Here are some photos of the Princess of Wales’ arrival in Reggio Emilia, Italy. She actually got a good turnout at Piazza Camillo Prampolini, with hundreds of Italians clamoring to see her. See how easy that was, British press? You can just acknowledge that someone got a great reception – you don’t have to spread wildly malicious misinformation about it. You don’t have to sabotage them.
While this is far from Kate’s first international travel in recent years, it is the first time she’s traveled “for work” since 2022. It’s also the first time she’s done any kind of solo work-travel in many years. Kate doesn’t travel well, but she especially doesn’t travel well when she has to go solo.
Kate’s outfit surprised me – a bright blue pantsuit with a super-flared pant leg? The jacket also has a very strange elastic feature at the waist. I sometimes wonder if Kate is attracted to ‘70s and ‘80s silhouettes, or if she just makes modern clothes look retro by her own body type and styling. It’s definitely a weird phenomenon, because this suit is giving Saturday Night Fever. According to some Twitter fashion IDs, the suit is from Edeline Lee and her purse is from Asprey London. It actually would have been a great moment for an Italian designer or Italian label. Gucci and Versace might be too much, but Prada? Armani? A Valentino ensemble?
PS… I think they gave Kate her big award, the flag, as soon as she arrived. Update: People Magazine excitedly reports that Kate spoke Italian to some schoolchildren.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Reggio Emilia, ITALY The Princess of Wales arrives at Reggio Emilia’s Town Hall for her first official engagement in the city, welcomed by crowds of residents gathered in the medieval piazza. Pictured: Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 13 MAY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: LUCASGRO.EU / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Reggio Emilia, ITALY The Princess of Wales arrives at Reggio Emilia’s Town Hall for her first official engagement in the city, welcomed by crowds of residents gathered in the medieval piazza. Pictured: Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 13 MAY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: LUCASGRO.EU / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Reggio Emilia, ITALY The Princess of Wales arrives at Reggio Emilia’s Town Hall for her first official engagement in the city, welcomed by crowds of residents gathered in the medieval piazza. Pictured: Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 13 MAY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: LUCASGRO.EU / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Reggio Emilia, ITALY The Princess of Wales arrives at Reggio Emilia’s Town Hall for her first official engagement in the city, welcomed by crowds of residents gathered in the medieval piazza. Pictured: Kate Middleton BACKGRID USA 13 MAY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: LUCASGRO.EU / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I don’t like this pantsuit. This shade of blue is not flattering on her, and those pointy shoulders would ruin any look.
Her horrible posture doesn’t help either.
Her styling is just so bland. You’re in Italy, FFS. Wear a gorgeous scarf or interesting shoes. Or SOMETHING.
Agree and to add, unless the handbag/purse adds something to the outfit she does not need it. What’s in there? It only seems to serve to keep one of her hands busy.
It’s designed to hide her gauntness, especially the details on the back. The colour isn’t bad but it does wash her out slightly. And again, we never saw long pants on Kate before Meghan … or top-handled clutches for that matter.
She’s gonna get everything custom suited for her. The elastic waist with no zip is to hide that she has weird middle proportions with very short legs – like we all noticed last time (and the reason why skirts and dresses look better on her)
The elastic waist is to make it more modern than classic blazer cut I guess.
Im surprised she didn’t wear a green suit with a white shirt and a red purse
I like the color. Not necessarily on her, but it is a lovely shade of blue. Why oh why does she wear it with a light blue purse and BROWN shoes???? What’s with the brown shoes? She wore brown shoes to the Garden Party where clearly black or white shoes would have been the right choice. Drives me crazy. She is copying Meghan, can’t she copy her from head to toe? Making moodboards “what did Meghan wear” including the color of her shoes/purses and learn from it?
Looks cheap. Low rent color. Expensive material that looks like slick polyester. Probably cost a mortgage payment to look so budget.
I hope they kept any naked flames a long way from her. This looks so cheap and dated and flammable.
Yeah, the comment Kaiser said she makes things look like from the 70’s, and I agree. The colour, the way the fabric looks, it all screams retro, but not in a good way.
