Kate Middleton sent 'danger warning' of 'ill-conceived move' backfiring when Queen dies

Kate Middleton has been issued a 'warning' over her fashion choices

Kate Middleton
(Image credit: Getty)

Many see Kate Middleton as their fashion inspiration, but the Duchess of Cambridge has been issued a warning by a royal insider that some 'ill-conceived choices' may backfire one day when the Queen is no longer with us.

  • Royal commentator, Daniela Elser, claimed that the Duchess has worn more than $83,851 (£49,052) worth of clothes over the last 100 days.
  • This is a stark contrast to when she first married Prince William and regularly wore affordable, high street items, and the change could backfire."With one outfit she was making it clear to the world that she would do things her way and that despite her elevation to royal ranks, she remained firmly tethered to normal life."
  • In other Royal News, This is how Kate and William get Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Louis ready for the day

Royal commentator Daniela Elser made reference to the ZARA dress Kate wore shortly after marrying Prince William back in 2011, saying: "The symbolism was clear: Kate might have snagged the prince, gotten herself a title and was now calling a palace home but she was the same woman as she had been 48 hours earlier."

She added: "With one outfit she was making it clear to the world that she would do things her way and that despite her elevation to royal ranks, she remained firmly tethered to normal life."

Daniela added how the shift in Kate's fashion choices and opting for less affordable options reflect the change we've seen in Kate and William over the last year, as they've taken on more royal duties.

She explained how it may represent "the repositioning we have seen of William and Kate’s image in the last year, from plucky young ‘uns to future king and queen", which she suggested is becoming especially prominent as "the Queen looks shakier and shakier."

 However, she warned Kate that this shift could backfire in the long run. Speaking about her previous "modest" fashion choices, Daniela said it "went a very long way to making her seem uniquely relatable in a way no royal WAG has before".

She added how Kate's new "out-for-reach for everyone by the super-rich" clothes risk "eroding those gains and making herself into more of a remote figure."

Daniela warned: "The danger there is obvious – central to the brand the Cambridges’ have assiduously been trying to build is that they are the congenial, normal royals, the hardworking duo happily transforming The Firm from fusty, frosty and all-too grand into a powerhouse of do-goodery.

"At a time when the UK is in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, seeing the woman who has been sold as the refreshingly normal duchess-next-door gadding about the better part of a $100,000 worth of designer duds is a potentially dangerous and certainly ill-conceived move."

However, her expensive taste doesn't seem to have done too much damage just yet, as earlier this month, the Duchess of Cambridge was crowned the best-dressed star of 2022 by Tatler magazine in their 25 Best Dressed list. 

You're still a style icon to us, Kate!

Robyn Morris
Entertainment writer - contributor

Robyn is a freelance celebrity journalist with ten years experience in the industry. While studying for a degree in Media and Cultural Studies at London College of Communication, she did internships at Now and Heat magazines. After graduating, she landed a job at Star magazine, where she worked her way up to features editor. She then worked at Future as Deputy Celebrity Content Director across Woman, Woman’s Own, Woman’s Weekly and Woman & Home magazines.