It has been quite a season for Roland Mouret in royal circles. Kate Middleton has turned to the French fashion house not once but twice in recent months — and the ripple effects have been considerable.
A wedding masterclass
The Princess of Wales made headlines at the wedding of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling, arriving in a beige tweed midi dress by Roland Mouret that had style commentators reaching for superlatives. Paired with nude heels, a raffia clutch and a wide-brimmed coordinated hat, the look was a study in considered elegance — every element working in concert to create something effortlessly composed.
The dress itself did the heavy lifting. A V-neckline, short sleeves and a wide cinched belt gave the silhouette its structure, while the midi length struck exactly the right note for a formal ceremony. Roland Mouret has built its reputation on clothes that, as the house puts it, 'sculpt without constraining' — and on Catherine, that philosophy landed precisely as intended.
It is a label she has returned to before. In May 2022, the Princess wore a black-and-white off-the-shoulder Roland Mouret gown to the London premiere of Top Gun: Maverick — a far bolder choice than the conservative daytime formula often associated with royal dressing, and one that drew its own share of attention at the time.
Then came Wimbledon — and the 'copycat' row
Between the Phillips wedding and the premiere appearance came another major fashion moment: Wimbledon 2026, where Catherine arrived in a bespoke olive-green Emilia Wickstead dress featuring a dramatic cape-style overlay that swept across her shoulders and cascaded down her back. The look went viral almost immediately.
Weeks later, Meghan Markle appeared at the David Foster Foundation's 40th Anniversary Celebration in Canada wearing a floor-length black Greta Constantine 'Fabrizio' gown with an asymmetric one-shoulder neckline and a sweeping shoulder detail. The comparisons were instant — and unforgiving.
'The timing has inevitably led to Meghan being called a "Copycat Duchess" because Catherine had only recently made headlines with that dramatic cape effect,' a source told Radar Online.
Those familiar with royal fashion were quick to point out that the two dresses were, in fact, quite different — different designers, different colours, different lengths, different construction.
A source described Catherine's look as having 'a very distinctive flowing cape element', while Meghan's used 'asymmetry and a heavier sweep of fabric'. The Greta Constantine gown was priced at approximately $1,795.
'They are different designs, but visually there is enough crossover for the comparison to be understandable — particularly because Catherine's appearance was so recent,' the source added.
A third insider put it plainly: 'This was a major fashion moment for Meghan, so it is unfortunate for her that instead of the conversation being entirely about her gown, people immediately started asking whether Catherine's Wimbledon look had provided inspiration.'
Rules made to be broken
What ties all of this together is a broader shift in how Catherine approaches royal dressing — one that mirrors, in some ways, the path walked by Princess Diana before her. At Wimbledon earlier in the year, Kate had also turned heads by arriving in a periwinkle trouser suit, continuing a preference for tailoring that once would have raised palace eyebrows.
Many of the so-called royal fashion rules — no black outside mourning, no bare legs, no dark nail polish — turn out, on closer inspection, to be more myth than mandate. The Royal Family's own etiquette guidance states simply that 'there are no obligatory codes of behaviour, just courtesy'. Catherine wore a dark red manicure to the Easter Sunday service at Windsor on 9 April 2023. She has appeared bare-legged at less formal engagements. She repeats outfits without apology.
Diana did all of the same. The Design Museum has described Diana as using fashion as 'an important tool of self-expression and empowerment' — and watching Catherine now, it is hard not to see a similar quiet confidence at work. Whether she is sculpting a silhouette in Roland Mouret tweed or sending the internet into a spin from the royal box, the Princess of Wales is very much setting her own terms.
