Duchess Kate wore a red Catherine Walker coat to the Christmas carol event

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Attend Together At Christmas Community Carol Service

Here we go, here are the photos from yesterday afternoon’s Keen Christmas Jazz Hands special, aka Royal Carols: Together At Christmas. Did y’all know that certain carols are royal? It’s true, a wiglet told me. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at Westminster Abbey together and they even looked at each other a few times, which I’m sure will be dutifully noted in a dozen articles declaring William’s “look of love” towards his keen wife. After going through the photos, what annoyed me the most is that their “reds” don’t match. The red of her dress doesn’t match the red of her shoes and neither red matches William’s tie. Kate has that problem consistently – when she tries to match a color, it’s always a little bit “off.”

As for Kate’s ensemble, the £3,000 Catherine Walker coat is classic Keen. Bright red, massive shoulder pads, big buttons and a giant-ass bow. I saw it immediately, what she was going for: she’s cosplaying a Christmas present. My guess before the event was that she would cosplay a Christmas tree but nope, she went for a Christmas present. She also wore sapphire-and-diamond fringe earrings, which are part of the Royal Collection. They belonged to the Queen Mum. Angela Kelly has her favorites.

There was speculation that Kate and William would bring the kids, but I didn’t see any photos of them and they weren’t there for the big keen arrival. But there were other royals there, and the Middletons were there, and Carole would definitely insist that she’s practically royal. Perhaps she would even say she’s better than royal. Carole Middleton, Michael Middleton, Pippa and James Middleton were all there. James had his wife Alizee there but I didn’t see Pippa’s husband. Is there trouble in Terribly Moderately Wealthy-ville? In addition to the Middletons, Zara and Mike Tindall were there, because several years ago they decided to go full-on pro-Cambridge and anti-Sussex. Princess Beatrice was there with Edo, and the Countess of Wessex was there sans Edward. People Mag says Eugenie was there too.

The Queen donated some Christmas trees to decorate the Abbey, and wreaths were donated by the Royal Horticultural Society. After the filming, the wreaths will be donated to local schools. William gave a reading from Luke 2:1-7 (about the birth of Jesus). I don’t know if Kate actually stood there and delivered remarks, but she “wrote” something for the program about the pain and suffering during the pandemic- you can read it here.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Attend Together At Christmas Community Carol Service

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Attend Together At Christmas Community Carol Service

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Attend Together At Christmas Community Carol Service

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Attend Together At Christmas Community Carol Service

Photos courtesy of Instar.

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258 Responses to “Duchess Kate wore a red Catherine Walker coat to the Christmas carol event”

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  1. Laalaa says:

    I love the outfit and I believe the non-matching reds are deliberate, so it looks just enough not matchy-matchy.
    I am ready to be hunted down for my positive comment.

    • equality says:

      I don’t care whether the reds match or not. She looks okay. What bugs me is that Meghan would have been slammed for the not matching. If the UK RF ever wants more respect back they need to realize the great gulf between royal coverage of people and actually address the issue.

      • Mac says:

        She wore the same dress in black to Prince Philip’s funeral.

      • Gabby says:

        Meghan would have been raked over the coals for wearing a $3000 coat to an event at which people experiencing homelessness and other everyday workers were attending.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        Mac
        So, potentially, Kate bought a bright red dress when she bought a black dress for wearing to her family at their funeral.

      • Nic919 says:

        Not potentially but in actuality. Kate has done this for over a decade. She obsessively buys multiple outfits that are identical in style but different in colour. She did the same with the dresses that resembled what she wore at the Sussex wedding. It’s a sign of absolute profligate behaviour and no care for being responsible with someone else’s money.

      • Becks1 says:

        @Nic LOL that’s still my favorite argument about the dress she wore to the Sussex wedding. “it’s not white, its cream!! It’s different than the dress from Charlotte’s christening!”

        sooo…..she bought the exact same dress in a *slightly* different shade and is wearing it to another prominent royal event and that’s……somehow better?

        Also don’t forget the dress she wore to Eugenie’s wedding, she has that dress in at least two other colors if I’m not mistaken.

    • Becks1 says:

      Not hunting you down lol, but the non-matching reds are not deliberate. She has done this too many ties for it to be deliberate- an almost match, but not quite. A plaid clutch in red and black would have looked much better than one that almost matches but not quite.

      • manda says:

        oooh, or shoes in that plaid! That would have been so nice!

        I said this further below, but I’ll say it again, it’s pretty much impossible to perfectly match colors when the materials aren’t the same. Even the same color dye will look different on different material. I feel like fashion people would know what to put with that dress to make it look stylish, and I’m not sure why she refuses to talk to them

      • LadyMTL says:

        I don’t think it’s deliberate either, and tbh I probably wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been pointed out. As manda wrote it’s very hard to perfectly match colors…I’m not sure why anyone would want to bother, lol. Plaid accessories would have been awesome, or heck even something metallic.

      • Becks1 says:

        @LadyMTL yeah I only notice anymore because its all the time, lol. Kate can’t get accessories right most of the time which is weird to me. Like I don’t think black shoes would have worked here, but a pretty plaid would have, or a fun festive clutch. heck I would have loved to have seen her in some really great tacky christmas earrings, lol.

      • Pinkosaurus says:

        Agree, although I really wish she had gone with plaid shoes. I don’t mind that her choices are a little old and fusty but I wish they were a bit more creative.

      • Zoochy says:

        The dress is a blue based red and the shoes are an orange based red. It’s like wearing MAC’s Ruby Woo on top and Lady Danger on the bottom. Either way it’s obvious CarolE is her stylist and she should have mixed in a more festive tartan at least.

    • Surly Gale says:

      None of us that I saw, including me, complained that Megs burgundy shoes didn’t match her red dress. I thought it, but didn’t say it anywhere. If I don’t see it here, I don’t go hunting for it, so maybe but I don’t remember.
      It does seem unfair (tho’ well deserved, of course) to drag her when we gave M a pass w/o comment.
      @Becks1…I LOVE your idea of a plaid clutch. You’re right, it would have made everything pop

      • Commonwealthy sounded witty at first says:

        Thought the same about M’s shoes and gown. It wasn’t the end of the world then, shouldn’t be now.

      • Merricat says:

        Maybe because dressing herself is the ONLY job Kate is focused on, so when she doesn’t get it right (which, granted, is often), we point it out.

      • aftershocks says:

        @Surly Gale said:
        “It does seem unfair (tho’ well deserved, of course) to drag her when we gave M a pass w/o comment.”

        Huh? This isn’t about pitting Meghan vs Kate sartorially though. You can’t compete where you don’t compare. And Kate can’t compete with Meghan, so there is no comparison we ever need to make. Especially not in terms of how we commented on what Meghan wore to the Intrepid Awards. Kate is not and never will be on the same level as Meghan in terms of human decency, self-confidence, real stature, and having a strong fashion sense!

        Kate does not have a sense of style, nor any enviable or distinctive fashion signature. She’s generally all over the place, with her claim to fame being buttons and bows, Catherine Walker coat dresses (Diana cosplay), wiglets, and clueless frumpy looks every so often. Kate does not have an authentic sense of who she is as a person, much less how to fashionably and consistently dress for her body. She copies everyone, not just Meghan and Diana. When I saw Kate in this outfit, I thought, here’s Kate saying, “I can do all-over red too! I can do monochrome.” LOL

        The entire event was rushed together in order to embiggen the Cambridges this holiday season. W&K felt the need to have a splashy event where they could attempt to out-glam the Sussexes’ appearance on the red carpet at the Intrepid Awards in November. And honestly, everybody in the royal family has learned something from Meghan’s style sense, her ideas, her accomplishments, and her unique approaches to promoting her purpose-driven work.

        Everybody following the royal drama chomps at the bit to see what Meghan will wear when we see her next (which is not going to be that often). Everyone waits to see what the Sussexes will do next, and even those who hate & envy M&H, or are neutral about them, can’t wait to get a really good look at precious Archie and Lili. The Internet will break if family photos of the Sussex kids are ever posted.

      • aftershocks says:

        ^^ Regarding the shoe color, I think Kate was trying to match but she got the tonal shades wrong. As someone said, it’s impossible to have a direct match. So, you either go with a close match in a similar tone, or a complementary shade in the red family which doesn’t clash (Meghan did the latter). Depending on the style of the outfit and the occasion, another option is a completely different color for the shoes, based on choice of other accessories.

        On Kate, I think the clutch (as others have said) could have been red plaid, or something gold that was complementary to other accessories. William’s tie is definitely off. As @Kaiser said, the off-color of Kate’s shoes, along with W’s tie not closely matching Kate’s red coat, just makes things slightly skewed. But W&K are never good at getting complementary shades right sartorially when they appear together.

        In general, W&K looked well-rested and their smiles seemed less forced than usual. But as we know, it’s all performative whenever the Lamebridges are in front of the cameras. They are not genuine, nor are they authentic. I ‘ve always felt W&K are boring, but it was a revelation to find out during the height of the smear campaign against Meghan, that both Will & Kate are not nice people. They just aren’t. They are both petty and mean-spirited.

