When it comes to dressing for high profile occasions, most would agree that the Princess of Wales never puts a foot wrong.
Whether representing the monarchy at public engagements, supporting charitable causes or attending official events in the UK and overseas, she can always be relied upon to look smart, stylish and appropriate.
Well, not always.
Despite being a stickler for the rules, there is one social occasion at which Kate seems to relish breaking them.
For, at the wedding of King Charlesâs nephew Peter Phillips and NHS nurse Harriet Sperling on Saturday, it was not merely the bride who wore white. Rather rebelliously, Catherine appeared to wear it, too.
Her ÂŁ750 short-sleeved, calf-length dress, by Roland Mouret, was the picture of elegance with its smart button-down notched collar and drop-waisted pleated skirt.
But the colour, a delicate blush pink, looked perilously close to white in certain lights – particularly in photographs, which tend to bleach out paler colours.
You donât need to be a princess with a personal stylist, professional aide and private secretary to know that if thereâs one thing a wedding guest should abstain from wearing, it is white.

At the wedding of King Charles âs nephew Peter Phillips and NHS nurse Harriet Sperling on Saturday, it was not merely the bride who wore white. Rather rebelliously, Catherine appeared to wear it, too

Attending the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St Georgeâs Chapel in 2018, she chose a ÂŁ2,390 coat dress by Alexander McQueen (pictured), in an ultra-pale lemon hue that was almost indistinguishable from the white bridesmaidâs dress worn by Princess Charlotte

Adhering to her favourite wedding (non) colour palette, in 2012, Catherine wore a ÂŁ740 Catherine Hooker coat with a matching ÂŁ3,000 Jenny Packham dress to the June wedding of Prince Williamâs first cousin, Emily McCorquodale, and James Hutt (pictured)
In the pantheon of sartorial sins, a white or off-white outfit is far more egregious than those other wedding no-noâs, such as a low-cut top, a see-through dress or heels that are too perilously high to walk in.
Wearing white risks drawing attention away from the bride on her big day, a cardinal sin that is on a par with overindulging on the rose or bringing an uninvited guest. None of which appears to have deterred Catherine.
Nor was this the first time that the Princess has chosen to wear a whiter shade of pale to a high-profile wedding.
Attending the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St Georgeâs Chapel in Windsor in 2018, she chose a ÂŁ2,390 coat dress by Alexander McQueen, in an ultra-pale lemon hue that was almost indistinguishable from the white bridesmaidâs dress worn by her daughter, Princess Charlotte.
That it was also virtually indistinguishable from Meghan Markleâs white Givenchy wedding gown, albeit knee-length, may or may not have been another bone of contention between the allegedly fractious pair.
Adhering to her favourite wedding (non) colour palette, in 2012, Catherine wore a ÂŁ740 Catherine Hooker coat with a matching ÂŁ3,000 Jenny Packham dress to the June wedding of Prince Williamâs first cousin, Emily McCorquodale, and James Hutt.
This time, her outfit came in an ultra-pale blue – although it still contrived to look white in photographs.

At the 2011 wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall in Scotland, meanwhile, Catherine chose another pale shade, a subtle biscuit-hued Day Birger et Mikkelson coat worn with a coordinating lace dress, by Collette Dinnigan (pictured)

The Princess of Wales wore the same Day Birger et Mikkelson coat at the 2006 wedding of the Queenâs daughter Laura Parker Bowles and chartered accountant Harry Lopes in Wiltshire (pictured)

The Princess of Wales seen at the wedding of Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mark Tomlinson in Arosa, Switzerland, in March 2013 withthe Prince of Wales
At the 2011 wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall in Scotland, meanwhile, Catherine chose another pale shade, a subtle biscuit-hued Day Birger et Mikkelson coat worn with a coordinating lace dress, by Collette Dinnigan.
She teamed the look with a matching saucer hat by Gina Foster.
As one of the most watched and highly scrutinized women in the world, it is unlikely that the princess is choosing these almost-white shades in a bid to steal attention from the bride on her big day.
After all, Catherine has more than enough attention already. In fact, the outfit she wore at the Tindallsâ wedding in 2011 was a repeat, presumably chosen deliberately not to steal the spotlight from the bride.
She wore the same Day Birger et Mikkelson coat at the 2006 wedding of the Queenâs daughter Laura Parker Bowles and chartered accountant Harry Lopes in Wiltshire, as well as to the wedding of university friends Melissa Nicholson and Oliver Barker in 2010.
A more likely theory is that, like many guests, she gravitates towards off-white shades knowing they are a failsafe way to look smart and seasonally appropriate at a summer wedding.
Where Catherine leads, others tend to follow – in droves. Whatever the weather forecast predicts for their big day, summer brides may need to brace themselves for a whiteout.
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