Kate Middleton's Top Gun dress made fit for royal protocol with this special tweak

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attends "Top Gun: Mavertick" Royal Film Performance at Leicester Square
(Image credit: Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty)

Kate Middleton’s Top Gun dress reportedly underwent a big change from its original design which made it more in-keeping with the styles favoured by royals. 

As senior members of The Firm, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have attended a fair few star-studded events in their time and their latest red carpet appearance has wowed fans once again. Stepping out in London for the Top Gun: Maverick premiere on May 19th, the future King and Queen Consort opted to keep to a black-and-white theme with their outfits.

Whilst Prince William wore a velvet jacket with a matching bow tie and smart black trousers he added a touch of fun to his look with some aeroplane-decorated loafers.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are accompanied by star actor Tom Cruise as they arrive for the "Top Gun: Maverick" premiere

Whilst Kate Middleton’s Top Gun dress was a Bardot-style black gown with a contrasting white band across her shoulders. She paired the gorgeous dress with a black clutch bag and diamond and white gold earrings which are believed to be by Robinson Pelham.

Fans dubbed Kate a “leading lady” for her look and the dress designed by Roland Mouret was certainly an eye-catching and elegant outfit choice. Though this particular dress supposedly didn’t always appear as it did on the Duchess at the premiere!

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As has now been pointed out by fans online since the Duchess wowed us all, the original design appeared to have a very different back. One posted different shots of the iconic dress and it seems as though it once had mesh panels and a visible zip fastening.

The same picture appears on the Front Row website where this luxury style, named the Lamble Off-The-Shoulder Gown, is available for people to rent.

In contrast, pictures taken of the royal couple at the premiere show a completely opaque back to Kate Middleton’s Top Gun dress and a concealed fastening.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend the Royal Performance of "Top Gun: Maverick"

This suggests that the design was tweaked for the Duchess before she walked the red carpet for the premiere. It’s not known exactly why this might have been done, though royals are known for their more modest outfits and it could be that the mesh was simply not in-keeping with this.

It’s been said over the years that Her Majesty prefers skirts or dresses worn by royals to be either on the knee or just below it when out in public. Meanwhile, it’s understood to be protocol that they should always wear tights rather than having bare legs.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (C) arrive with Cameron Saunders (L) and Alex Pumfrey (R) of the Film and TV Charity for the "Top Gun: Maverick" Royal Film Performance

This modest approach especially for engagements or events could perhaps be the reason why the mesh panelling was changed for premiere appearance, to make it less revealing.

Either way, Duchess Kate looked magnificent in her dress and it showcased how comfortable she seems to be giving an outfit an extra regal twist.

Emma Shacklock
Senior Lifestyle Writer

Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with six years of experience working in digital publishing, ranging from book publishing to magazines. She currently looks after all things Lifestyle for Woman&Home, Goodto.com, and My Imperfect Life.