        Now, whenever I see W&K together or separately, I can’t not see the ugly. They both took part in sly negativity and bullying attacks against a vulnerable pregnant woman. I for one, will never forget that, no matter who else can’t see it, doesn’t know about it, or prefers to forget and deny.

    • Chergui says:

      Red is a great colour on Kate but I really don’t like this coat dress. It drowns her, the bow looks silly and then length is horrible.

      As for the reds not matching, I do wonder how hard they actually even try or care. They could and probably do pay people to take care of their wardrobe. They’ve known this event was coming for some time now. If they really wanted to, I’m sure they could have done better.

      Generally what people wear shouldn’t really matter but when you think about royals, they make their image everything. It makes me wonder why they don’t care.

      • Becks1 says:

        Kate cares about how she looks. It’s the only thing she cares about in terms of “public duty” since she thinks dressing nicely is her only duty (which some may agree with.)

      • Eating Popcorn says:

        I agree with you Chergui, the line of the coat is very unflattering for her. I also noticed she is touching her hair more as if she has adopted the Duchess of Sussex’s mannerisms.

      • Nic919 says:

        @becks I agree 100%. The only thing kate has ever cared about is dressing nicely. So none of this is slap dash. At least not the outfits. The actual event takes up way less of her time.

        I wish she would stop adding shoulder pads to her outfits. She has never needed them and now it only serves to emphasize just how thin she currently is.

      • swirlmamad says:

        It just hangs on her….as per usual, she ruins whatever she has on.

      • Marivic says:

        She looks like someone in the 1950s in that dress.

      • superashes4 says:

        I agree. I like the concept, I just think this outfit is totally unbalanced. The bright red is a statement color, and when you add the statement color with a statement color dress underneath, statement bow on top, and statement color shoe of a different texture, she just sort of gets lost in the clothes. This would have been better without a red dress or with a shoe and bag that complemented the red.
        She also should have put her hair up.

    • Jan90067 says:

      This coat is the EXACT COAT she wore in black to PP’s funeral. We know she loves to spend the big bucks and get the same outfit in several colors. What I don’t get is why wear a dress under these coat/coat dresses, when she never takes the damned thing off!? The hem of the dress underneath was shown to not be done properly or pressed well. There is always *something* off with FFKween’s Klothes.

      As far as Bitter Brother’s tie, being a paler shade of red, perhaps Kweenie wanted to make sure that she was the one with the focus, the “brighter star” of the evening…all eyes on her when they were near each other. We know how competitive she is.

      One last observation: I read that masks indoors was “requested”, yet only Mike Midd wore one. All the rest did not. Guess they wanted to make sure their faces were camera ready at all times.

      • Becks1 says:

        What’s the point of going if you can’t show your face?!?!?!

      • Eurydice says:

        Maybe the “coat over dress” is a RF thing? The Queen wears coats over dresses and doesn’t take off the coat.

      • equality says:

        The Abbey’s website says masks are required. I find it curious so few were worn.

      • Demi says:

        I found it interesting how the DM kept on pointing the price of her coat dress literally everywhere it’s shown and they mentioned how it’s the same one she wore to Prince Philip’s funeral.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        I think it’s an absolutely disgusting and disrespectful to NOT wear masks at all times!! Since they are all indoors on top of that! The Omincron is much more easy to spread but as far as how deadly it is, they still aren’t certain. It will take another week to find out. It’s already spreading like wildfire in Britain, which is all the more reason that everyone should be masking up!!

    • CindyP says:

      I have never once deliberately worn an outfit & accessories with colors that didn’t match. All that red is just too much. A plaid clutch & patterned heels with some red would have pulled it all together

      • BothSidesNow says:

        I agree! Mumbles McButtons and Bows should have put other colors to compliment the dress, maybe a plaid coat, with straps on her shoes in a metallic color would have been a good choice. All the reds coming together look awful!! She can’t dress herself out of a paper bag, yet alone a big event like this! All that money on an ugly coat and an ill fitting one at that! Given the access she has to the money and connections, you would think she would rely on outside help, but she refuses to. As for The Bitter Brother, all I can say I am glad we didn’t see his royal appendages! No need to carve our eyes out today!

        As for Meghan wearing purple and red, I have done that on many occasions and it looks fabulous together!!!

    • MerlinsMom1018 says:

      @Laalaa
      Save me a seat will you?
      I really like the red. She looks good in this color and I am also not a fan of matchy matchy.

    • notasugarhere says:

      She has a dozen red coatdresses or dress/coat combos. Not only is this expensive and unflattering, it is another waste of minimum 10,000 in taxpayer funds.

      And once again wearing her late MIL’s signature designer. Who is dead. The company doesn’t have a new designer, they simply reuse the old patterns they made (for Diana) to make outfits now. Kate has many, many issues.

      • Rebecca says:

        I suspect she’s just playing it safe by following Diana’s sartorial lead. I don’t think she has any desire to be her or anything. She just wants to get it “right” in the eyes of people who are out to find fault with her.

      • notasugarhere says:

        There’s nothing safe in CopyKating your dead mummy in law, using her signature designer. It is creepy, weird, and disturbing. It is not 1990, she is not Diana. She turns forty in three weeks. Long past time for her to have an adult, professional style of her own.

      • Becks1 says:

        She has deliberately cosplayed Diana at key moments, and not in a way that honors her either. at best, it suggests a complete lack of imagination on Kate’s part, where the only way she can figure out how to dress for her role is to look at her MIL who died almost 25 years ago; at worst, it suggests something unhealthy.

    • BeanieBean says:

      I like your positive attitude, I just don’t agree with you. I think that coat is hideous (and is a duplicate of her Philip funeral coat) & the various reds don’t match. Plus I’ve just never been fond of matchy-matchy outfits; I would have preferred a different shoe and/or handbag, something with texture or different color or embellishments (I do like a strappy shoe). A broach wouldn’t go amiss, either. And at a distance, those earrings look like wind catchers, like something you could buy at a craft fair in the summer.
      And somebody yesterday called it: all red outfit, including handbag & shoes. Congrats!

      • Jan90067 says:

        Yes, I said she’d go all red (or all green) and buttony lol. I thought she might add gold (like earrings), so I was off on that.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ BeanieBean, yes!! A brooch, but I happen to love them!!! I have so many it’s ridiculous!! A lovely brooch would have done wonders!! Again, I think a metallic strapy heals would have looked lovely with a plaid coat.

        Give it up to @ Jan90067 for calling it, all red!!! Too bad you couldn’t have consulted Mumbles on how to wear the reds as well!! She certainly needed it!!

      • Same says:

        Bold wager that someone would wear red … to a Christmas concert .

    • Pentellit says:

      It’s the red version of the black outfit she wore to Prince Phillip’s funeral. Same fit, same big bow!

    • Emma says:

      She looks good here IMO — very bright, but good. I will make one comment, that those sapphires do not go with an all-scarlet outfit. At all.

    • Duchessl says:

      She looks dated and retro which is her style. Im ok with it as long as they dont say she’s a fashion avant garde icon. Cuz we all known she cosplays and also when more fashionable she wears everything without personality and oumpf. Lol

    • canichangemyname says:

      Same. Just here for the fashion, and I really like this coat and the shoes aren’t “off’ enough to bother me, although maybe it’s my screen? Idk, I think she looks lovely – but omg I do wish she’d do something different with her hair.

    • Emily says:

      Agree–they look great, even with multiple reds. What do people expect, bridesmaid-dyed-to-match?

  2. Aurora says:

    Is there a single pic of the choir? Keen photo-ops seem to forget the actual main characters to focus attention on the Keen sideshow.

    • Belli says:

      Why would you take photos of the people actually doing the work and holding the service when Kate was there wearing a dress?!

      • Merricat says:

        Because Kate’s appearance is all she has going for her? Like a piece of fruit that’s rotted on the inside, she is. Kate thinks wearing clothes counts as work because she literally has nothing to show for her life but a wardrobe.

      • Mac says:

        Yes, you can see photos of her with the choir on Twitter.

    • Vauvert says:

      But did we actually see the dress at all? Or are we talking about the coat? I mean coats have to be more structured, so I get the shoulder pads, and you have to close them somehow, so I get the buttons? I hate loosely belted coats where your arms are warm but nothing else (yes, ofc she is coming in a car so that doesn’t apply, but I’m talking coats in general).

      Baldemort looked more alive than he has been in ages, and smiley. He can’t look charming because he isn’t, but based on the photos I’d say they put on a good performance and both looked happier than they have in a long time. Maybe it’s fake, but they looked fine. I’m not comparing them to anyone.

      Can we see fashion pics of everyone else?

      • equality says:

        That is the dress apparently. It was described as a dress on Yahoo.

