Kate Middleton, Britain’s Princess of Wales, paid a sartorial tribute to Britain’s healthcare workers this week during a previously unannounced visit to charity members marking 75 years of the National Health Service (NHS).
On Tuesday, Kensington Palace said that Kate and Prince William attended a private NHS Big Tea party for staff and patients from around the U.K. in London. The royal couple helped set up tables and ice cakes and then surprised guests who were not told that the pair would be making an appearance.
The prince and princess became patrons of the NHS Charities Together organization in 2020 and have undertaken a number of visits to hospitals, treatment and training facilities over the past three years.
For the NHS Big Tea party, Kate paid one of her signature style nods to the occasion by wearing a blue-and-white polka dot dress by a new favorite designer of hers, Alessandra Rich.
The colors matched those used by the NHS in its branding and logo, first revealed in the 1990s and synonymous with the health service in Britain ever since.
The dress itself was first worn publicly by Kate in 2022 during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. Then the royal wore the garment a month later to attend the Wimbledon tennis championships in London.
The pleated embellished silk crepe de chine design is a bespoke version made for Kate. It eliminated the daring split in the back and crystal button details seen on the ready-to-wear model, available to purchase.
Kate has worn a number of Alessandra Rich designs in the past 12 months. Most recently, the princess debuted a new dress from the designer in a monochrome polka-dot print. It was worn for the Garter Day ceremony at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England, in June.
In 2022, Rich described what it was like to dress Kate, who has a hands-off approach when dealing with commissions. “We only know she’s wearing one of the dresses when we see her in it—we’re never told anything in advance,” the designer told U.K. newspaper The Daily Telegraph. “We don’t ask and they don’t say,
“The Duchess of Cambridge [as she then was] is such a style icon,” Rich added. “I can’t ever say I’m not thrilled she likes my clothes.”
Over the course of her 12-year marriage, Kate has developed a style of dressing for official engagements that often includes aesthetic nods to the hosts of the event she is attending.
This is often seen on official visits abroad. The princess will wear a colour associated with the flag of the nation she’s visiting represented somewhere in her outfit. Most recently, Kate employed this trick when dressing for her 2022 royal tour of the Caribbean with Prince William.
Kate’s fondness for this way of honoring her hosts was taken from Queen Elizabeth II. Throughout her younger years and beyond, the late monarch would often order evening dresses to include embroidery in the form of the national flowers of countries she was visiting. Elizabeth would also wear items of jewelry from the royal vaults associated with the places she would visit.
During their time at the NHS Big Tea party this week, William and Kate met with a number of healthcare workers and patients who have featured in a new video released to mark the occasion.
During the video, the royal couple are seen helping organize the party, including meeting former host of the Great British Baking Show and TV personality, Mel Giedroyc. At one point, William waded into the polarizing British debate over whether jam or cream should be put onto a scone first during high tea.
“I go jam, then cream, because I think jam is heavier?” Giedroyc said, with Kate responding: “I always do jam and then cream.” To this, William said that he just goes with “whichever is closest to me!”
After the scene was set, the royal couple then made their surprise entrance to meet the party guests by singing “Happy Birthday” while presenting a special cake marking the 75th anniversary.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek’s royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
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