I’m always surprised when one of our smaller complaints about the Duchess of Cambridge gets “picked up” by a larger media outlet. For years, we’ve been wondering why Kate often keeps her coats on when she’s indoors, doing an official event. It often comes across as rude, like she’s literally breezing through an event and she doesn’t even plan on being there long enough to hang up her coat. That query/complaint was revived again last week when Kate repeatedly wore her coats indoors in Stockholm and Oslo. Some people made the argument that she was cold, which I can understand. I keep my jackets on indoors when I’m cold too, and if that’s the case, so be it and I won’t judge her for that. But other people came up with another explanation, and it makes zero sense.
The Duchess of Cambridge is famed for her sell-out wardrobe but it turns out, there’s a reason behind her recent slew of covetable coats. Over the past few months, the royal has demonstrated her sartorial prowess on a global scale and even treated her enviable closet to a tour of Scandinavia. And within a matter of minutes, the like of her Princess Diana-inspired Catherine Walker coat and Burberry shearling jacket graced the headlines.
But it’s interesting to note, that whilst dining with the Norwegian royals, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, the 36-year-old kept her Dolce and Gabbana number buttoned up. And according to sources, it’s due to an old-fashioned rule of royal etiquette.
As a consequence to her status, it is regarded “unladylike” for the Duchess of Cambridge to remove her jacket in public. And should the 36-year-old need to remove a layer, she must step away from the cameras’ shutters.
No. This is bullsh-t. You know how I know it’s bullsh-t? Because sometimes she does take off her coat once she’s indoors and there’s never any outcry about how she’s breaking whatever royal-wardrobe rule. During the same tour last week, Kate removed her fur hat, gloves and Catherine Walker coat to reveal a ruffled Seraphine dress once she was indoors. So why couldn’t she take off her Dolce & Gabbana coat for other indoor events? Again, if you’re arguing that she was just cold, I understand that. But considering this happens all the time in an assortment of local and international events in varying temperatures, can’t we just say that maybe she keeps her coats on indoors because she never wants to be in one place very long, and that it’s just a rude habit that she should break?
As for Kate and fashion… Kate and the Countess of Wessex are supporting a sustainable fashion initiative for Commonwealth nations. You can read more about it here – this seems more like a Sophie thing, right?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
So, go to a bathroom or a private office and remove your coat? Wth.
For the record, I just want to see more of her outfits and the coats get in the way!
I know, that dress that was under that coat looked pretty cute and was by a Norwegian designer yes? So why where it when you’re not even going to show it?
Maybe she sweats a lot?
Emperor’s New Clothes syndrome: If a royal is doing it, it must be right somehow.
????? Ridiculous.
She doesn’t take her coats off because it would take ALL DAY to unbutton all of those god forsaken buttons. Case closed.
Lol that’s probably true 🙂
You’ve put your finger on the button, I think.
Haha Perhaps.
She better hire a maid to unbutton her. I wanna see that. Sounds ridiculous even for the royals.
Meh, The Queen has been wearing her coats indoors for decades yet no one says she is being rude.
Do you know this for sure. I was sitting here trying to remember. I know there are some reasonable complaints about Kate’s wardrobe but I often read her wardrobe choices as emulating the Queen. So much of what she chooses reminds me of the Queen’s choices.
This has made me wonder if she is just cultivating a public persona through her wardrobe as when she is pictured off duty her wardrobe seems a little more bohemian than buttoned up.
I am not necessarily arguing that these are good or bad choices on her part. I’m just observing.
Also, Queen E’s coats are often more like dresses. Kate’s run the gamut from being more of a coat dress to an actual coat. When she wears coat dresses I am less bothered when she leaves them on, but not every coat she wears is a “coat dress.”
This article says the queen never takes her coat off in public and her dress hems fall below her knee and are weighted.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/people/shes-only-worn-trousers-publicly-once-and-other-fashion-facts-to/
But I not sure the daily telegraph is that reliable on the matter?
Exactly the Queen NEVER takes her coat off in public. Poor Kate is just practising for the day she will be Queen, at the moment she is just doing things half and half. Sometimes relaxing and removing her coat and sometimes not. It really does not bother me.