      • Surly Gale says:

        I have a red cashmere Eileen Fisher ‘swing’ coat that doesn’t close that I love…though only for special occasions and church. It’s not practical though, because it doesn’t close and sometimes that does bug me.
        “more alive that he has been” for some reason that cracked me up!

      • Harper says:

        In re: to Baldimort being more alive, could it be that the end is near and there is palpable relief? We got massive foreshadowing in the late summer about house hunting and school shopping in Bucklebury or Windsor. The upheaval in the Keens living arrangements might be going on behind the scenes and that also might be why the Middletons have been out in force, sort of a last hurrah?

      • Nic919 says:

        Is it a coincidence that there was a recent tabloid story about the Cambridges having a secret third house and William acting less anti social ?

      • Becks1 says:

        @Nic whaaaaaaat?!?! More than we have been hearing about “house hunting in Windsor?”

      • Eurydice says:

        It’s definitely the coat. In one of the lower photos we can see that she’s wearing a much shorter dress underneath.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Secret third house in Berkshire, Nic919?

      • equality says:

        @Eurydice Wow. So she is wearing a coat and dress and still looks that thin. I guess, she needs the shoulder pads so that her bones aren’t visible underneath.

  3. LW says:

    Gosh these two are duller than ditch water.

    Nothing to hold your attention, just dull, dull, dull.

    There are three guarantees in life; taxes, death and Kkkate in a Koatdress.

    • manda says:

      Yes, she could be so stylish but she dresses like a kindergarten teacher at school (no offense
      to stylish kindy teachers!)

      off topic, but learned something new just now! I always thought it was dish water!

      • LW says:

        Well according to Google:

        ‘The original simile, dull as ditchwater, dating from the 1700s, alluded to the muddy water in roadside ditches. In the first half of the 1900s, perhaps through mispronunciation, it became dishwater, that is, the dingy, grayish water in which dirty dishes had soaked.’

        Either way, it doesn’t bode well for her hahaha.

    • Lorelei says:

      @LW, I love this! I’d only ever heard “dishwater” but I’m going to start using them both, lol. You really do learn something new every day! (especially on CB)

  4. Jane says:

    Eugenie was there, and looked great in a green cape and black boots, but she was on her own because Jack’s father recently died from Covid.

  5. Lester Bangs says:

    I like this look! I think the shoes and dress not matching are more a lighting issue because sometimes they do match? This is a nice Christmas look.

    • josephine says:

      I don’t get the need to make her look so matronly all the time. The style is dated and too fussy and old for someone her age. And the fit and the length of the coat makes her look like she’s all torso. My issue is that the look as a whole is just not flattering. She’s young and thin and could do so, so much better. When it comes to her, I think people declare it a win when it’s not actively offensive, but it’s never actively good, either. She has no style at all so she always comes off as so flat.

      • Lester Bangs says:

        Ok. I like it. *shrugs*

      • Gruey says:

        @josephine I agree and I think one or two of these matron looks erases the public memory of the supposed “glamour” she’s been wearing lately and brings her public image right back to square one.

        Maybe her stylists don’t get that if you want people to think you’ve evolved into an actual style icon, you must actually evolve? You can’t just wear one or two pairs of questionable pants and then revert to buttony form. Good

      • Nic919 says:

        If she wasn’t super thin she wouldn’t be getting praised for most of her outfits. She is rarely fashion forward and usually dresses matronly. Alizee was probably the best dressed of the whole group.

      • Jan90067 says:

        When she first got married, she dressed SO twee, with Peter Pan collars, and thigh high skirts that blew up in the wind. Now, she wears high necked, sister-wife clothing down to her ankles (thinking it’s more “sophisticated”??? Nope!).

        There is no middle ground with this woman. You either get the little girl or the old woman.

      • BeanieBean says:

        I think the overall look is top-heavy–broad through the shoulders and ultra-slim from the rib cage down. She looks like one of those fashion illustrations from the 40s, but with a longer hemline.

      • aftershocks says:

        @josephine said:
        “… the fit and the length of the coat makes [Kate] look like she’s all torso. My issue is that the look as a whole is just not flattering. She’s young and thin and could do so, so much better. . . I think people declare it a win when it’s not actively offensive, but it’s never actively good, either. She has no style at all…”

        100% @josephine! Exactly! You expressed this so well. That’s how I feel about Kate. She’s too thin, but not bad looking, aside from her face sometimes showing age, stress, meanness. Some people see Kate as pretty, though she was much prettier in her younger ‘stalking Will’ days. She can look nice on occasion, and very nice sometimes, but overall she simply doesn’t have a signature sense of style. She lacks a knowledge of how to dress for her body, and she often gets details, like accessories, and choice of colors wrong. She often looks frumpy in her choices.

        Moreover she cosplays everybody, including Diana, other royal ladies, Michelle Obama, her mother, her sister, Will’s former girlfriends (I don’t know about his current extramarital squeezes 🌹) 😉 One article indicated Kate is wearing earrings that belonged to the Queen Mother. LOL I can see Kate feeling embiggened by that fact. Whereas women like Alizee, like Meghan, like Queen Letizia, like Princess Angela, et al., are comfortable in their own skin and look stylish and confident in
        practically anything, or wearing nothing at all. 🙂

        I first noticed how much Kate lacks a sense of style from perusing a paper doll booklet which I purchased only because I wanted to collect the Meghan paper doll with clothes from her South Pacific tour! I was soooo pissed that the publisher and the artist had the nerve to push Kate into this edition, positioning her in front of Meghan, no less! Grrrrrr!!! I almost didn’t buy it for that reason. Even on the inside, Kate is first, and Meghan is in the back of the booklet. I’m incensed whenever I think about the attitudes that made these people package the booklet in this way. Meghan should have had her own individual fashion paper doll edition, and they could have included more of her South Pacific tour wardrobe!!! There’s an engagement booklet with M&H, and a post-wedding edition with M&H too.

        Link to image of front cover is below, but I’m not encouraging anyone to buy. I can’t believe someone is trying to sell a collectible edition on one vendor website, when it can still be purchased new at nominal cost. In any case, looking at the reproduced wardrobes, one can detect Meghan’s sense of style, and Kate’s all-over-the-place lack thereof:
        https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/657e8657-43c2-45e1-8574-10dda156c7dc_2.79f06d3eba407c2a81fde59e42edec7b.jpeg?odnHeight=612&odnWidth=612&odnBg=FFFFFF

  6. Commonwealthy sounded witty at first says:

    Not matching reds is pretty mild! That means this went well for her. Good. Shrug.
    Keen to see this new, definitely annual, tradition take off.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Nic, imo “Alizee was the best dressed of the group” will probably be a comment that will apply every time we see this family in public for the rest of our lives. Kaiser should just automatically tack it onto every post about them.

      • BeanieBean says:

        Agreed!

      • gruey says:

        Alize looked cool! Wow! I’m surprised they haven’t figured out how to bar her from wearing anything interesting. She better watch out.

        James is shady but handsome and he looks better next to her.

  7. mich says:

    Boring as usual. A big bow on Xmas gift. Her sister in law looked interesting in her suit. Sophie was a mess. THE Keens looked in love and affectionate..
    Ugh the basic-ness of it all.

    • equality says:

      I found that curious about Sophie. She looked like she just last minute threw something together. A statement of not caring or last-minute invited? And why no Edward? He wasn’t shown on RF SM doing something else.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        I do not think Jack Brooksbank was there either. Eugenie seems to attended the event without her husband.

      • equality says:

        As somebody said above, Jack may still be in mourning for his Dad. I wondered if he didn’t care for being trotted out like a show pony for the RF.

      • Sunday says:

        Perhaps after losing his father to Covid so recently, Jack realized that attending a tightly packed indoor concert where none of these a*holes would be wearing a mask and vaccination for some/most of them is dubious at best (I’m looking at you, Tindalls) would be an idiotic idea.

      • equality says:

        @Sunday Good point. I’m curious if Peter was invited also since they seem to want the cousins to appear tight.

    • Harper says:

      Alizee bringing her french it girl style to the Middleton dull zone with her red checked suit and brown boots. Watch for the men in grey to reach out to Alizee and ask her to fifty percent less next time she appears with Kate.

    • Lorelei says:

      @Mich what was going on with Sophie’s pants?? I didn’t see many photos at all, only a handful, but did a double-take at those (white?) pants. They were hideous. I’m surprised that even Louise wasn’t like, “Mom, no, you’re not leaving the house like that, let’s get you fixed up.” (A conversation I had with my mother countless times and still do!)

  8. Commonwealthy sounded witty at first says:

    Also want to ask, Kaiser, will we get coverage of William’s walking (?) podcast? Been waiting for you to help us make sense of it all. Apparently Taylor Swift was mentioned in an inaccurate, flattering to Will way? I can never tell when William news is current or not, cos it always seems so lackluster, and any non-CB coverage is so fawning I can never know what actually happened.