She could have really accessorized this and made it look more palatable, but as we’ve said a 1000 times here, she doesn’t know how to style herself.
Flashbacks to the 70’s prom photos with the guy in the blue tux..
Yes! Oh, my heavens! With the long hair & the ‘stache!
I was thinking the same. It very much looks like a cheap polyester suit. The color doesn’t do her any favors.
It’s an expensive polyester suit. 😉
Kate never learned to layer different shades of the same color so she always looks like she’s in a cheap suit.
Y’all, that’s a $2000 jacket! Just the jacket! And it’s 100% polyester, lined in 100% polyester. 😝
Her styling is beyond dated and the color scheme is drab. It’s doing nothing for her. Also she looks immensely uncomfortable around humans. That’s a weird phenomenon.
Looks like school children to me! School trip to see the princess 🙄
So she was speaken Italian to the kids? It makes sense because I didnt see a translator and wondered if they truly understood each other.🥴
I thought they might be English kids bussed out to see her.
I also couldn’t help noticing that Kate left her chain-linked fence at home to greet the children.
Looks like my 95 year old grandmothers suit. Literally.
Isn’t this the same pantsuit that had the ridiculous opening that didn’t cover her flatness in the 🔙
It’s the same color it looks like someone closed it this time hence the elastic cause she’s gaunt now
No. That ugly blazer was dark blue and she wore it the day after the wedding when they were walking to the helicopter to leave for their honeymoon. That one was so bizarre. Like, what?! Who puts a square cutout over the ass?
Unless she has a second jacket with an ass cutout?
And yes, I agree that the elastic is to provide some semblance of weight to her body. She looks frighteningly thin.
That one was Smythe, & they now call that style ‘the Duchess’.
Her fans go on about how she goes to talk to children at eye level as if she invented that.a
It seems those the students, teachers, and parents were told the Princess of Wales is coming! That wasn’t an organic crowd
She always gets kids bussed into her events, including in Britain. Probably because you can’t force adults onto a bus. Who cares about class time?
It wouldn’t be a Kate pantsuit if it didn’t have a high waist of some sort, to visually lengthen her legs and shorten her actual waist. The weird elastic on the jacket back helps with that by pulling the front of the jacket in at the high waistline, and also probably deals with excess fabric around her frame. One stone, two birds.
Is this her effort to be in the moment with TDWP2? Is she thinking this is cerulean blue?
The gathering at the back doesn’t bother me too much when I think about how she needs the slight flare to disguise how thin she is. The hair is still there which is too bad but oh well.
I’m going to guess that the BM will say these are the biggest crowds to ever be seen in ever. And it does look like a good crowd. Maybe there will be more cute and quaint little cities in Kate’s future.
Her outfit was boring as usual and the gathering at the back of jacket doesn’t look good. For some reason Kate believes that if she wears pants suits all the time she will be taken more seriously. There are other types suits besides pants suits.
I like the blouse?
The pantsuit is okayish. I just think something about how she wears pantsuits is always a little off. At first I thought it was just the particular suit and it still might be but I think its more how she wears them and the particular suits she picks. they never quite work for her body and there are SO many suits out there, she should be able to find something better.
Are we keeping track here? Event #1. I think yesterday I said 5 or 6 total, lets see.
Don’t forget: arrival/walking down the plane steps, and formal greetings count as engagements, too! Reverse repeat at the end…. more to add to the count.
I like the colour. The suit is meh. Apart from that bit of elastic at the back, which makes it look cheap. Can’t they find a jacket small enough for her?
Actually, the style of suit especially the flared trousers is very fashionable in Europe at the moment. But it’s her styling or lackthereof as usual that lets her down. Surely Italy is the place for fabulous shoes!
It’s what school teachers wore in the early 1970s. I don’t hate it honestly, it’s ok, but if I was a princess I would want to do so much more than she does with her fashion.
1000% with you. It’s ok, I don’t like the bag, but the only problem with the suit itself is the pants are a smidge too long, which is weird because she’s so tall.
If I had access to princess $ for clothes I’d have so much fun playing. She never seems to have fun or be playful or show any personality, either with or outside of her clothes.