No, here’s HM without a coat
http://queensjewelvault.blogspot.com/2017/07/audience-at-buckingham-palace.html?m=1
Charlotte Louise…that picture is LITERALLY the Queen in HER HOME. No one is saying that she ALWAYS wears a coat, but that she does not remove one in public. SMDH
The Queen’s engagements at the various palaces are usually carried out sans coat.
From investitures to receptions to meetings with PM and ambassadors.
There are millions of pictures of her at the different palaces carrying out these engagements without a coat, in a dress or suit sans hat.
The only time she wears a coat and hat whilst at the Palaces is for the summer garden parties which are held outside.
The coat and hat are worn to public engagements outside the Palaces.
I have heard this defense before, along with the “maybe she’s just cold” defense and “maybe there’s no place to put her coat – it would be a logistical NIGHTMARE!!!” It’s all BS in my opinion. If she wanted to remove her coat, there would be a way for her to remove her coat. She doesn’t want to, for whatever reason. I would be willing to buy the “shes cold” argument except that she so rarely takes her coat off, pregnant or not, that I feel like saying – if you’re that cold all the time wear something warmer underneath. And in every single setting no matter how many people are around you, you are always cold? Yeah not buying it.
I don’t think she keeps it on so she is ready to leave at a moment’s notice, I think its more of a security/comfort thing, but it certainly gives the impression that she is just passing through and is about to head out the door. Because of that, her people need to get her to start taking it off regularly.
Unless you are one of those perpetual shiverers you can not imagine how hard it is for some of us to get or stay warm, especially those with metabolic issues. Of course I don’t know Kate’s deal but I’ve always suspected it was a bit of a security blanket. Some people prone to anxiety really respond well to tight clothing, heavy blankets, swaddling etc so maybe?
She has no problem wearing just tshirts at some events, or wearing chiffon day dresses in January without a coat. The idea that she must be suffering from a condition that requires her to wear a coat is just another excuse for her rude behavior.
notasugarhere
I know you look for any and every reason to take innocuous posts as Kate defenses but I never said Kate had a condition that made her wear her coats indoors. I was challenging what I presumed to be an argument that no one could possibly be that cold all of the time. I don’t know why Kate prefers to leave her coats on. Neither do you.
I too have metabolic issues and I’m always cold. I make sure to either layer up (bra then warm wick-free undershirt), stockings or tights and I buy professional outfits in wool along with heavy wool coats. By the time I am indoors, I’m so warm that I need to take off my heavy coat to be comfortable.
I think the coats are just her style.
“Unless you are one of those perpetual shiverers you can not imagine how hard it is for some of us to get or stay warm, especially those with metabolic issues. ”
This reads to me as someone trying to take their own condition and use it as an excuse for KM. This happens frequently, this is just the latest topic/round.
My daughter has fibromyalgia and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and is constantly cold – even in summer. Wearing warmer underwear does not do it for her. I watch her wear hoodies in the summer because she is cold. As Hydrangea says, don’t judge until you are in the other person’s shoes.
This. I have fibromyalgia and I’m currently sitting inside my office wishing I was wearing my coat. My hands are like ice. I have a horrible time regulating temperatures. I swear I’m either constantly bundled up or cranky because I’m overheated. I laid in bed last night watching a show with my husband and I just kept pulling the blankets more and more around my head – in a little blanket cocoon. I basically just bring multiple layers around with me whenever I can because I’m never really sure if I’ll be warm or cool enough. And it takes me longer to adjust. When I had my first job at a Subway I’d go to wash up the veggie containers and recoil in pain from the temperature of the water someone had gotten going for me. It was SO hot to me – for them it wasn’t a big deal. I also can’t handle hot tubs – waaaaay too hot for me; it causes actual pain.
And I know there are plenty of other conditions that can cause this kind of thing – so who knows. For all the things to complain about Kate, I don’t think the coat thing is that big of a deal.
She never appears to have any problem wandering around in her many many striped t-shirts at casual events. She wears chiffon day dresses in January without a coat. Any excuse that she is suffering some condition that requires *her* to wear a coat is just that – an excuse.
ditto @notasugarhere.
Trust me I completely understand that some people have conditions that do make them colder than others and that something like keeping a coat on indoors is more of a necessity than a choice.