    • Becks1 says:

      there was a story about it on Monday, but in the midst of the technical glitches it got taken down and I don’t think ever went back up.

      • Commonwealthy sounded witty at first says:

        Oh thx! Will look again, but if it’s not there maybe mods could alert Kaiser to put it back up?
        The podcast is already out of the news cycle, but clearly keeping up with the KP train smash is a compulsion 😄😄

    • windyriver says:

      Peter Hunt had a great tweet, similar to BuzzFeed’s earlier Meghan vs Kate comparison, contrasting the DM/Sarah Vine (ugh) comments on William’s recent presentation with Harry’s doc with Oprah earlier this year. The media bias couldn’t be any clearer (nor could the Cambridge copying of whatever the Sussexes do, except where spending money to help others is involved).

      • Commonwealthy sounded witty at first says:

        Yes saw that. Def need more of those side-by-sides.

      • Nic919 says:

        I still find it so interesting how Peter Hunt got a lot more critical of the hypocrisy about the royal coverage once he stopped acting as BBC royal correspondent. I’m not going to say he’s a member of the Sussex squad, but his coverage has been far more balanced.

    • swirlmamad says:

      Yes, I’ve been looking for that post too! So many things to discuss that came out of his interview…

    • Sofia says:

      I didn’t listen to the whole thing but the “noteworthy” things that came out of it were the Taylor Swift stuff, the lack of mention to Kate and the mention of Jecca through her dad (credited by William as the one helping with his mental health).

  9. manda says:

    It’s practically impossible to perfectly match colors when the materials taking the dye are different. They probably are the same but the shoes and coat are made from different stuff. Still, I think she could have found a better shoe.

    Regarding wearing red as opposed to green, someone I read (perhaps TLO) mentioned that she saves green for Ireland, which leaves red for Christmas. I thought that was hilarious!

  10. mariahlee says:

    Yes, the dress coat is aggressively Kate. But I can respect that she’s owing her style. I prefer the brand new bright red coat she debuted for the Hold Still pap walk though They look the happiest I’ve ever seen them tbh. And I love that the cousins all lined up to kiss the ring of the future distributors of royal funds lol. See what you’re missing, H&M?

    • Lorelei says:

      IMO, Kate is still furious about how insanely gorgeous and glamorous Meghan looked in that red dress at Harry’s event on the Intrepid last month. She knows she can never top it or even look anywhere near as amazing, so her only move was “Red, but REGAL.” A direct contrast to Meghan, especially since some people thought M’s neckline was too low/revealing/whatever.
      So now Kate has all of the fussy old royalists smugly crowing sh!t like, “Now THAT’S how OUR duchess wears red with CLASS!”

      • Kviby says:

        Huh? I doubt it. Kate may be jealous of Meghan for many things but that recent red dress and how she looked in it wouldn’t be on the list as Kate seems very into keeping thin (for better or worse) and that dresses’ fit issues on the back would not match the aesthetic Kate goes for. If she wanted to go more flashy (without showing a bunch of skin,) I think she would. (Like her recent gold dress). Either this red thing she has on looks way better in person or that’s not what she wanted here.

      • Jan90067 says:

        While the color is glorious on Meg, that dress did NOT fit well, from the puckered bust darts (horrible fabric to get to lay flat) to the back fat issue. Not Meg’s best look, IMO.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Kviby, we can agree to disagree. Kate has a history of copying Meghan every single chance she gets, especially Meghan’s standout, most talked-about looks. Kate obviously couldn’t wear anything flashy to Westminster Abbey, but I don’t doubt one bit that the reception Meghan got that night in that red dress still rankles Kate.

        @Jan you may not have liked it (and tbh it wasn’t one of my favorites either), but my point is the amount of raves Meghan received in the press. No matter what we personally might have thought, there’s no denying that the dress was an absolute showstopper.

      • Fanciful says:

        Meg’s best red look was the bad bitch tour red which was stunning. I was mixed about the evening gown, I loved the concept but fit was off. It’s hard to pull off that 5 months pp though as body changes so much constantly.

        Kate looks fine, she looks like kkhhate. I made the mistake of reading comments on the Fail and geez, the Meghan hate is still up in top comments, one comment talked about Megs red dress and how she looked like a bloated muffin-topped, sweaty, trussed chicken. And they’re all so glad they have Klassy Kkhhhate who is so beautiful and kind. Oh and Meg ran away after realising she’d never be as beautiful as the other one, or something. Been 6 months since I’ve clicked on a fail article (I wanted to see the pics) but nothing ever changes.

      • aftershocks says:

        @Lorelei said:
        “I don’t doubt one bit that the reception Meghan got that night in that red dress still rankles Kate.”

        I totally agree with you @Lorelei. Plus, Kate is perpetually rankled about the reception Meg got in the red Safiyaa column dress with caped shoulders at Royal Albert Hall during the ‘bad b*tch’ farewell, in addition to the recent amazing Carolina Herrera red gown Meg wore at the Intrepid Awards in New York.

        The red gown with the gorgeous train, the unusual neckline and bust detail, with the slit in the skirt, fit Meghan perfectly. The back view was absolutely stunning and sexy. I think some people doing a lot of criticizing are perhaps thinking of their own preferences and how they wouldn’t look good in such a gown, which is fair. OTOH, for some critics, it’s all about jealousy and constant carping and nitpicking whenever they see Meghan, or don’t see her. LOL

        The gown Meghan wore would not suit me, but she looks great in it. She, as usual, was dressing for her body, and she’s got a luscious, sexy new bod post Lili’s birth. The bust detail isn’t for everyone, but when you have full breasts post baby, why not feature them! Meghan really couldn’t do that in her younger, slimmer days. The slit down the center of the bodice echoes the slit in the skirt, drawing our eyes downward to the skirt in a way that camouflages Meg’s short-waist. The bust detail to me, resembles flower petals with the bud in the center blooming. 🙂 The train feature is to-die-for, and Meg looked fit and fabulous. Harry is a happy man.

    • CuriousCole says:

      “Aggressively Kate” OmG this is the perfect way to describe it!!!! Red is a good color on her and her hair looks great, but that’s as nice as I can be about this event* because the rest is just so Aggressively Kate!!! I do wonder what had to happen behind the scenes to make W&K look as though they liked each other for this event??

      *She gets no platitudes from me for finally wearing a mask indoors.

      • Lorelei says:

        @Curious Cole I also love “Aggressively Kate,” or when something she’s wearing is described as “aggressively bland” 😭

        Also, wouldn’t you think that EVERY member of this family would wear a mask purely out of respect for Jack/Eugenie?! Not only did his father just die of Covid a few weeks ago, but they have an infant at home for Christ’s sake. If for no other reason, do it as a kindness to them!?
        This family…I can’t. I’m honestly surprised that Eugenie even went to this farce.

      • Becks1 says:

        @Lorelei – not just Jack and Eugenie; Beatrice just had Siena in what, September? and I think Pippa’s second child is still pretty young, maybe a year or two?

  11. BayTampaBay says:

    Is not not this red coatdress an EXACT copy of the black coatdress Kate wore to Philip’s funeral?

    • liz says:

      Yes. It is. Same exact dress, two different colors.

    • Nic919 says:

      Yes. Once again Kate does that bizarre wasteful thing of getting multiples of an outfit in different colours. If she didn’t already have a ton of other red coatdresses she could wear instead this wouldn’t be so bad, but she could have worn a repeat and chose not to.

      • Lorelei says:

        I’m trying to think back, and wasn’t Phil’s funeral one of the last times that Kate got truly excellent press? (Obviously not from people like us with eyes and brains, but for everyone who fell for her whole act that day.)

        So in a way it’s not surprising at all that she wants to subtly remind everyone of that day, back when she was being hailed as the glue holding the RF together, the one facilitating the “reconciliation” conversation between William and Harry, etc. She’s had a metric ton of *awful* press/incidents since then, so of course she wants to subconsciously make people think of THAT Kate. The “peacemaker,” backbone of the RF Kate. And her clothing is her only way of communicating anything.

        But yes ITA it’s strange and tacky and wasteful to buy pieces like that in multiple colors. It’s not like one of us buying a shirt in a couple of colors (which I do all the time!). It costs thousands and thousands of dollars when she does it, and will be photographed, making her look ridiculous.

      • BeanieBean says:

        Yeah, she’s got one with lots of shiny buttons across the front of it that make her look like the little drummer girl that I think would have been perfect for this evening. Plus it had a plain A-line skirt & ended just above or just below the knee, which is a much better silhouette for her.

      • Fanciful says:

        Lorelei she got good press at Bond premier about how amazing she looked etc.

    • Acal says:

      I think that’s incredibly tacky to do that. Wear the exact same outfit you wore to a funeral. “Protocol” and all that BS. And it’s lazy fashion

      • JT says:

        Well Kate got so much praise for her funeral look, is it really a surprise that she would by the same coat dress, Everyone was saying how elegant she looked, even here, so y’all were just asking for part deux.

