From university to a Windsor wedding watched by the world, the Princess of Wales has lived out a love story that feels straight from a Disney fairytale.
But while her romance with Prince William has always seemed to be the story of dreams, it’s Kate’s wardrobe that often provides the most magical moments.
Known as ‘Princess-core’, it is a style aesthetic that leans into the fairytale narrative, which means puffed sleeves, pastel hues, sweeping skirts and, of course, the occasional sparkling tiara. And no one does it better than Kate.
Over the years, Kate has dazzled in gowns so enchanting they could have been sketched by Disney animators themselves.
Glittering Jenny Packham dresses that call to mind Frozen’s Elsa, chiffon ballgowns straight out of Sleeping Beauty, and tropical ensembles that wouldn’t look out of place on Moana, Kate has worn them all.
Take her 2019 appearance at the V&A Museum in a rose-pink Gucci gown. With its flowing skirt and velvet waistband, the dress instantly drew comparisons with Princess Aurora’s iconic look.
Or consider her tropical turn in Tuvalu in 2016, when she wore a grass skirt and floral headdress during a traditional welcome ceremony echoing Moana, Disney’s fearless Polynesian heroine.
Kate didn’t just look the part, she embodied the spirit of a modern Disney princess, adventurous yet gracious, stepping out of her regal mould and into something playful.
A gown truly fit for a princess! Kate’s ice-blue Phillipa Lepley princess dress was a perfect modern-day match for Cinderella’s iconic blue ballgown
Kate was every inch the fairytale princess as she stepped out to attend the 100 Women in Finance gala at the V&A Museum in 2019. Her sweeping pink Gucci gown featured a velvet waistband and full chiffon skirt which oozed Disney glamour
Princess Kate channelled everyone’s favourite ice queen for the Royal Variety Performance in 2017 when she wowed in a powder blue dress covered entirely in beds and gemstones. Dazzling in the floor-length Jenny Packham showstopper, she mirrored Elsa from Disney’s Frozen
Dancing with locals in Tuvalu, in the Solomon Islands, in 2016, Kate’s head-dress and grass skirt were very reminiscent of Moana as she set out across the seas in search of adventure. Layered over an intricately embroidered Alice by Temperley dress, the tropical ensemble made Kate look as though she had stepped straight off the big screen
Princess Kate could have been in Arendelle in 2022 when she arrived at a reception in Jamaica wearing an embellished green tulle gown by Jenny Packham, channelling Princess Anna from Frozen
Disney princesses have always been shorthand for perfection. Elegant, poised, kind-hearted women in gowns that leave us wide-eyed. And Kate has frequently served up these Disney doppelgänger moments.
But such is the power of the Princess of Wales’s fashion, it transcends couture and taps into something deeper, more nostalgic, more magical.
And perhaps that’s the point. For a monarchy trying to project stability in the modern world, Kate’s Disney moments are not frivolous coincidences, but powerful symbolism.
They remind us that royalty is supposed to dazzle, to enchant, to capture our imaginations.
From Aurora in Gucci to Elsa on the red carpet, from Moana in Tuvalu to Cinderella at Buckingham Palace, the Princess of Wales has time and again embodied the fairytale ideal.