But, do we really think that’s Kate? Really? Her coats rarely look very warm (those wool dress coats are not super warm IMO) and she never looks uncomfortable outside in them. She’s been photographed often in cooler temps wearing a heavy sweatshirt or sweater with no gloves or hat. She rarely wears trousers to events which to me are a lot warmer than dresses. etc.
Again – YES some people are colder than others. There are several conditions that can cause that. But I don’t feel its a huge assumption to say that Kate does not suffer from one of those.
And to everyone who keeps saying – “who cares” about the coat – its because its starting to be really obvious. At first I doubt most even noticed it. Now that she has been a working royal for 7 years its obvious how often she leaves her coat and yes, it is rude.
Erinn
I completely sympathize! One thing that helps is to wear a cute, warm hat. We lose more than a third of our body heat through our head and hats make an incredible difference. Another thing I do is wear cashmere scarves. They are light, stylish and incredibly warm but can be removed and tucked into a tote if I become too warm. They are a godsend in summers when buildings and restaurants are frigid with air conditioning.
swak:
Thanks for the information. I didn´t know about this healh issue/ condition.
I hope your daughter is happy an ok 🙂
If she is cold, then she could simply undo the buttons and keep the coat on. But why bother with the new expensive dress if you don’t plan to take off your coat at all?
I mean I don’t care either way but this did not have to be a comment. Seriously it did not. I could care less if she had her coat on or off (except for the fact that I like seeing whatever dress is on underneath).
This was a dumb move to even comment on
Yes, why draw attention to it?
@Nicole
I do think it’s rude of Kate to always leave her coat on, but a lot of people on this thread don’t seem to think it’s an issue at all, which makes it even more peculiar why Kate’s people would actually comment on this. And their explanation makes the commenting even more pitiful!
I mean … I want to see what’s underneath but other than that, is this an issue? Do people really care?
I can’t see why they would, but whatever…
It was more of an observation by someone a long time ago, and then it became a curiosity, but the comment now makes it even more of a head-scratcher. I seriously now want to know why she does it.
Is it from feeling nervous or exposed? Or is it because she wants to leave.
It isn’t that important, but it is weird to me.
Stop it, now I’m intrigued! She never does it when children are around indoors, does she? Maybe some of these engagements are so short that it would be crazy to even take off her coat? WHAT IS HAPPENING?
She often wears her coat indoors around children. Not always, but I think usually. There’s no real pattern to it, either.
I remember that the queen once said that she didn’t like to stay long at certain engagements because she didn’t like to disrupt their schedule any more than necessary. I think I’d buy that from Kate if she did several hundred engagements a year, too.
It was plain rude not to remove her coat at the farewell event with MM & Haakon. She looked like she was ready to board that plane and get back home. It’s the same impression when she does it at nearly every event she attends.
Didn’t MM keep on her coat the whole time the day before?
–Oh, I thought MM meant Meghan. Sorry, my mistake.
It actually wasn’t the farewell event. That was the ski jump.
Isn’t it basically her security blanket?
Well, she doesn’t always have a coat on when she wears dresses. But a coat on means less of a chance for the skirt to fly or have some mishap even indoors. And show off her lower parts. So maybe it’s her security blanket in some ways. Without any intention of being mean, it’s small kids that have security blankets. Not grown-up adults.
But will all that hype about her as a promoter of British fashion or fashion in general, what’s the point of covering her dresses with coats? Dresses should be there to be seen. Who wears coat dresses all time?I thought she was “just like us” and the middle class drivel.
Obviously security blanket is a catch all phrase and many people besides children benefit from similar mechanisms. Not talking Kate but whatever someone does to manage their self-care shouldn’t be mocked.
What you said, Hydrangea. Security blankets aren’t just for kids.
This just seems like a non-issue to me.
Yeah, except Kate sometimes takes her coats off, I guess it depends on her mood on a given day or at a given time. OK magazine commented on how neither does Meghan (they referred to her as prince Harry’s bride-to-be) take off her coat either, I just LOLed.
I don’t think the protocol is that she CAN’T be seen without it, but rather that she can’t be seen actually removing it.
So my guess is that she leaves it on when there’s not private space and/or time to step away to remove it?