      • Rebecca says:

        I think it’s reflective of her general lack of interest in clothes, tbh.

  12. equality says:

    Whomever actually wrote that statement in the bulletin needs to brush up on grammar. This was in the center used as a complete sentence: “The importance of simply being together.”

    • Couch potato says:

      What? Is that an attempt of a copying telly advertising again? Like the commercal they dropped around the 10th anniversary? Showing a happy family with a voice-over going “the importance of simply being together” with a zoom in on the brand.

  13. Songhye says:

    I love the colour and hate the bow. Her face is melting and her one side of her face looks weird. It’s like going somewhere I dont know how Kate manage to have double chin being this thin. No wonder kate want meghan gone because from yesterday she only looks and rest including middleton looks terrible.

    The service looks boring and I wonder why Charles and camilla not invite to this. I think Charles is pissed off about these leaks.

    Finally carrie symonds got her revenge because during g7 kate did something( I dont remeber )which being carrie being upset and bitching in no.10. Yesterday bojo was in front page in dailymail and today everyone is talking about Carrie’s baby girl born today.

    Now everyone in uk is talking abt this and wondering how children boris has and completely overshadowed this phony christmas.

    • Heyyou says:

      “I dont know how Kate manage to have double chin being this thin.” LOL. Its that stupid smile she thinks it’s endearing!

  14. Nimp says:

    Isn’t this just a red version of the coatdress she wore to Phillip’s funeral?

    • L84Tea says:

      Yep!

    • coffee_coffee_coffee says:

      I know i am but a lowly peasant, but i think it’s tacky to repeat a dress from one high-profile event to the next high-profile televised event. Funeral and Christmas program? So close together? No. Seems like something a middle school kid would do. I mean, even I have enough sense not to do something so close together. The argument about honoring Philip is ridiculous on its face, it’s too close to his passing and the funeral. If it was NEXT year, and the dress was a nod to his funeral hinting at remembrance, then sure. A few months later? girl, no.

      • Nimp says:

        Totally agree, it’s in poor taste, particularly because the tone of each event was so different. But then again, I wasn’t a fan of her funeral look (and photo shoot). At the time I noticed the bow on the coat and thought it was an odd choice. A style much more suited to Christmas theme dressing!

  15. L84Tea says:

    I spotted a picture of Zara and Mike on Instagram yesterday as they were arriving and I laughed. Zara was wearing a heavy coat, but peeking out from underneath it was black cigarette/tuxedo style capris and those black Aquazzura heels that Meghan is known for wearing. It took me by surprise, but it looked so obvious. It seems Kate is not the only one who learned some fashion tips from Meghan.

    • ProfPlum says:

      @L84Tea: I caught that, too. These folks will colonize anything.

    • aftershocks says:

      ^^ Oh, exactly @L84tea! I said as much upthread. Meghan came on the scene, and everybody has learned from her about style, fashion, promoting causes, approaching purpose-driven work in unique and thoughtful ways, etc. The royals have learned a lot from Meghan, and they are still soaking up ‘Meg-sense,’ though they refuse to acknowledge how much they obsess over her and learn from her — very similar to Diana.

      Although Meg’s entry into the family was as a fully-fledged accomplished woman (the same age Diana was when she died), there are a number of similarities between what Diana and Meghan have suffered. Diana came into the royal family an innocent ingenue, so she had to learn the hard way through a lot of nightmares, and without her husband looking out for her. But Diana eventually discovered her calling — reaching out to others via compassion and empathy.

      Plus, Diana was simply gorgeous with loads of charisma and modesty, style, and a sense of humor. It’s criminal what she had to go through in that family. Now, everyone wants to own Diana, and the palaces tweak narratives about and around her as p.r. for the firm.

  16. Kviby says:

    I don’t like red especially so much red but she pulls it off because it’s Xmas and she’s tall and very thin and has a lot of nice hair. I do find it’s a bit boring but very appropriate and of course she looks pretty. I loved the more subdued colours and styles on Alizée Pippa and Beatrice. Bea looked fantastic with the contrasting blue shoes . Bea and Pippa had the same coat and I’m now going to keep my eyes open for a long coat with no collar, love that style

    • BUBS says:

      She’s got lots of nice “wiglets”…that’s what helps…lol

    • Lorelei says:

      I thought Eugenie looked beautiful, too. But my opinion of her might be influenced by the fact that I know she’s the only one in that family who treats Harry and Meghan with any decency.

      • HeatherC says:

        I loved Eugenie’s look. Especially the boots. I want those boots.

      • aftershocks says:

        Yep, Eugenie looked great! She’s owning her body and the way she looks. Both Bea and Eugenie have shown improvements in their sartorial choices (again I spy Meg’s influence). Perhaps Bea’s husband helps her a bit too, as he understands how to dress, and as someone with an architectural design and decorating background, he likely has a good eye for fashion and style. Bea is looking very happy with her marriage and new baby, which is nice to see.

        One magazine indicated that Eugenie had worn that stylish short green cape coat previously (when she was slimmer, in 2018). She had the lower set of buttons removed because she fills out the coat more these days. Eugenie looks happy and contented too with married life, and baby. It’s too bad about having to attend events designed to embiggen the Lamebridges though, but I guess family members are used to this annoying, performative drill.

  17. Layla says:

    I see the jaffar shoulder pads are back

  18. Kit says:

    Is the coat a copy of the black coat she wore to Prince Philips funeral,.the one with a big bow , if so WTF !!!!! Looked at a clip of de service, all very stage managed to make William.look like he has de support of all de family , big hugs all round, camera in tow, even Kate was told to get over there and bear too , l know who knew lol !!!!!!!!
    Isn’t there something about Zara and Mike that make them v unlikeable , maybe it’s just Mike ?.
    Poor poor Kate how many times did she look at William , l think he looked at her on de way in to comment on de reindeer or choir , but that was it, why does she humiliate herself over and over again, gosh she has lost a lot of weight again, l don’t think Will even acknowledged de Middleton’s, who can blame him.!!!

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Kit: Yes, it is a red version of the black dress she wore to Philip’s funeral. Some royalists believe she was paying tribute to her departed grandfather in law by wearing the red version. Yeah…whatever.

    • Sure says:

      @Kit I laughed at the hug fest because it reminded me of that viral video on twitter from Escaping the Palace in which W basically suggests K act more like M. The real life soap opera following the advice of the made for TV soap opera is just gold.

    • Demi says:

      The royals always do this! following a scandal the fake show of unity. I’m certain the Lamebridges invited their cousins for this reason faux united front after W had been exposed for briefing on BBC.

    • Jais says:

      The hugs stood out to me too. Genuine question because I don’t know. Did Kate ever give big hugs to the Windsors pre-Meghan? Are there any other pics or vids of her doing this?

      • Harper says:

        The hug Kate gave to Zara looked desperate–like she won’t be seeing Zara in an official capacity again and thanks for coming to this one last event before Kate is outed as the Mean Girl who chased Harry out of the country.

  19. Lady Digby says:

    After Mike’s nasty remarks about biffing Harry I expected their attendance. Both he and Zara exploit RF connection without condemnation for all its worth. They recognise that W & KK are future monarchs so are cosying up to keep well in. I wonder if the York sisters will be made to chose sides eventually? W and K look like they have renegotiated their relationship whilst they continue plotting and planning. Harry and Meghan are genuinely in love but other 2 just settled for each other. Kate’s posing in red says I am the superstar in this family and vogue until the chickens come home to roost!

  20. Slippers4life says:

    See if she was a nice person I would think her cosplaying was awesome. I’d describe her style as royal camp. But, alas, she’s mean so it just annoys me.

  21. Blujfly says:

    I can’t believe how proud they look to be showing up to this nothing burger while grafting onto The Church they don’t attend.

  22. Amy Bee says:

    I agree, Kate looked like a Christmas present. Not great. I was surprised that the children weren’t brought out for this event and I suspect the cousins were ordered to be there. Eugenie and William are not close. I saw a video of them with Eugenie’s back to the camera and I initially thought she was a guest not a family member. Judi James should have done a piece about the body language between those two.

  23. ABritGuest says:

    I think think this is type of event last years covid tour should have been so they could have waited instead of breaking rules etc. But kudos to Kate & whoever put this together- think this is type of thing Kate should be doing more of. Nice that she invited Mila (?) a girl that’s been ill with cancer I think

    I liked Pippa and Beatrice’s coats.

    • BeanieBean says:

      I saw a video of Mila doing a twirl for Kate to show off her pretty green sparkly dress. It was adorable.

  24. Miranda says:

    I love the coat, but I’m not crazy about the outfit as a whole. I’ve always hated that so many royal ladies tend to wear single color outfits, because most of them have an exceedingly bland personal style as it is, and wearing a solid block of color only exaggerates the blandness. If you’re going to dress like that, you need more than a big bow to make it interesting.