It’s fine, if a bit blah with a white blouse, maybe something with a print? Or add a brooch? Or, handbag & shoes in contrasting colors? Why the brown shoes & baby blue bag?
That purse is ruining whatever “serious lady” cred the suit is giving (and the hair hasn’t already taken away). Whatever she needs can go in her pants pockets, it’s not like there’s no room in there.
For me, it’s not the purse, but that too long hair. If she wants to be taken seriously, and doesn’t want to cut it (“William likes my hair long” – shades of C&C!!), then for God’s sake, PULL IT BACK! Put it in a low pony, a bun, ANYTHING, but hanging down her back. Heck, even if she’d just cut it to her shoulder blade level, it’d look better and healthier than this mess.
Yeah, there is absolutely no need for a handbag in that situation. She’s not going out to lunch requiring her wallet to pay the bill. She has people behind the scenes to carry her stuff.
Easy to curate a crowd in the town hall. I’m sure the town worked on telling people to show up when Kate can show up somewhere and crowds build organically then it will be impressive. For now, it’s nothing more than staff knocking doors and schools getting permission to take the children there.
When you choose such a specific color for a suit , accessorizing needs equal attention to bring it to play.
Bags and shoes are clashing in this case. She knew the whole world would be watching hung and this is her A Game ?
Meh
Saw other pictures of her walking forward, with the wind kind of blowing the flare of the pants back, and my immediate thought was that her legs look like stilts.
Her legs look comically long in several of the photos
The elastic in the back makes the jacket look cheap.
Are Italian crowds like Australian crowds?Do they, as per Robert Jobsen, show up to even the opening of an envelope?
No, bc this is Kate. So it will not be interpreted that way. I think it’s fair to say she drew a crowd in this small city. Just as it’s fair to say that the Sussexes drew good crowds in Australia.
From the front the trouser suit looks like something I would have worn in the late 60s/early 70s/ Wrong colour for me though. I don’t understand the elastic at the back, they must have put extra fabric there as the front hangs correctly.
For a W&K, the turnout may be quite large, but the tight shots show that these are small groups creating a crowd because they’re squeezed into a small space. There are no panoramic shots; those are only from H&M exits, like Harry at the church in London for the Invictus ceremony. Kate has royal cameramen with her, and they know how to turn a handful of people into a “crowd.” There’s a photo in the Daily Mail where, behind a barrier, there are three or four rows of organized people (many children, wheelchair user) in focus, but behind them is a blurred background that pretends to be a further crowd. Except these are completely different people, behind cars, across the road, and in a different square, and this is Italy; there are always crowds on the streets there. But the illusion is there, and the goal is achieved. I’ll believe in crowds of spectators when I see panoramic shots, not tight ones.
It is truly shocking how much fabric they have to add to her suits now to make her not look absolutely skeletal
Yawn. I nearly feel sorry for this woman. This is what it looks like when karma comes for your style, along with your zest for life, along with your clothing budget. She looks…. Anonymous. Like, drab and bland and overpriced and like a sad sack descended on her and robbed her of her joy. Maybe I’m imagining it. But it all just reminds me of the colour slowly fading from someone’s skin.
I’m pretty sure my prom date wore that suit in the 80s.
The ‘crowd’ reminds me of when QE2 would come to Auckland on Britannia. They would dock at the Navy yards in Devonport and Queen Elizabeth would be driven up the main road past the local high school. We’d all be out of class standing on the roadside to wave as she went by. Not manufactured crowds at all, just like here in Italy for Kate. Bet those kids enjoyed being out of the classroom for an hour too? Though some may have been told they would see a real Princess and they are still wondering when Cinderella was going to be there?
I’m just picturing how Letiza or Mary or Maxima would have been styled for this trip and this isn’t it. Of course, Maxima would have been in bright colors with a large hat while dripping in gems and would have rocked it, so maybe she’s not a fair comparison.
I wish we could see more of those Queens and their fashion!
I don’t mind this from the front but it’s awful in the back.
Maxima has so much fun with her clothes. She’s a joy to watch in action, and the crowds really respond to her.
It would have been nice if Kate could have worn a lesser-known Italian designer for her events in Italy, or even a Joshua Kane pantsuit if she were going English.