There is no such protocol. Never has been.
Harpers Bazaar UK just made up a BS reason for her not removing her coat and people actually believe it!!!!
That makes sense actually (although antiquated).
My friend has organised a few royal events and She’s told me about a few etiquette quirks she’s come across – I might ask her about this!
Or maybe sometimes she feels cold and other times she feels comfortable.
Except there’s photographic evidence that Meghan DOES take off her coat at events (at least the three we have seen pictures of). OK Magazine is such a joke.
Have you actually seen photos of her in he act of removing her coat, though? I haven’t. It might just mean at some places they have a space available where she can take her coat off, or maybe she goes to the restroom briefly or something.
You don’t have to see Meghan literally take her coat off to know she takes her coats off!! In pictures where she’s outside she has a coat on (Nottingham, Bristol, Cardiff) then in pictures where she’s inside, there no coat.
Maybe I am wrong, but I feel like the queen and Camilla pretty much always keep their coats on while doing events, no ?
You are right. Kate isn’t the only Royal in the family. This isn’t new news about the coats. The Queen Mum was the same way. They all follow this protocol. It wasn’t a story made up for Kate. Please. Royal women have been following this for years. Maybe it’s because I’m British and royalty didn’t begin for me with Kate and Meghan. It’s been around my entire life.
This is not protocol. It’s a generational thing.
People of the Queen mother’s vintage wore hats, gloves, coats, tiaras and ball gowns to the theatre.
As she has aged, the Queen has reverted more to her mother’s style, but her sister Margaret, cousins and women married to her male cousins never did. They dress smartly, but they aren’t always wearing coats, hats, gloves etc.
In the past decade, she’s streamlined her personal style to the simple dress and coat, that handbag and the same style black shoes. That doesn’t mean it’s protocol.
Her female relations continue to dress in their own style which is unlike her own.
There is a case to be made for Kate copying the simplicity of this streamlined idea from the Queen’s self-presentation, but it’s not protocol.
HM and Camilla often wear outfits where they have a long jacket (styled to look like a coat) that is made to go with the dress underneath. They are not walking through buildings indoors wearing their winter coats like KM.
She leaves the coats on cause that’s the look she wants. It’s why she wears so many coat dresses. She showing off her expensive clothing, nothing more. I don’t know why anyone would consider this rude; to me, she’s just not wanting to spoil the outfit, and as someone pointed out, QEII does it too (which explains why Kate thinks it’s the look).
I think she only takes the coat off if really hot.
HM often wears her coat indoors. It looks nice. I don’t see anything wrong with it. But Kate’s engagements are usually more casual, that’s causing the confusion. HM can do no wrong, she’s, for the most part, led an exemplary life. Yes, there’s a double standard but I see HM warming up to Kate, as evidenced by Kate recently wearing the bracelet from HM’s wedding. Don’t worry, HM is slowly getting pleased with Kate’s increased effort.
I don’t think the queen is as removed from the Cambridges as people want to think. On an outing last month to give awards to school children the queen was chatting with a mom and her little girl. The queen asked the child if she enjoyed having a sibling. The mom replied that the girl, who was younger, bosses her brother around and “wears the pants” in the family. Surprisingly the queen replied that Charlotte and George are the exact same way. I thought it was very touching but I’ll admit I was shocked to see that much knowledge of her great grandchildren’s interpersonal dynamics. We just do not know how these people really get on in private.
I’m not sure about that- we’ll see if Kate gets a sash this year? Laughter and a bit of sadness will ensure if we hit 10 year anniversary of Cambridges and no sash.
In HM’s case it isn’t an outdoor winter coat, but is often a long jacket/blazer the same length as the dress underneath. HM isn’t wearing her winter outdoor gear inside, she’s wearing a dress/blazer combo. Camilla does the same thing, although in her case it is often her long tunic/jacket/blazer over trousers esp in the Middle East.
Oh I see. Taking off your coat in public is unladylike but flashing your bum to the world is not. Took a public outcry for Kate to wear longer weighted skirts. I don’t think Kate cares about being ladylike but probably just loves the look of coatdresses.
