Before & After Photos Of Kate Middleton's 2026 BAFTA Dress Has Everyone Missing Her Old Smile

When it comes to being an outfit repeater, no one is quite as skilled as Catherine, Princess of Wales. She's been known to rock outfits that were even better the second time around. Yet, her latest recycled outfit has folks buzzing online, and they're less focused on the dress than they are on Kate's smile.

Kate Middleton and William, Prince of Wales, shocked everyone with a surprise BAFTA appearance on Sunday, February 22, following a wild week in which Andrew Windsor was arrested. Fortunately, Kate was nowhere near making it onto the list of worst-dressed celebs at the big event, thanks to her flowing pink Gucci dress. Big fans of Kate's fashion surely remembered this off-the-shoulder gown; she wore it almost exactly seven years ago at a gala for 100 Women in Finance's Philanthropic Initiatives.

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Pretty much everyone would look a bit different in the same outfit seven years apart, and Kate's no different; she looked beautiful in the dress then and now. Yet, seeing a photo of her the first time she wore the dress gave some netizens pause. Folks noticed that these days, Kate seems much quicker to drop her smile, and there may be a sadness lurking beneath the seemingly forced grin she puts on for photos.

Royal watchers flocked to Reddit to comment on Kate Middleton's BAFTA look after she and Prince William hit the red carpet. Of course, people couldn't help but compare her to photos of Kate wearing the same dress six years prior. "Wow. She looks incredible here," one Redditor wrote of Kate in 2019. They added, "Obviously she's younger, but that's not what I mean. She just seems to be full of life as opposed to now. The overly aggressive smiles just seem like an act. I can't imagine what goes on behind the scenes."

"There was light behind her eyes then. [It] has gone," one Redditor wrote. "I 10000% agree," another commenter replied, with one netizen commenting, "She looks so much happier in this photo." Of course, Kate has been through a lot in recent years, and most royal watchers can likely agree that the public doesn't know the half of it.

The royal family will surely never let slip what's really going on behind the scenes, so inferring how happy Kate really is from photos can only go so far. It is interesting, though, how many folks immediately noticed how much happier Kate looked the first time she sported this particular ensemble, and it certainly raises some questions about how she's really doing these days.