  25. Becks1 says:

    christmas is the one time of the year when I’m not going to slam her for her theme dressing (as I buy more and more christmas sweaters because WHY NOT), but still, how many of us called that she would be in red, lol.

    She looks fine. I wonder if this is the start of a broader trend with the Middletons attending as many events as they possibly can. It really starts to give off the vibe that she can’t do events alone. This one isn’t as obvious bc the other royals are there – and I think that’s why they were invited/told to come, there was some pushback after the Middletons were at the royal variety so for this one it was, if your family goes to another royal outing, other royals have to be there as well.

    I did find it interesting that this was the same dress as Phillip’s funeral. So either she bought two at the same time, which seems off to me because then it makes it seem like she was shopping for the funeral and thought hey why not get a backup for another event in bright red just in case!?!?!? OR she thought she looked really good at the funeral so ordered the dress in another color which also feels off because….then she was looking at the funeral pics to see how she looked.

    Anyway like I said yesterday – I only saw coverage in the Express really quickly during the day, and they did NOT mention that this was “Kate’s event.” there were lines like “The countess of wessex was joined by the duchess of cambridge” or “royals attend festive caroling at the Abbey” but no indication that Kate was hosting.

    • JT says:

      Was there coverage about this event anywhere else? I was expecting this to be blasted everywhere but I didn’t seen anything unless I missed it.

    • Nic919 says:

      Kate has been buying multiples of the same outfit in different colours from day one and it is really a wasteful habit of hers that she has yet to be called on. But it’s likely part of the shopping therapy she is allowed to do.

      The Middletons have certainly made themselves more visible lately at public events and while this one was less obvious because the Windsor cousins also showed up, there certainly does need to be some kind of buffer for Kate. It remains obvious that William and Kate are basically separated and when you see Mike and Zara interact, or Beatrice and Edo interact, it becomes more obvious. And the old married couple excuse doesn’t work when Mike and Zara are also married a while as well. (With a cheating scandal that Zara has seemed to have forgiven).

      The mention of getting a place near Windsor castle has suddenly gotten quiet and so it’s likely a purchase has been made.

      While the kids didn’t show up to the event, I suspect there will be a video clip of them for the tv special.

      • Harper says:

        Burger King is still proving to his preferred sidepiece that he’s all in by refusing to make affectionate moves or eye contact with Fries in public.

      • swirlmamad says:

        Yeah, I don’t understand all the “loved up” babble regarding this event. They didn’t even show any outward PDA, as per usual — maybe at best he seemed to actually look and smile in her direction a few times (though some of those instances arguably could’ve been a trick of the camera and he was looking at someone or something beyond her). But you’re right that their general standoffishness with each other becomes more glaring against the shots of Bea and Edo and Zara and Mike holding hands.

      • Lorelei says:

        It also seemed to me like they wanted EVERY ROYAL POSSIBLE to be there, smiling broadly, to try and keep people from focusing on the fact that the Queen was missing yet another event.

  26. Pat Gaddess says:

    When Doria showed up for the launch of the Hubb cookbook the world came unglued Every member of the RR screamed how inappropriate it was I guess the whole Middleton family is appropriate They show up in the front row for every event

    • Amy Bee says:

      @Pat Gaddess: We all know the real reason for the royal rota and royalists’ outrage about Doria’s presence.

  27. Jay says:

    I like the red ensemble, the cut of the coat is not to my taste, but she obviously loves this shape. She’s back to the fussy sausage curls, though, and she can never seem to keep from twirling them.

    It does look like she’s more of an “attendee” than a host of this event. Wouldn’t she need to take off the coat as host? I’d find it odd ( not to mention excruciatingly hot) to be on stage wearing my coat from outside, no matter how fancy.

  28. Cathy says:

    Jazz Hands does Christmas, some thoughts…

    Looks like there was a three line whip* – all the “younger” Royals must attend?

    And muted colours please, the star of the show is the only one to stand out, and no little one… it’s not the baby Jesus today

    I see sausage curls are back #poorwiglets

    Can someone please fix the lights in Kate’s walk in? Sorta close colour matching doesn’t work. Kate does the same thing in greens, and burgundy too. If she had a decent stylist, or dresser, they would test the outfits under different lights and photograph the complete outfits under different lights to see if the colours match or not. It’s also a good way to test if an outfit would be see through. A dresser would also lay out a petticoat for Kate to wear, I see her dress is sticking to her pantihose in one photo.

    *three line whip. A term from the British parliament, when every vote is needed to get a bill through a three line whip is issued, meaning you HAVE to turn up.

    • Gabby says:

      I don’t understand how that “you must attend” thing can be held over the York sisters. They don’t receive any monarchy money do they? And they are both married to independently wealthy men. What ramifications would happen if B and E just said no? Who is compelling them to attend, the queen?

      • swirlmamad says:

        I can absolutely see Beatrice playing along mainly bc she wants to keep whatever tenuous hold she has over her position in the RF, even if it means sucking up to the FFK & Q. She gives off lots of “just keep your head down and go along to get along” vibes. As for Eugenie….it may not be a coincidence that Jack didn’t come — she might’ve attended solo for her grandmother’s sake/as an FU to W+K to say “I’m still part of this family too, dammit”, or could be as simple as the fact that her sister was going so she figured what the heck, I guess I’ll go too. But my guess is, whatever her reasoning for going was, it wasn’t to show any support specifically for Bill and Kathy.

      • equality says:

        Eugenie seems to be the tender-hearted type who, if asked the right way, would attend.

  29. Cessily says:

    Perfect thumbnail photo.. 👏🏼🤣

  30. Deneph says:

    I hope the event wasn’t too long, that seating looks uncomfortable.

  31. Nic919 says:

    The event was ok but they didn’t need to trot out reindeer to stand outside at the entrance of the abbey. Video shows one of the reindeer acting agitated because of the photographers and crowd. It was highly irresponsible to do that and so unnecessary. Whoever thought up that part certainly doesn’t about animal welfare. Really there should be some condemnation of noted environmentalists William and kate for doing that to an animal just for show, but as with everything else there will be little pushback.

    • Sunday says:

      Thank you! Reds matching or no aren’t the big issue here, it’s the cavalier and inhumane treatment of reindeer as props that we should be talking about! Apparently this isn’t the first time the cambridges have used reindeers this way, and they learned nothing from the complaints the first go-round because here we are. The absolute nerve of Will to complain about the African population encroaching on the wilderness and then a week later turn around and traumatize two reindeer for a photo-op. So gross. Nothing says Christmas like animal abuse!

    • Becks1 says:

      There were reindeer there?? How weird. If they wanted to be that….on theme, I guess….why not take the kids (in matching christmas sweaters because tis the season and I love christmas sweaters, COME AT ME CBERS!) to a reindeer sanctuary or farm or something and have taped footage of them interacting with the reindeer and use that in the special?

      Side note- I feel like I’ve been saying things are “weird” every day now, in at least one comment, and I’m sorry but I can’t help it because it really does seem like things are getting weirder and weirder, lol.

    • Nick G says:

      I did notice that there was talk on Twitter last night of animal activists speaking out against it.

    • Charfromdarock says:

      The only thing about this event that made the news in my part of Canada, was to criticize Prince William for having an event with live reindeer.

    • Lorelei says:

      They had REINDEER there? Jfc, somehow I missed that. What an absolute circus.

      People bitched and moaned for years when Meghan had the audacity (🙄) to want air fresheners in the church for her wedding, yet both Kate (at her wedding) and now the Queen haul *full-grown trees* into Westminster Abbey, and not a peep of criticism about the sanctity of these spaces?

  32. TeamAwesome says:

    Can we talk about PA Middleton being the only one with a mask???

    Loved Eugenie’s outfit the most!

    • equality says:

      I noticed that too. I thought there was at least a mask recommendation for indoors in the UK. With new variants and questions still open about vaccine efficacy, it would have seen wiser. There doesn’t even appear to be distancing with the seating. Kate was wearing a mask when she was talking to the guests.

    • swirlmamad says:

      I don’t know why but to me he seems to be the only one in that family who may at least somewhat realize how ridiculous this entire circus is. He’s totally Mr. Bennett to CarolE’s Mrs. Bennett. I know he’s still guilty by association though…he’s still condoning his wife and daughter’s garbage behavior even if he’s not actively part of the show.

      • aftershocks says:

        ^^ +1 Yep! Papa Middleton in photos seemed to keep his head down buried in the program booklet, with mask covering his face. CarolE definitely runs the show. She married up when she snagged upper middle-class Michael Middleton, who trained as an airline pilot, but switched to become a flight control dispatcher.

        Michael’s father was a military pilot who coincidentally flew on a plane, as a co-pilot, taking Prince Philip to South America, in 1962.

        https://www.insider.com/prince-philip-kate-middleton-grandfather-photo-2021-4

  33. Gigi says:

    Is it that the venue is large enough that it’s safe to be gathered in a crowd while dozens of unmasked people are singing? Maybe it’s the vaccines as well? But it’s hard to forget about that indoor choir practice at the start of the pandemic that was such a super-spreader event that a lot of people died. Not even snarking here (Kate looks pretty) but this whole enterprise seems unwise.