WAy too many buttons – they would need to schedule it into her visit – both the taking off and the putting on. Maybe that’s partly why Meghan is going more for that robe look?
It’s a matter of timing. If you’re there for ten minutes, then you aren’t going to take off your coat. Most of her appearances are grin and dash.
People ascribe every little thing that she does or doesn’t do to protocol, and 90% of it is BS.
She has no problem wearing short dresses during her pregnancy that don’t meet requirement of knee length.
She looks ridiculous keeping on her coat during meetings.
When Kate does something, she’s either being “modern,” or “following protocol,” or “can’t catch a break.” As long as she isn’t characterized as wrong or rude, that’s the key thing.
I think she’s just very, very awkward and has no clue about how to go about smoothly taking off your coat and finding a suitable place to put it.
Oh come on. She’s 36 and you’re saying she can’t take off her coat gracefully? Gimme a break. As for a suitable place to put it, she’s royalty. There are half a hundred people around her everywhere she goes. Someone would be more than happy to offer to take her coat for her. She could undo her buttons, slide right out of that coat, and drop on the floor, and someone would still rush to pick it up for her.
Exactly. That’s why she has a LIW / PA with her. To hold her coat should she remove it.
@kat,I think you summed it up quite well.Kate just seems awkward most of the time.I don’t get the impression she thinks about wearing her coat or not or if/when it’s considered rude vs.when it’s appropriate.Not putting her down,just seems like one of those weird things where she is held in such high regard and we thought (At least I did) that she was going to be so amazing,and she’s just kind of bleak.
According to Royal protocol if they are in public with cameras on Royal women cannot remove their coats, so Kate in public (with cameras present) cannot remove her coat. She cannot physically be seen removing her coat in front of other people.
If she has a private moment, out of the public with nobody else around , then she is able to remove her coat. Which is why you see some female Royals with their coats on/off.
Plenty of other royal ladies take coats off once they enter a building. That often ends up being the LIW’s role – to take the coat.
Saw photos the other day of QUEEN Letizia removing her coat and handing it off to her LIW. Kate could do the same and doesn’t.
There is no such protocol. Never has been.
I can’t imagine being so cold while late in pregnancy. If anything, you tend to run hot.
Wait, you mean mean to tell me she was dining, as in eating, and left her coat on?! HAHAHAHHA. What in the actual heck! That’s so odd.
That blue coat is stunning and looks really great with her coloring.
These rules are stupid, if they exist, and they SHOULD be broken.
What’s with K and the Russian looking winter hats these days? You’d think she would realize that Romanov cosplay is….. not such a good idea…..
Right?
Kate, Pippa and their mom seem to love those hats. They remind me of Alexis Carrington from Dynasty. Very dahhh-ling lol.
I really thought it was a Russian thing because of my relatives. All older mind you and they don’t do it anymore.
I swear her mother dresses her because this seems like something Carole would love to wear. Like for her, the 80s were her formative fashion years.
Somewhere Joan Collins saw this photo and for a moment thought Kate had raided her Dynasty wardrobe.
magnoliarose
I was literally waiting for my little Russian cousin to weigh in on this lol. You never disappoint! I think they can look great with a long wool coat with faux fur cuffs but I’m too afraid to attempt the look because I’m wary of the czarina cosplay side-eye lol.
That disgusting white/pink ballgown, or whatever it was, Kate wore at the tail end of the Scandi holi-tour reminded me of some B movie from the 1960’s with a never to become starlet parading into a Russian banquet.
If the point of getting a new dress is advertising for the designer, then she should remove the coat or at the very least unbutton it. As it is we can’t see her in the dress, we can only see it on the model.
I have over 250 books on royals, mostly current royals, especially Diana, and never have I ever read this as royal protocol. It certainly would have been flushed out by now. There was a section in one that listed all the ways Diana had learned to deal with issues in public, an itchy nose: bend finger and use crook of finger to rub, but never end of finger, when about to sit down, use back of hand, never palm of hand, to smooth the skirt so as not to look like grabbing one’s bottom etc. Nope, this coat thing, never in there.
Sharon Lee
I need that book in my life! Can you recommend your top five rf books as far as accuracy and wealth of detail? Thanks!
Exactly Sharon Lea.
