All The Royal Nods You Missed In Kate Middleton & Queen Camilla's 2023 Trooping The Colour Looks
It's the first Trooping the Colour for King Charles III. The centuries-old tradition is a celebration of the British monarch's birthday. It features an impressive military parade on the ground and a flyby of military aircraft, which the royals watch from the Buckingham Palace balcony. Not only that, but many balcony appearances in recent years have featured antics from the children of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales — we're looking at you, Prince Louis!
At the Trooping the Colour, royals have to follow certain rules and customs, many of which have to do with what they're wearing. But if there's one thing that members of the royal family are good at, it's attention to detail. Just look at the updated details on Prince William's updated military uniform for Trooping the Colour, which reflects his new position as the honorary Colonel of the Welsh Guards. Of course, Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla weren't in military uniform, but their outfits still featured rich royal symbolism.
Both Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla wore outfits in tribute to their military titles
For the 2023 Trooping the Colour, Catherine, Princess of Wales, wore an all-green outfit and a shamrock brooch. It's befitting for her role as the honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards, a position her husband held before her. It was also a look that is very similar to one that Princess Diana wore to the event in 1982; Diana wore an all-green outfit for her first Trooping the Colour after her marriage to then-Prince Charles. In another tribute to Diana, Kate accessorized her green outfit with a pair of Diana's diamond and sapphire earrings, per People.
Kate rode in the parade in a carriage with her three kids as well as her mother-in-law, Queen Camilla. And Camilla's outfit also paid tribute to her honorary military title — she's Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. She wore a red silk coat dress and a black hat, which echoes the uniforms worn by the Grenadier Guards. According to royal commentator Ian Lloyd, the outfit was "based on the red tunic first worn by the late Queen in 1951, which in turn was based on the red tunic worn by Queen Victoria when she reviewed troops at Aldershot in the 1850s." It was certainly a touching tribute by Camilla to the royal women who came before her.