    • Nic919 says:

      It’s doubtful they all have the booster and with omicron cases skyrocketing in the Uk at the moment, they really should have all been masked while in the Abbey. Oddly there are photos of William and kate speaking to the performers while masked. So why the masks are off when sitting in a crowd I don’t understand.

    • equality says:

      This is from the Abbey’s website: – People who are not a part of the same group will be seated a metre apart, and there will be provision for anyone who wishes to be seated at a greater distance.
      – The wearing of face coverings during services is mandatory. Curious that they aren’t enforcing their own rules.

      • notasugarhere says:

        It will be *interesting* if COVID cases are tracked back to Kate’s last minute PR exercise. AND if royal aides demanded that mask and distancing rules be loosened for Kate’s event.

      • jodie says:

        It wouldn’t have been last minute – these things take longer than that to organise. But well done!!

      • Becks1 says:

        @Jodie – it’s pretty last minute. As of…what, two weeks ago? ITV said they had just learned of it and were still negotiating the contract (after KP tried to act like William was having it “yanked” from BBC.) this concert itself may have already been planned, and likely was (or was part of a planned dress rehearsal for another performance or something) but KP latching onto it like this was definitely pretty last minute as these things go.

    • notasugarhere says:

      On their website, Westminster Abbey requires the wearing of masks in the Abbey and in their gift shop. Yet not for Kate’s COVID spreader event.

      It is not a coincidence that W&K didn’t have masks that matched their outfits. They’re in standard, disposable black masks. They’re likely wearing ones given them by Abbey staff, who tried in vain to enforce the mask mandate.

      • Courtney B says:

        Kate is carrying her black mask at the car. She’s clutching it over her actual clutch. Don’t know why they’d go so bland. As others have said, a plaid one or a coordinating one or even something whimsical could’ve been great. But nope.

  34. Bella says:

    *PROTOCOL ALERT*

    Someone isn’t wearing the protocol required panting hose. For shame! Alert the media. How dare she?!?

  35. Sofia says:

    This is a colour that always looks good on Kate so no complaints from me. Eugenie also looked very good but that may be because I’m a sucker for cape dresses. It seemed Pippa and Beatrice wore the same coat in two different colours lol.

    Surprised the kids didn’t show up. I didn’t guess the York girls showing up but I probably forgot their existed for a moment (story of their life I guess lol). But being party guests is what B&E do best so I shouldn’t be surprised.

    I’ll talk about the Midds in another comment.

  36. Tate says:

    Someone told Bill to look at his wife and smile.

    • Over it says:

      I can’t see the pics of hi, looking at her but to be fair I only look at what Kaiser posted. Also I noticed he isn’t looking at the Middletons at all

      • Sinead says:

        This is the first think I noticed too. Will doesn’t seem to look or even acknowledge the Midds at all… 2nd thing I noticed is how thin K looks …even in a coat?

      • swirlmamad says:

        Good catch….it IS quite odd to not acknowledge, far less chitchat and catch up with your in-laws, who you apparently love and care for SO much, especially all they’ve done for you in the past 20 years. Curious indeed.

  37. Nancy says:

    I know that the UK government is in the midst of a scanda and that has dominated the public discourse but is it me or is the keening not hitting like it use to. I might be wrong but this kind of event is geared for the “taking back the spotlight” narrative they like so much and it just doesn’t seem as if all their recent “events” are landing like they use to.

    • mariahlee says:

      I’ve been thinking the same re: the keening not hitting like it used to. And their social media engagement corresponds with that idea. I think they’ve peaked — at least until the queen dies.

    • Becks1 says:

      I think the issue is that they are boring. I mean, most of the royals are boring, including the Queen. Every event Charles or camilla does doesn’t make the front pages of the papers, maybe a cute picture if there are kids or animals involved. I never see Anne at any of her 500 events/year on the front page or getting the kind of coverage the Keens get.

      And on the one hand that makes sense, W is the FFK and he is younger so of course he and his allegedly glamorous wife are going to get more coverage than Anne or Camilla or Sophie.

      but….they’re boring. Kate’s clothes are boring, the events are boring (I mean pictures of a choir concert are pretty boring overall, when people know the actual concert will be aired in two weeks), etc. So they’re still getting the coverage but they’re boring so despite the coverage they’re not generating the interest or interactions that they used to. I mean for 10 million followers on IG they’re lucky if they get more than 5k likes on a picture. So I do think the press is either going to start scaling back on their coverage (the Rota will still cover their events, but maybe Kate going to a school doesn’t make the front page anymore bc no one cares) or the press is going to AMP up their coverage and take the embiggening up a notch.

    • NightOwl says:

      I was wondering that as well. Moments before they step out of their car, there is a flash of the street and the gates around the entrance. There are no fans cheering (do they do that in the UK?) and the traffic is just flowing as usual. The only commotion seems to be from the photographer(s). Is this normal for royal events?

  38. Harla says:

    It appears that sustainable fashion and rewears were only for the KeenShot prize as this is yet another new coat/dress in the exact same style as one she already owns. If Kate is going to copy anyone else’s style, I wish that she and Pippa would copy Alize’s style as it’s fantastic!!

  39. Athena says:

    Her family members are smirking at the outfit. I like the color of Carole’s coat.

  40. Sofia says:

    Re: Midds

    I guess they’re just going to show up every time Kate does something “big” lol. I wonder if they’re there because they want to show people that they exist and they’re here to stay. I get wanting morale support but Kate’s hosting a charity concert. She’s not going into war or giving a speech at the UN about domestic violence. Plus she’s been at this for 10.5 years now so it’s not like she’s a newly married Duchess and this is her first major event. Maybe they all just wanted a nice night out away from home/the kids.

    • Becks1 says:

      Yeah, I get the idea of her family providing moral support. but this would make more sense if this had been at the beginning of her marriage. Kate hosting a charity concert that’s not being broadcast live (i.e. so it can be edited and i’m sure KP has final approval of the finished product) and doesn’t have a huge in-person audience or anything seems like something that, after 10.5 years, she should be able to handle pretty easily. So it either seems like the Middletons are just trying to insert themselves into the royal sphere as much as possible (which is very probable) or there is some reason why Kate needs her family there at these events when her husband is also there.

      • JT says:

        But it kind of is her first major event if you think about. When has Kate done anything on this scale, as slapdash as this was, before? 10.5 years in and she’s finally “hosting” something of note. I don’t think there has been many opportunities for the Midds to come and support on a Kate project like this. Being keen about early years is certainly not something than you can bring the whole family to and that was a “decade in the making.”

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        The clan turned up at the Remembrance concert at the Royal Albert Hall a few weeks ago – they have previous for turning up at Kate’s events, preening for the paps while they are at it. Her family are desperate to be seen as part of the Cambridge court and wider RF. No other married ins family get soo much face time like this – this is just a forewarning to what will happen when Kate gets to the throne, they will move into BP with Carol(e) and Pip’s as her Ladies in Waiting. The closer Kate gets to the throne the more visible that family will become, regardless of what Prince Ragealot says.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        @Digital Unicorn – What a scary prediction….24/7 Middleton coverage!!!!!!

      • notasugarhere says:

        JT, this is not her first major event. Pathetic to think that after 10 years on the job this could be misconstrued as her first major event, but it isn’t.

  41. What says:

    Since when did Kate stop wearing pantyhose.

  42. Over it says:

    I don’t like these people at all. Also maybe pippa terribly moderately husband didn’t come because of all of them he is the only one with an actual job who is keeping the Middleton wheels from going flat.lol.

  43. MsIam says:

    Another day, another awful grandma Kate-dress.

  44. girl_ninja says:

    I like the idea of the coat but I think it falls flat. I just like it and don’t think that she or him have an ounce of charisma.

  45. Lizzie says:

    Pro’s, I love red and the color is flattering on Keen.
    Con’s, Too much red. Dress, coat and shoes all matching is too matchy-matchy for my taste.
    So all the other women invited by the Keenbridges were ordered NOT to wear red because I cannot imagine a Christmas event where no one else wears even an accent of red.

  46. MadamNoir24 says:

    Isn’t this red coat the same black coat she wore to Phillip’s funeral? Just wondering because it looks the same and she likes to buy the same coats in different colors.

  47. Seaflower says:

    I saw someone on Twitter say to expect a story about K bursting into tears because Daddy wasn’t looking at her during her grand entrance.

  48. Candy says:

    Her hair is…too much

  49. Amy Too says:

    Someone isn’t a great writer and doesn’t understand the rules about fragment sentences. This is from Kate’s written blurb in the program:

    “Alongside this, we have seen how communities have come together to support those most in need. And through our separation from others, we have been reminded just how powerful human connection is to us all. Just how much we need one another. And how loving and feeling a sense of belonging to one another can provide comfort in tough times. The importance of simply being together.”

