And their plus-ones had a few similarities, too.
Kate Middleton has followed in the footsteps of her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, in many ways, from her fashion to her demeanor. Lady Di’s former butler, Paul Burrell, even recently said that the princess would have loved Middleton. Princess Kate’s most recent outing at Wimbledon was a subtle nod to Princess Diana, from her outfit down to her interactions with her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
On Sunday, Middleton, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment, attended the famed tennis tournament with Charlotte. For the special occasion (and second public appearance since announcing she had cancer), Middleton opted for a purple, tea-length Safiyaa dress, reminiscent of the look Princess Diana wore to the 1991 Wimbledon tournament. At the time, Diana wore a lilac-colored blazer with exaggerated shoulders, a massive cream belt, and a white pleated skirt.
It wasn't only their outfits that matched, however. In 1991, Diana was joined by a 9-year-old Prince William wearing a navy blue tie with his double-breasted suit jacket. Several photos captured the mother and son standing and applauding during the match. For this year's games, Kate brought along her daughter Charlotte, also 9 years old. She wore a dark blue polka-dot-dress.
A royal fan account shared a side-by-side post of the two eerily-similar moments in time, which capture Middleton looking at Charlotte as they clap and Diana also leaning down to speak with William as they applaud.
It’s unclear if Middleton and Charlotte purposefully recreated the Diana and William moment. However, Princess Kate’s dress did send several other significant messages.
“Kate has a history of choosing clever, whimsical themes for her Wimbledon looks, and this was a new one,” Bethan Holt, fashion director at the Daily Telegraph, told People. “Wearing purple underlines how important that role is to her and why she chose this event to make her second public appearance of the year.”
Purple is also one of the official colors of her patronage, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in addition to representing courage, something Middleton has displayed in the past few months.
"It's also the color of courage, which could be a nod to what she is going through," Holt added. "I think she looked glowing and radiant, and it was lovely to see her looking so relaxed. I'm sure lots of people will have seen how happy she looked and taken reassurance from that. She really is a kind of beacon of hope for many but that also comes with a lot of pressure."
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