Kate Middleton paid a touching tribute to Princess Diana last night by sporting a dress inspired by one her late mother-in-law wore on at least three occasions.
The Duchess of Cambridge, 40, stepped out in an emerald gown custom-made by British fashion designer Jenny Packham for a glittering state dinner in Jamaica to finish off the fifth day of her Caribbean tour with Prince William.
The dress – believed to be a bespoke version of the £3,791 ‘Wonder Glitter Tulle Gown’ – is reminicienst of the Nettie Vogues dress Princess Diana wore in her official engagement photos to Prince Charles, and on at least two more occasions.
Kate Middleton (pictured) paid a touching tribute to Princess Diana last night by sporting a dress inspired by one her late mother-in-law wore on at least three occasions
The dress – believed to be a bespoke version of the £3,791 ‘Wonder Glitter Tulle Gown’ – is reminicienst of the Nettie Vogues dress Princess Diana (pictured) wore in her official engagement photos to Prince Charles, and on at least two more occasion
Designed by Graham Wren for Nettie Vogues, Diana’s dress had a cinched in waist with a tulle skirt – similar to Kate’s.
Both dresses are the same hue of emerald green, however Diana’s feature a very 1980s inspired puff sleeve, while Kate opted for a more modern off-the-shoulder look.
The Princess of Wales was first pictured in the gown for a 1981 photoshoot for her official Snowdon engagement portraits taken at Highgrove House in May 1981.
She sported the taffeta gown again later that same year as she met performers of a gala concert at Brangwyn Hall in Swansea in October.
Designed by Graham Wren for Nettie Vogues, Diana’s dress had a cinched in waist with a tulle skirt – similar to Kate’s (pictured in October 1982)
Both dresses are the same hue of emerald green, however Diana’s feature a very 1980s inspired puff sleeve, while Kate opted for a more modern off-the-shoulder look
The dress was then worn on a third occasion as Diana attend another concert at the Barbican Centre in October 1982, where she accessorised with an emerald and diamond choker.
Last night Kate donned a glitter tulle piece paired with priceless diamonds lent by the Queen for her and the duke’s first visit to Jamaica.
She also sported her Royal Family Order and the GCVO Star.
Diana is pictured wearing a velvet cape and an emerald green taffeta evening gown designed by Graham Wren at a gala concert at Brangwyn Hall during an official royal tour of Wales in 1982
Kate donned a glitter tulle piece paired with priceless diamonds lent by the Queen for her and the duke’s first visit to Jamaica. She also sported her Royal Family Order and the GCVO Star
The dress is believed to be a bespoke version of Ms Packham’s £3,791 ‘Wonder Glitter Tulle Gown’. She finished off her look with matching emerald-and-diamond earrings and a bracelet loaned by Her Majesty for the special occasion
Kate has worn the green hue – said to be one of Princess Diana’s favourite colour – on dozens of occasions.
Last year, she wore a £1,595 glittering emerald gown by The Vampire’s Wife and a pair for the first evening reception during a trip to Ireland.
She sported the hue again at the Wimbledon finals last year, wearing a £1380 dress from London-based designer Emilia Wickstead.
The Duchess of Cambridge is known to pay tribute to the Princess of Wales through her clothes.
The back of the sweeping ballgown was just as impressive with more glitter detailing
Go-to designer: The dress is believed to be a customised version of this Jenny Packham tulle creation
Kate paired the priceless diamonds with her Royal Family Order – a decoration bestowed by the Queen on her female relatives – and the GCVO Star, which the monarch gifted to her in April 2019 for her eighth wedding anniversary
During a trip to Scotland last year, Kate sported an all blue ensemble which closely echoed one of her mother-in-law’s 1992 looks.
The Duchess of Cambridge wore a £59.99 Zara blazer and £95.00 pleated midi skirt by Hope Fashion in the colour of the Scottish flag which drew a striking similarity to a look the Princess of Wales donned nearly three decades ago for a day of royal duties in Nottingham.
Kate’s sweet tribute to Diana comes as The Duke of Cambridge used the royal visit to Jamaica to tackle Britain’s historic role in the slave trade, describing it as ‘abhorrent’ and a ‘stain on our history’ in a keynote speech alongside his wife at a state dinner last night.
The future king expressed his disgust at the ‘appalling atrocity’ that has left such a heavy legacy in Jamaica and expressed his ‘profound sorrow’ that it had ever happened to Jamaican dignitaries.
He spoke out on a tricky tour for the royals, where the Cambridges were greeted like rock stars by the public but politicians, including prime minister Andrew Holness, used meetings to make clear in public they will push for the island to be a republic with a referendum this year. There was also a protest outside the British High Commission by republicans also demanding slavery reparations from Britain and the royals.
In a landmark speech William also referred to his father’s previous condemnation of slavery – but stopped short of apologising for the Royal Family’s part in the trade.