There are many books on royal etiquette and protocol past and present and there is no coat thing.
There is a gif on a royal forum showing the Queen removing her coat at the theatre which is rather cute.
Not to mention that the world learnt about her relationship with Philip because he helped her remove her coat in public.
http://ilovethebritishroyals.tumblr.com/post/33995147272/xlilibetandphilip-the-infamous-coat-removal
I thought she looked the most ridiculous when they were in the US and she wore her coat throughout a pro-basketball game. Sitting court-side, front and center, and she has her coat all buttoned up like it’s freezing when in reality it was probably pretty warm. And she was pregnant (6 or 7 mo.?) and looked so uncomfortable.
She did get to meet Beyoncé, though. So, there’s that.
Ok. I can see how someone removing their coat like that in public, in full view of cameras, could make for an incredibly awkward shot. But you’re telling me that there is honestly NO moment in time that Kate could, at some point during her visit, take her coat off out of sight of the cameras? Really? Not buying it. That sounds like BS to me. It’s much more likely that she just doesn’t want to.
Wow are you serious? Unladylike to take your coat off? Stop with this sh*t. No woman should abide by such dumb rules. She’s not naked underneath !
Some of you appear to be missing the distinction between removing her coat and removing her coat in front of cameras. It does make sense that for many of her visits, it is just simpler to leave her coat on, particularly if there is not any easy place out of he camera’s eye to remove it. Then again, she could just pull a Melania Trump and spend an entire school visit with her coat artfully draped over her shoulders.
Or she could gand her coat to her LIW. It’s why she has one, and it’s part of their job description.
Wow. I’m cold-natured and routinely keep my coat on indoors. If I had coats as cute as hers (buttons, yes, but they all look like cute, warm dresses to me) I certainly would. I’ve never heard that’s rude, I wouldn’t consider it rude of someone else. It seems kind of reaching to me. Plus, much like the hair donation story, she’s not the one who released this, so I’d take it with a grain of salt. She’s probably just cold.
Going commando in a flimsy doll dress on a windy tarmac is fine but removing a coat is unladylike? K.
LOL … “The Duchess of Cambridge is famed for her sell-out wardrobe.”
There must be a lot of people walking around in GB with ugly clothes on their backs.
Sometimes removing a coat or a jacket can get awkward if an arm or hand get stuck in the sleeve. It happens. The same people complaining here would be the same people making fun.
Well, she doesn’t always not take her coat off, I have seen her with kids with her coat off, and who knows why she really doesn’t at other times. We don’t really know the answer. I think all royals are strange, frankly; and if they aren’t strange when they marry in as commoners, they get strange really fast after they do.
I just think she is just always ready to bolt ,before she gets there!
Maybe it’s something the same as hats should never be seen after 6.00pm. That is etiquette. If you watch, the Queen never wears a hat to the Chelsea Flower Show because she goes there in the early evening.
The Queen, in her earlier days, was often seen renewing her lipstick in full view of public at the end of foreign state dinners/banquets.
As for KM and the coat. I couldn’t care less and would not even have noticed.
If Kate really is cold there is a simple solution that doesn’t involve her wearing an overcoat indoors. All she has to do is wear a warm wool pantsuit with a warm fine woollen jumper over whatever undergarments she considers appropriate. People don’t expect men to take off their suit jackets indoors, and they wouldn’t expect a woman wearing a suit to take off her suit jacket indoors either. And if she doesn’t want to wear trousers all the time, wear a business suit with skirt and warm pantyhose and boots. That would keep her just as warm. And it would have the added benefit of giving her a more professional look. Simple solution, Kate! Go with it and stop wearing your overcoats indoors all the time because it does seem rude to me.
Legitimately thought this was just because she thought she looked skinnier with the coat on.
I have noticed this for years and wondered about it.
Your theory is my theory as well.
I’ve been thinking for awhile now that Kate just does whatever the Queen does. She dresses like the Queen, holds her hands like the Queen, leaves her costs on. That’s why Kate looks so dowdy compared to someone like Megan Markle. Kate either does not have much personal style or she lets others dictate and her own style doesn’t come through.
If this were so, there wouldn’t be a couple dozen flashing incidents on record and she’d be following the rest of the dress protocol.