned down the blond and returned to her signature brown hair — albeit with caramel highlights.
It wasn't one of Middleton's most iconic hair moments, and fans revealed they would have preferred to see her rocking a slightly cooler shade. "An ashy-brown color with caramel highlights would be more flattering to her skin tone," wrote one Reddit user. Despite that, Kate's more recent highlights prove that she actually can rock honey blond hair with the right adjustments. More than that, a lighter shade can actually be the most flattering choice for her with age. "As we get older, our skin tone changes as well as the color of our hair," hair stylist Stephanie Economou told Hello! "Lighter face-framing highlights mask white hair as well as complementing our changing skin tone better than darker hair."