Cheap-looking suit, and the ugly brown shoes are back. She’s worn them to three events in a row I think. Holding the purse while greeting people looks ridiculous. Give it to your assistant.
A woman who barely speaks English now speaks Italian?
Did she mumble ‘Bon Jovi’ and they pretended she said ‘bon journo’?
I wonder what’s in her bag? Lipstick or gloss? I would hate having to carry a tiny handbag around all day.
Again with those ugly beige shoes, ugh!
The blue was right on brand for the flag dressing (I was 100% sure she would wear blue for this reason). While not the actual flag colors, of course, blue is Italy’s national color and favored for uniforms (think of the Olympics, etc.).
I don’t hate the retro (if you are going to keep that ridiculous hair and those associated hairpieces, lean in) but I don’t think the cut or the style itself was ideal…the buttons on the back took it from retro to “outdated” or “cosplay.”
I am genuinely glad she’s healthy enough and allowed to travel alone. Apart from that, I have nothing really to say.
Of course she’s healthy enough to travel. Not only has she been on repeated foreign holidays in the last two years? She never had cancer = no recovery time.
So she has been physically healthy enough to travel for quite some time now. I wish her good health but the idea that she is just now healthy enough to travel is propaganda. She has been traveling internationally to go skiing for quite some time now. As well yachts and Mustique.
She’s been healthy enough to attend public events without a doctor suggested mask, large brimmed hat or avoiding the sun altogether during her alleged cancer treatment. She was healthy enough to travel further for ski and Mustique beach trips for an entire year and a half after her remission. Even being healthy enough to ski down slopes with ease. Them trying to make this trip seem as if it’s a real sacrifice or monumental moment is the usual ridiculous hype they do for her doing the bare minimum. They say this is a country she “has always loved” and she has been impressed with since the beginning of her lifetime commitment to early years, even thought she is only now returning and visiting after 25 years since her very short three month gap year and 15 years as a royal. Early years isn’t even a lifetime commitment because it was only long after she had married into the royal family and had children, that she even bothered to create a cause that she barely focus on except when needing attention for herself and not the children of the UK.
Did you miss her ski trips, Mario? Her Greek yachting trip? She’s been healthy enough to travel for quite some time.
I believe Edeline Lee is a Canadian designer who lives and works in London and worked for at Alexander McQueen at one point. Has Kate worn this designer before? Kate doesn’t strike me as someone who wanders too far afield to find new designers to wear.
I HATE that elastic gathering at the back of the blazer – it makes it looks cheap.
Where are the pictures of the crowd? I see a few school kids crowded around her.
I think it’s progress if it has occurred to Kate or her aides to learn a few Italian phrases. It means she actually did a little prep? How professional she has suddenly become. Didn’t Kate spend a few months or weeks in Italy studying art as part of her gap year? She must have learned a few basics then. Also, wouldn’t be surprised to learn she heard Meghan was brushing up on her French.
Is the SOPHIA PETRILLO sold out?
What studies? Kate was chasing William:)
No, she really did a little gap year course on art history in Florence, I think it was? Not sure how long it lasted or what requirements were involved–any written work or presentations, etc.
I LOVE the bag.
That’s all I got.
It is a nice bag. It reminds me of the white/cream ones she has from Mulberry & Aspinal. I remember from some past trip where she brought these two nearly identical bags & thought to myself, why? Why waste the suitcase space? Why waste the money on basically the same bag? And now she’s got a third one; it’s such a pale blue it’s almost white. 🤷♀️
I thought blue and brown don’t match. That’s why I was surprised to see the brown shoes. I don’t like that the pants are dragging on the ground. That’s ill-fitting to me. And she (somebody else) will never be able to get the dirt off the pants legs trailing on the ground (I know because my daughter does it and I have actually thrown out one pair for this reason and have one more to go). If Kate did laundry (she does not), she would know this.
Oh, I think it does. I used to wear pale pink and pale blue with my browns in junior high and high school. I thought I looked good. Then again, I was young. 😉
Actually, I hope Kate experiences some success. She needs it to perhaps lessen her mean streak, jealousy and resentment.