    Use a comma, use an em dash, use a semicolon. Use something other than periods that appear to be randomly placed in the middle of sentences. It’s like this was written out in the way that one would deliver it as a speech, with a bunch of periods in there to indicate stops/pauses/breaths.

    • Lizzie Bathory says:

      It really does read like a speech. And for all of the talk about Kate “hosting” & this being her event since it was announced, it now appears that she didn’t host or even speak. I really wonder whether they planned for her to deliver those remarks, but she backed out for some reason at the last minute, so they printed them in the program instead.

    • kyliegirl says:

      Thank you, this was so poorly written I was embarrassed for her. Yes to all the above, but also want to add the use of And to begin so many sentences. Maybe I am showing my GenX age, but I was told never to start a sentence with And. If this was meant as a speech, they should have rewritten this for the program. She may have dressed as Christmas, but she is definitely not the brightest bulb on the tree.

  50. Likeyoucare says:

    Read note
    1. Wear big bow like meghan’s red dress

    2. Flip hair slowly and make sure favourite photographer able to take it, (must copy meghan flipping her hair in latest interview)
    Damn it, i dont think he did. Need to flip it again.

    3. Piss piss.. willie look at me look at me. I want at least one picture for the DM.

  51. Keen Kate says:

    The colour is great, the entire design sucks – especially the masculine shoulders and giant bow.

    The wiglet is too girly and fussy for the occasion; I don’t like her fiddling with it.

    She dressed as Christmas.

    James is giving her a funny look. Alizee isn’t looking at her and maybe smirking at how uncool and old fashioned Kate looks.

    They really dragged out a ton of royals and the Ms for this… and it is still boring.

    I hope the concert doesn’t suck (for the nice and worthy invitees).

    • Lory says:

      Perfect comment! Dressed as Christmas! I don’t mind red for the holidays. I get it. But she always dresses so FESTIVE. Have a bit of imagination. I feel like she made her sister wear green so they could be festive together.

  52. aquarius64 says:

    Flaunting the Abbey requirement to wear masks. And this is COVID choo choo 2.0. Waiting for the Sussexes’ Xmas news.

  53. TIFFANY says:

    Edited this as there was another story and don’t want to threadjack.

  54. Lexistential says:

    “How nice. You look like a blood clot.” -Bette Midler*

    *Trots off to re-watch “Big Business”

    • Lorelei says:

      That movie is SO UNDERRATED!! I get so excited whenever I see someone mention it online because I feel like I don’t know anyone in my RL who’s ever seen or heard of it. Thank you for giving me the idea to rewatch!

  55. WithTheAmerican says:

    Why why why must she keep wearing bows and buttons and long yet fussy lines when they are meant for someone of Diana’s figure, not for a long lean torso like Kate’s?

    Kate being so skinny makes me wildly uncomfortable and I don’t want to snark on it, so I’m just focusing on why she can’t dress for her figure. Why is she pretending she has the very different figure of young mother Diana?

    Fashion is made for women like Kate with no body fat. She has loads of options. But she goes for modest school girl.

    I do love this red on her, it suits her better than any other color and I give thanks that she’s not in green again. Hate the hair and still don’t understand why anyone thinks this hair is modern or an improvement. Sausage rolls are not in? This isn’t Meghan’s hair style? This is prom 1995.

    • NightOwl says:

      She cannot carry other styles well either for some reason — I’m thinking about the Bond premier dress.

      • WithTheAmerican says:

        Right. I hated that as well, I mean comparatively it was better than I expected but the hair and earrings with it failed. I just don’t understand why she doesn’t have a look that works for her yet.

  56. Lizzie says:

    The bow make the coat looks very Kate Spade.

  57. ShazBot says:

    Sucks for them given all the wanted was PR. The government is in scandal and also the PMs wife just had a baby, and then when it airs on Christmas Eve…that is generally a quiet PR time because everyone is busy with their own stuff. Once again though, it seems it’s all about them and not the people they are trying to bring attention to.

    That’s all I’ve got.

  58. BeanieBean says:

    Random thought: those chairs look uncomfortable. I’m not sure I could last an hour in those. I hope there were periods of standing throughout the service.

  59. Nyro says:

    You could literally keep the dress on the hanger and throw a brunette wig on the top and you’d get the same effect.

  60. February pisces says:

    Keen stans love Kate because she “doesn’t seek attention unlike Meghan” lol. But Kate is absolutely desperate for attention and needs it more than air. She is wearing a whole lot of red just so she can stand out in the crowd and be noticed.

    • Tessa says:

      It’s awful when the magazines in “fashion shots” of Kate include the “fashion shots” at Philip’s funeral. Very tacky indeed.

  61. Jais says:

    Really liked Bea, Eugenie, and Alizee. Bea’s hair is gorgeous.

  62. Red Weather Tiger says:

    She’s fussing with her wiglet a lot both to call attention to herself, to kopykeen Meghan, and to draw attention to those earrings. “LOOK AT ME! I got to wear Crown Jewels because I’m beloved, unlike some OTHER people I know!”

    • aftershocks says:

      ^^ Yep! That was my thought too when I read that the earrings were worn by the Queen Mother back-in-the-day. As I said upthread, Kate wearing royal jewelry makes her feel good about herself. It makes her feel bigger and better than everyone else. Reminds me of Kate’s self-satisfied, ‘cat-who-got-the-cream’ smirk on her wedding day at Westminster Abbey.

      Confident women who are truly happy and fulfilled with their lives, DO NOT need expensive jewelry and scads of clothing with the same outfit in different colors, to enhance or define who they are.

  63. Jaded says:

    I just can’t with that outfit. Her theme dressing is so pathetically obvious. That coat dress does her no favours, nor does its thickness cover up the fact that she is shockingly thin. Plus she’s in a church, not on a fashion runway, so something a little less “LOOK AT MEEEE!!!” would have been more appropriate. As for the hair, sausage curls and massive wiglets are also not appropriate to the occasion, she should have worn her hair back. Major fail.

  64. Andrea says:

    Can we talk about the elephant in the room? I have a friend who is this thin and have tried to broach the subject many times and she gets very defensive. Now sadly she is having fertility issues.

    • Jaded says:

      I lost my sister to eating disorders so I’m very triggered when I see what is obviously an ED in other people. I think Kate is so obsessively controlled in her eating habits that she’s teetering on the brink of an ED. I’ve seen her in person and she is startlingly thin.

      • swirlmamad says:

        I’m very sorry for your loss, @Jaded.

      • Jaded says:

        @swirlmamad — thanks so much!

      • Courtney B says:

        So sorry for your loss. I think sometimes people think any comment is policing bodies or being judgmental or body shaming. But sometimes something needs to be said. She is too thin. If she’d always been that way it’d be different to comment. But it’s not her figure naturally and she may have some muscle tone and energy but she still looks frail. Watching Diana documentaries that comment on her bulimia and I think Kate is even thinner than Diana was at the height of her ED.

      • Jaded says:

        @Courtney B — thanks so much. You’re right, we’re not body shaming. We who have had experience with EDs, either our own experience or with friends or family members, are showing concern for what amounts to a mental/emotional health issue. As much as we rag on Kate, it’s for her laziness and lack of focus on her job, not her weight.

  65. Red Weather Tiger says:

    Does this count as four work events, one for her for appearing at the taping, ,and one for when it airs? And the same for William? I bet it does! Clever sausages.

  66. Mich says:

    This would have been a nice event if these two hadn’t spent the last two years flouting Covid rules and acting like asses. Particularly William’s latest antics.

  67. L says:

    I think a winter white dress under the coat would have been smashing.

  68. Helutka says:

    As long as her red matches Meghan’s red… also i think she is trying to show off how skinny is she comparing to post baby M.

  69. Ameerah says:

    What’s the point of all of this again? I mean besides the obvious distraction tactic. WHY?

  70. khaveman says:

    She’s just doing the same color look because the queen does.

  71. Misskitten says:

    I actually couldn’t tell at all that its the same dress she wore to Pr Phillips funeral, but in red. Something about the red kind of obscures the bow at the shoulder, or maybe it just doesn’t photograph well. Odd though that I liked the dress a lot in black. Also, as far as the shades of red not matching, it could be that they’re coming through as different shades in photos, but match better in person.

  72. Jules says:

    Both Baldimort and Karen Middleton have such punchable faces. No amount of expensive clothes or faux manners is going to change that. #SorryNotSorry

  73. Delphine says:

    I actually like mixing different shades of the same color.

  74. M says:

    Doesn’t Pippa look a lot like Wallis Simpson???

  75. pieceofpoo says:

    You guys who made this website and who comment obsessively about Kate and Meghan need to really seriously look at yourselves and think about getting your own lives in order. Regardless of my biases toward one or the other I didn’t go out of my way to create an entire website that is basically trying to pit them against each other and propagandize one over the other. It’s really sick and you guys need some professional help.