Princess Kate repeated an Alessandra Rich dress for the VE Day service at the Abbey

The Windsors gathered at Westminster Abbey earlier today for the service in commemoration of VE Day. The whole (left-behind) family came out: King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Edinburghs (Edward and Sophie), Princess Anne and Sir Timothy Laurence, and the Gloucesters and Kents. The Gloucesters are probably going to have a higher event count than William and Kate this year – Charles keeps inviting them to events and they keep standing in for other, more senior royals.

Fashion notes: Kate decided to repeat a somewhat infamous look from her closet. Several years back, Kate went through a big Alessandra Rich phase, buying several looks from Rich’s collection (without Rich’s knowledge). Kate wore this polka-dotted look to Ascot in 2022 in an attempt to copykeen/homage an old Princess Diana look. I actually thought Kate looked nice in this dress at Ascot, but I’m surprised to see it recycled for VE Day and a service at the Abbey. I also think she didn’t accessorize correctly? Brown shoes and a brown bag? It’s so jarring, but she’s always been a terrible accessorizer. The shoes and purse should have been black, it would have been a much more polished look. As always, it’s interesting that Kate has barely worn any new clothes in the past year. Update: I was wrong, this Alessandra Rich is a repeat from 2023 – she wore this on Garter Day that year.

Do you think Camilla and Kate coordinated on purpose? We’ve heard before that Camilla tries to block Kate from wearing certain colors at certain events. It feels like too much of a coincidence that Kate and Camilla both wore white with black accents. Camilla did allow Kate to wear some Royal Collection jewels though – those earrings.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.